Ozon introduces new fines for owners of collection points, Colin’s perfumes launched in Russia: the main thing on August 22

World

• Musk said Neuralink plans to begin implanting brain chips in millions of people over the next 10 years. By 2024, the company plans to implant the chips in eight more patients.
• Musk believes that the policies of many governments will lead to civil war. On the social network X, the entrepreneur explained his words about the threat of civil war in Great Britain. The billionaire says that not only she is following this path, but also many other states.
• VK expanded the coverage of its CDN network after YouTube slowed down. The work was carried out in connection with the growth of VK Video. More than 150 such nodes with the company’s cache servers cover all federal districts of Russia and the CIS countries, and performance has doubled.

• Kyrgyzstan’s Aiyl Bank has suspended money transfers for Sberbank clients for an indefinite period. Previously, two other banks in the republic, MBank and Keremet Bank, made similar decisions.

Russia

• On August 22, the cost of AI-95 gasoline in Russia approached a record high. The most popular type of fuel on the exchange rose in price to 74,818 rubles. But there are also cheaper fuels, for example, summer diesel. It fell by 0.06%. Liquefied petroleum gases lost 0.26% in price.
  
• The price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max has dropped to a record low in Russia. The device is sold on average 75 thousand rubles cheaper, now it can even be found for 102.5 thousand, while at the start of sales the price of a new product reached 200 thousand rubles.
• Roskachestvo has identified more than 400 “incorrect” dietary supplements on the market. They contained prohibited substances. Among the substances detected are even those included in the list of narcotic and psychotropic substances; several cards with goods have already been blocked.
• Alfa Bank offers mortgages with the option to reduce the rate based on the key rate. Clients have had access to the service since August 22. This is a one-time reduction in the “loan interest” after the Central Bank of the Russian Federation reduces the rate. This could support the real estate market.
• Almost a third of Russians are willing to move to another city for the sake of a career, as shown by a study by Avito. Approximately the same number of Russians have already changed their location for work reasons. The main factor driving this decision remains high salaries and bonuses.

• Bloggers have asked for at least a year to prepare for the implementation of the law, according to which channels with an audience of 10 thousand subscribers must apply to the RKN. The new rules will come into force on November 1. Industry participants need more time to adapt, says the Association of Bloggers and Agencies.

• The Intellectual Property Court has recognised deepfakes as copyrightable. This is stated in the ruling following a legal case between two Russian companies, published on the e-justice website. Deepfakes are a tool for processing videos, not for creating them, the court was told.
• A government commission has approved a draft law by the Federal Antimonopoly Service to tighten control over transactions by large banks, a source close to the government told Izvestia. Banks may be required to coordinate with the FAS when buying even small competing companies.

Business

• Ozon will fine the owners of the collection points for not providing access to the cameras – 10 thousand rubles. Until October 1, partners with the “Maximum Brand” tariff will have to install two cameras and connect to cloud providers.
• In August 2024, Turkish clothing brand Colin’s introduced a collection of perfumes on the Russian market: C’ Him for men and C’ Her for women.
• In July, Russians spent more than 418 million rubles on shopping abroad. The most popular stores are Asos, Poizon, Farfetch and Shein.
• The cost of cinema tickets in Russia has once again reached a new record. A film screening cost more than 400 rubles. Just a year ago, the price was 120 rubles lower. But this season there are not many new films, so raising prices is one of the measures that can help keep the business afloat.

• More than 51% of the IT Prom software developer controlled by VK was received by a key employee of this company, Alexander Kiryanov, who at the same time works as the general director of one of the structures of Zapsibgazprom of former MP Mikhail Slipenchuk, RB.RU has learned. VK called the deal technical.

• The Russian legal entity of the Millhouse management company and six other organisations associated with billionaire Roman Abramovich have been transferred to the trust company JSC Centrotrust, which previously held 20% of the PIK group.

• The investment and construction company Raven Russia has called on media outlets to respond to the Prosecutor General’s statement that discredits its business reputation. Earlier, the media outlets, citing sources, wrote that the prosecutor’s office intends to sell the group’s shares to the state.

• Vkusville increased its turnover by 33% in 2024 – in the first half of the year it reached 183 billion rubles. The growth rate increased by 13% – in the first six months the company opened more than 250 outlets in different formats.

• VTB has filed for bankruptcy of Technoserv Group LLC and a court hearing is scheduled for October 9. According to lawyers, the filing may be related to a loan agreement signed in 2018.

• Wildberries plans to complete all construction work on a new warehouse in Shushary, Leningrad Region, by October 2024, according to the founder and CEO of the marketplace, Tatyana Bakalchuk.
• The top management of the insurance company Renaissance Insurance has recommended using 51% of the net profit for the past six months to pay dividends, according to a statement from the organization posted on the website of the information disclosure center.

Services and technologies

• Midjourney has released a free build-limited browser version. You can now also log in or sign up using your Google account.
• Microsoft has unveiled new versions of its Xbox Series X/S consoles. The devices will start at $349.99. In the United States, sales will begin on October 15 and in other countries two weeks later. Pre-orders for the new consoles are now open.
• A four-key combination in iOS and iPadOS can break any iPhone. A bug has been discovered in the iOS and iPadOS operating systems. This is not the first time that a combination in a text string has caused problems on the iPhone. Apple has not yet commented on this bug.
• The updated Tesla Model 3 Performance has gone on sale in Russia. The car costs 7.8 million pounds. It reaches a speed of 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds, and one charge is enough to cover 476 km.

• Avito Auto has introduced the Select service, which will help you choose a new or used car through the Avito app. The service manager organizes transaction support, including interaction with the dealer.

• Yandex Weather has introduced a new technology that has improved local weather forecasts. Now the weather forecast is based on data from professional and amateur weather stations, the Yandex press service reported.