Rising prices for mobile communications, an investment company from the United Arab Emirates acquired shares of the Moscow Stock Exchange: the main thing on October 24

World

• 11 programmers linked to Russia were removed from their role in maintaining the stability of the Linux operating system kernel. The decision made is related to the need to comply with international sanctions against Russia.
• Former OpenAI employee Suchir Balaji accused his former employer that the company’s business model violates US copyright law and is “destroying the internet.”
• Norwegian authorities want to ban children under 15 from using social media. The local government wants to protect minors from harmful content on the Internet.
• In Türkiye, airport operations were limited due to the threat of terrorist attacks. The day before, October 23, terrorists attacked the headquarters of the country’s largest aerospace company, TUSAS.
• Tesla shares soared nearly 20% after the company released its third-quarter 2024 results. At its high on Oct. 24, shares of the electric vehicle maker were trading at $254.64.

Russia

• The Ministry of Health supported the bill prohibiting the sale of tobacco and nicotine-containing products to citizens born after December 31, 2009.
• Russian government agencies increased VPN spending by 683% over the year, spending 14.1 billion rubles on connections since the beginning of 2024. Experts attribute this to the growing number of DDoS attacks, the need to encrypt traffic and Protect against theft of personal data and destruction of important information.
• Roskomnadzor proposed to develop and adopt mandatory standards for working with personal data at the legislative level. All participants in its circulation must comply with the rules.
• RKN will block 4.5 million SIM cards of foreign citizens, as they did not appear at the offices of Russian mobile operators to undergo re-identification.

Investments

• The Ministry of Finance plans to abolish the tax on material profits for investors who bought shares during the IPO at a lower price than the market price. The initiative will exempt IPO participants from taxes on the price difference that arises on the first day of trading.

Finance

• A “smart” tax calculator has appeared in Sberbank Online. It works on the basis of the Salyut virtual assistant and allows you to calculate exactly how clients’ taxes and salaries will change in 2025.

Business

• An investment company from the United Arab Emirates, Fundament Capital Investment Management, became the owner of 6.86% of the shares of the Moscow Stock Exchange. It received 156.17 million shares at direct disposal.
• In 2025, 95% of Russian mobile and Internet operators plan to increase tariffs for their services. Half prices will increase by 10-15%.
• Companies proposed increasing the amount of budget funds intended to finance the federal investment tax deduction (FINV) from 150 to 200 billion rubles. This will increase the efficiency of FINV and support the investment activity of companies.
• On October 24, two foreign publications reported that the French network Auchan had decided to leave the Russian market. Auchan Retail Russia RB.RU noted that they do not comment on “rumors.”
• Wildberries has expanded the list of seasonal products that are accepted for free in warehouses by 3.5 times, up to 134 subcategories. Among the products that the company will accept for free are the most popular on the seasonal category platform.
• Damage to businesses in the Kursk region since the invasion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in August was estimated at 117 billion rubles. The governor has created a working group to support affected companies.
• Avito Advertising will open an advertising office in 2025. Here, advertisers will be able to manage campaigns from one window, as well as view analysis.
• “Unilever Rus” submitted applications to Rospatent to register two logos under the name “Unilever Rus”. Both brands have the shape of the letter “U” and refer to the logo of the British Unilever.
• Rospotrebnadzor suspended the operation of the Sokol confectionery factory in the Moscow region. It produced “Giselle” and “Classic” marshmallows, which, according to the Mash Telegram channel, poisoned many buyers.

Services and technologies

• Yandex introduced a new generation of generative neural networks, YandexGPT 4. The line includes “a powerful Pro language model and a lightweight Lite version.”
• VK launched the Space Studio service integrated into VKontakte. In it, designers can find new clients.

Transport

• The Moscow Interregional Transport Prosecutor’s Office will consider information about possible violations of the rights of Aeroflot employees. Representatives of the airline’s management assured that they strive to strictly comply with labor laws and protect the interests of their employees.

• Tesla has officially announced its plans to create an affordable electric car. The company’s third quarter report indicated that development of an affordable electric vehicle model will begin in the first half of 2025.

• Only 63% of Whoosh cognitive speed test users successfully completed the tasks and began the journey at normal speed. The rest made a large number of mistakes or completely refused to complete the tasks.