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IMAX is going VR, so put on your headsets and hold on

Late last week, IMAX announced that it had “completed the first phase of a $50 million virtual reality fund between IMAX and other strategic investors to help finance the creation of at least 25 interactive VR content experiences over the next three years for use across all VR platforms including in IMAX VR centers.” That means that at some point in the near future, we’ll be able to enjoy higher-quality VR content on really, really giant screens.

Its latest purchase is Nest Labs, a maker of sophisticated thermostats and smoke detectors: on January 13th Google said it would pay $3.2 billion in cash for the firm. Google’s biggest move into hardware so far is its $12.5 billion bid for Motorola Mobility

With Google’s collection of hardware businesses, the common factor is data: gathering and crunching them, to make physical devices more intelligent.

Packed with sensors and software that can, say, detect that the house is empty and turn down the heating, Nest’s connected thermostats generate plenty of data, which the firm captures.

Russia’s economy is at a turning point. Following a decade of spectacular growth fueled by high energy prices, the country could either use its newfound riches to finance much-needed modernization and become a driver of innovation and growth, or muddle through by continuing to rely on its large yet maturing hydrocarbon base.

Ranking the importance of different drivers for Russia’s economic development in terms of impact and uncertainty over the way in which they may evolve over time, the group highlighted oil and gas prices as well as economic diversification and competition as critical uncertainties (see exhibit).

In the case of Russia, these numbers assume that its current demographic decline is counterbalanced and gradually reversed by the effects of an Arctic windfall, and that it can maintain effective control of its Far East region.

Ignoring the effects of environmental change, China will be by far the largest economy, with a GDP that is 40 percent of the total for the top twenty economies. The US will be second with a GDP well under half that of China. India will be third and Brazil will be fourth.

Taking environmental change into account, China and the US will be neck-and-neck with 24 percent each of the GDP for the top twenty, Russia will be third, Brazil fourth and India fifth. Most of China’s catch-up will happen early, prior to 2030; before climate change really bites.

M-Pesa’s success has been phenomenal. Recent statistics show that fully one-quarter of the Kenyan economy flows through M-Pesa.

Other countries are taking a crack at a similar mobile digital currency. Vodacom

has launched M-Pesa in other African nations, as well as India and parts of Eastern Europe. In Latin America, Ecuador recently announced it would launch a nationwide digital currency, residing largely on people’s smartphones

Соответствующий сервис Social Attributes запустило Национальное бюро кредитных историй (НБКИ) совместно с IT-компанией Double Data.

Первый опыт использования системы, по информации издания, показал, что подписка заемщика на группы о сетевом маркетинге, быстрых кредитах или антиколлекторах увеличивает риск невыплаты кредита в 2-4 раза. При этом позитивные действия пользователя, например, публикация фотографий о путешествиях, наоборот, снижают риски для кредитора.

Мы все больше и больше становимся технологической компанией, а не банком

Параллельно банк регистрировал десятки связанных с ним товарных знаков: от Sber In Move до «Сберкот» – так называется чат-бот банка в соцсетях, он дает советы про финансы и присылает бесплатные стикеры.

В целом мы хотим от позиции посредника перейти к позиции провайдера конечных услуг. И стать для клиентов экосистемой первого выбора»,