Tinder Subscription Refunds, Grocery Retailers Competition for Space: June 29 Highlights

World

• Mastercard will test the Multi-Token Network (MTN) in the UK with tokenized bank deposits. Banks will have access to MTN functionality to develop potential use cases for such deposits.

• Greenyl, an Italian startup, has released eco-friendly vinyl-free (PVC) vinyl records. The recycled plastic plates are made in a solar powered facility. The price of “green” records is similar to traditional vinyl: 25-30 euros.
• Virgin Galactic shares fell unexpectedly due to the successful launch of the first commercial suborbital flight. The Unity spacecraft climbed to an altitude of 80 km and carried six people to the edge of space.
• GSMA analysts have estimated that around 5 billion smartphones worldwide are “laying around” and need to be recycled. If the devices are recycled, the microelectronics industry will receive about 50 thousand tons of copper, 500 tons of silver, 100 tons of gold and other precious metals.
• YouTube is testing access restrictions to use an ad blocker. The user is supposed to be blocked after watching three videos with the blocker enabled. Users will be notified of the subsequent blocking.

Russia

• State Duma deputies proposed to introduce an additional tax on high incomes. There are two proposals from members of different factions at once: the first is to increase the personal income tax to 20% for income above 25 million rubles a year, the second is to increase the personal income tax to 17% for income above 10 million rubles.

• Every third consumer complaint to Rospotrebnadzor in 2022 was related to the functioning of the markets. The department has created a working group, which should improve the mechanism for reviewing appeals. Complaints about the refusal of sellers to return the funds for the goods within seven days after their purchase will be given priority. Special attention will be paid to situations in which the customer has had to pay for the return of defective items.

• The court fined Start online cinema in the amount of 3.7 million rubles for showing LGBT content without marking the age. We are talking about the picture “Perfect Strangers.” The company is considering the possibility of appealing the court’s decision. They indicated that they changed the mark to 18+. At the same time, the Ministry of Culture initially issued the label 16+ to the tape.

Business

• As of January 2023, business and government spending on IT import substitution amounted to 53%. Experts say that a “hybrid approach” has now formed in Russia, when customers support foreign solutions and buy Russian ones.
• The production of computers, electronic and optical products in January-May 2023 increased 21.6% in annual terms. The issue is estimated at 26.2 billion rubles.
• Among grocery retailers, competition for space is heating up. In the first quarter of 2023, the share of ten large retailers at the federal level in the total volume of retail space decreased to 61% from almost 80% a year earlier, Kommersant writes.

Finance

• The Central Bank warned brokers about the inadmissibility of protective commissions for the withdrawal of securities. This trend has been found among non-sanctioned brokers who do not want to lose clients who have switched investment companies that have fallen under restrictions. Sometimes the cost of transferring securities even exceeds the market value of the investment portfolio.

Transport

• Kaliningrad holding “Avtotor” intends to expand the range of manufactured models from 10 to 20-22. By the end of 2023, the company will produce approximately 70,000 vehicles, 1,000 of which will be electric.

Services and technologies

• Paid subscriptions to Tinder in Russia will no longer automatically renew from June 30 due to the termination of the company’s work in the Russian Federation. For semi-annual and annual subscriptions, users will be able to return funds by filling out a special form on the site, the company said.

• Sber launched the first digital ambassador of the bank – SberKat, familiar to many users, received a voice, emotional intelligence and 3D design. In the new role, the character will teach users financial knowledge and talk about innovation.

• Anti-Phishing has created an automated Start REQ solution that will prevent vulnerabilities in the early stages of development. The developer indicates all the parameters of the future product, and the interactive database gives exactly the security requirements that must be taken into account in this case.