Russian Market

2023-05-22 15:30:42 Russia needs AI specialists

According to the latest data by the Russian jobs aggregator HeadHunter, the demand for AI specialists has risen 51%.

Employers mostly look for IT, sales, marketing, PR and consulting personnel with knowledge of development and implementation of neural networks, big data and AI.

More than 3,000 such new jobs have been published on the platform just since the beginning of this year.

You know ChatGPT, comrade? Welcome to The Soviet Union Russia! Let's develop a Skynet with a Russian soul!

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2023-05-22 14:00:32 EU not re-connect Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT as part of grain deal

The European Union will not lift sanctions on Russian Agricultural Bank (RusAg), even though it was Russia's main demand in the grain deal extended last week, said lead EU spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy Peter Stano.

Stano noted that the restrictions could be eased or lifted only after the conflict in Ukraine is over.

In his view, the unimpeded trade flow, as well as food and agricultural exports from Russia through the Black Sea are only hindered by the hostilities, not by Brussels' sanctions.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative struck in the summer of 2022 between Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the UN involves opening ports in Ukraine to export agricultural products and unblocking Russian food and fertilizer exports.

Moscow has repeatedly criticized the implementation of the export part of the deal.

Last week, Russia extended the grain deal unchanged but promised to halt its implementation after July 17 if its demands are not met. The EU, on the other hand, said this would only exacerbate already serious global food security problems.

EU: The Art of the Deal

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2023-05-22 12:00:36 Hotbit crypto exchange halts operations, urges users to withdraw funds

Cryptocurrency exchange Hotbit announced that it is ceasing its operations completely as of May 22, according to an official announcement.

The crypto exchange asked its users to withdraw funds before June 21, at 4:00 am UTC.

Hotbit said that its operating conditions deteriorated after a former member of its team was investigated in August 2022. According to the exchange, the probe forced it to stop its business for several weeks.

Additionally, Hotbit cited various incidents within the crypto space as contributors to its decline, namely the FTX collapse and the banking crises. The exchange stated that these incidents led to a continuous outflow of funds from centralized exchanges.

The Hotbit team believes that centralized exchanges are becoming "increasingly cumbersome" and "unlikely to meet long-term trends." The exchange said the only options are to become more decentralized or embrace regulation.

Hotbit also blamed the repeated cyberattacks and the exploitation of "project defects by malicious users" as reasons for its downfall.

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2023-05-22 10:01:28 Russians offered one million rubles for new car

Russians may be given one million rubles to buy a new car, according to a bill from Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party, which is preparing to submit it to the State Duma.

Yet it is planned that only young families under 30 after having their first child would be allowed to use this certificate and only for buying Russian vehicles.

Selling a car purchased with the certificate would be possible not later than five years to avoid fraudulent schemes, according to the bill.

This initiative is expected not only to support the Russian automotive industry, but also would be relevant given the demographic decline in Russia.

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2023-05-22 01:14:12 Bitcoin payment provider Strike relocates to El Salvador from US

Initially the company was based in Chicago, but now its global headquarters is moving to the country of volcanoes and Bitcoin.

Jack Mallers, the CEO and founder of Zap, Strike’s parent company, says that the decision was made because of much more welcoming nature for crypto in El Salvador.

“Two years ago, people would have made fun of me [for our] headquarters in El Salvador to launch product for three billion people, but now Coinbase is fighting with Gary Gensler,” he said. “Who’s laughing now?”

Apparently, crypto guys are getting tired of the US grip on financial power and look for better options.

Nayib Bukele is a gigachad! Agree?

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2023-05-21 21:50:22 UK banks reportedly complicate cash withdrawals

According to the info, at least one of the largest UK banks, NatWest, has issued new regulations, demanding its customers to provide supporting documents and answer some questions about the purpose of withdrawal.

NatWest also warns its customers, the transaction may be declined if the bank decides so.

Whether it's fear of repeating US banks fate or just someone wants your money - remains unclear.

However, admin must warn that no official confirmation of this info has been seen yet.
Regarding that, if you are in Britain, it would be very much appreciated if you could tell us how it's going with NatWest.
DMs are open as well as the comments, thanks!

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2023-05-21 16:52:06 AI really takes the jobs

BT, a British telecom giant, wants to cut between 40 - 50 THOUSAND jobs during the next decade. That's almost half of the company's current personnel totalling about 130,000 people, including both stuff and contractors.

A fifth of those losing their job is to be replaced by the AI, according to the BT's top management.

"Whenever you get new technologies you can get big changes," said chief executive Philip Jansen. "Generative AI gives us confidence we can go even further".

According to BBC:
- BT has about 80,000 employees in the UK, and this is where the bulk of the cuts will come.
- Plus, it has about 20,000 staff abroad.
- It also has 30,000 contractors, mainly abroad. Many of those roles will go.

Even though, not all of those jobs to be taken by the AI, the current layoffs trend among the big companies, makes one think - where are we going?

- if it scares you.

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2023-05-20 20:45:06 Russian former President invites Elon Musk to Bakhmut

"Elon, you've asked me about Bakhmut... Come and see for yourself!" former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wrote in response to Musk's October tweet.

Earlier today, Russian forces established a full control over the city of Artemovsk (Bakhmut) in eastern Ukraine. Defensive lines are currently being created in the city.

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2023-05-20 20:30:36 'Shush up': Biden about debt limit talks

Joe Biden told a reporter to "shush up" after being hit with a barrage of questions about America's debt ceiling crisis while meeting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Japan.

The US President was first quizzed on how concerned he was about the debt talks back in America to which he replied "not at all".

Reporters continued to pepper Biden with questions, such as whether Republicans were negotiating in good faith to avoid America defaulting on its $31.4 trillion debt.

"It goes in stages, I've been in these negotiations before. It started off... Shush up, okay? Thank you," Biden said.

"It goes in stages," he then reiterated. "And what happens is the first meetings weren't all that progressive, the second ones were, the third one was," he continued.

"I still believe we'll be able to avoid a default and we'll get something decent done."

Further questions put to Biden were ignored, as they always are.

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2023-05-20 15:30:33 GDP per capita in Russia GROWS SIGNIFICANTLY in 2022, exceeds $15,000

GDP per capita in Russia at the end of 2022 stood at $15,44K according to the International Monetary Fund.

So, the indicator has grown by 22.3% (or $2.82K) since 2021, approaching the 2013 record of $15,93K, based on the IMF data.

Yet according to Q1 2023, Russia's GDP per capita fell to $14.4K, largely due to the staggering number of sanctions imposed on the country and the restrictions of Russia's exports to Europe.

Nevertheless, the dynamics are significantly unlike those of a decade ago, when Russia's GDP per capita plummeted from $14.1K in 2014 to $9.26K in 2015, as measured by the IMF.

What's more - back in 2000 Russia's GDP per capita was at about $1,5K.
X10 since then!

Overall, GDP per capita increased in 2022 in 74 of the 100 nations. Guyana (89.1%), Armenia (40.6%), and Georgia (33.4%) posted the highest gains. 25 countries saw a decline: GDP per capita noticeably dropped in Japan (-15.2%), Sweden (-8.6%) and Korea (-7.9%).

Going strong!

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