The main events by the morning: August 7

• Elon Musk declares war on companies boycotting X. Musk has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), including companies such as Mars and Unilever, as well as the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) for the «illegal» boycott of the social network and the lack of advertising in X. 

• Russians continue to actively take out loans, despite the high level of interest rates. At the beginning of July, the total volume of loans to the population reached a record 37 trillion rubles. In the first half of the year, this figure increased by 3.4 trillion rubles. For comparison, over the same period in 2023, the growth amounted to 2.6 trillion rubles, despite lower rates.

• In Russia, there is an increase in the number of vacancies and salaries among game developers. In seven months, the number of vacancies in the gaming industry increased by 23%, and the average salary increased by 46%. The growth in demand is due to new projects of domestic studios and the activity of Asian companies in the country.

• The trade turnover between China and Russia increased by 1.6% in seven months and reached $136.67 billion. This is 1.6% more than in the same period last year. From January to July, China supplied $61.64 billion worth of goods to Russia, which is 1.1% less in annual terms. Supplies from Russia to China increased by 3.9% to $75.03 billion. The positive balance of the Russian side increased by 48%, to $13.39 billion year-on-year.

• US Vice President Kamala Harris has become the official candidate of the Democratic Party in the presidential election. She announced this during a speech at a rally of her supporters in Philadelphia.