Who will win in the battle of Volkswagen and Tesla for leadership in the electric car market The global market of electric cars is preparing for the duel of the main competitors: Tesla against Volkswagen. Ilona Mask was able to get into profit, and on a market hype around its shares it became more expensive than all competitors combined.

Fitch has improved its forecast for global and Russian GDP growth - now, according to analysts, the Russian economy will grow by 3.3% in 2021. According to Fitch Ratings, the global economy will grow by 6.1% this year. Prior to this, analysts had expected growth of 5.3%. Economists have begun to look more optimistically at the recovery of the Russian economy - by the end of 2021, Fitch expects growth by 3.3% instead of the previously expected 3%.

Vladimir Putin suggested that US President Joe Biden hold an "open conversation" live - the Russian Foreign Ministry would entrust the relevant issue to be worked out, the president said. Putin said that he did not want to "dive" with Biden in absentia, but believed that Russia and the United States should continue relations. In this regard, Putin invited him to talk live. If such a conversation takes place, it will be the first debate in which Putin will take part in 20 years in power.

This week, Volkswagen has made a name for itself with money-backed ambitions to catch up and overtake Tesla. In reality, we are talking about gaining a foothold in the status of the main competitor, but this should give investors a reason to think about who to bet on in the upcoming electric car war. What's happening On Wednesday, March 17, Volkswagen became Germany's most valuable company, outperforming enterprise software maker SAP, and on Thursday the automaker's quotes continued to rise.

FSB investigator Alexander Chaban, who is in charge of Ivan Safronov's case, has been promoted. This was told by the lawyer of the accused Ivan Pavlov. According to Pavlov, if earlier Chaban was a lieutenant colonel, now he is in the rank of colonel. In addition, he received a promotion in his position - now he is a senior investigator for especially important cases. “See how people grow,” Pavlov commented on the message.

Early parliamentary elections in Armenia will be held on June 20. On Thursday, the Prime Minister of the Republic Nikol Pashinyan announced the agreement reached with the opposition. Following the meeting on March 18 with the leader of the Prosperous Armenia opposition faction Gagik Tsarukyan, the parties recorded that the most acceptable way out of the current domestic political situation is early parliamentary elections, Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook.

Today, the government will discuss package the second IT business support : representatives of most Russian IT companies will attend a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko. One of the issues is tax incentives for Internet companies that earn on advertising. Businesses will be asking the government to include them in a tax maneuver announced last summer, The Bell found out. Only companies with 90% of their revenue from software sales could qualify for benefits.

The Russian government has thought about how to increase the number of initial placements held in the country. Among the discussed measures are benefits for investors and companies entering the stock exchange. As Forbes learned , the Ministry of Economic Development was working on new preferential measures for investors. One of the ideas is to exempt from paying personal income tax when selling shares bought at an IPO or within a year after an IPO.

President Putin responded to yesterday's statement by the President of the United States, who agreed that Putin was a killer, by wishing him good health - twice. Vladimir Putin President of Russia “As for the statement of my American colleague. We really, as he said, are personally acquainted with him. What would I say to him? I would tell him: "Be healthy." I wish him well! I say this without irony, without jokes.

Apple plans to announce new iPads in April, according to Bloomberg - the new iPad Pro will have an improved processor and a more powerful camera. Apple's new tablet models will be similar to the current iPad Pro, with the same screen sizes of 11 and 12.9 inches, sources said. At the same time, the new devices will differ in “stuffing” - they will have an updated processor that is not inferior to the faster M1 chip in the latest MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini.

The Moscow City Court recognized as legal the extension of the arrest of former journalist Ivan Safronov, accused of treason, he will spend another two months in jail. The Moscow City Court recognized the decision of the Lefortovo court as legal and refused to release Ivan Safronov from the pre-trial detention center. The arrest has been extended until May 7, 2021. The Moscow City Court confirms the legality of Safronov's arrest for the fourth time.

The Kremlin called US President Joe Biden's statements about Vladimir Putin "very bad" and assessed their impact on further relations. This was stated by the press secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov. “I can only say that these are very bad statements by the President of the United States,” commented on Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov Biden’s words yesterday about Putin as a “murderer”.

The investment of the "surplus" of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) in investment projects will begin in the coming months, and the Ministry of Finance has already prepared new investment rules that limit the share of the NWF in the project, writes Kommersant . But some projects can "slip" to new restrictions - according to Bloomberg , Rosneft is among the contenders for state money.

Attempts by the state to regulate food prices can lead to losses and, as a result, to the ruin of the largest Russian retailers, , said in an interview with RBC. Vladimir Sorokin, general director of Lenta The profit of retailers is small and so - 1.6–3.6% of revenue, Sorokin noted: “If we are forced to sell at a price lower than that at which we should trade from the point of view of the economy, then we incur losses.

Alfa Bank offered 1 million rubles to help catch phone scammers and uncover illegal call centers. Bankers and experts doubt that this will have an effect. Alfa Bank will pay 1 million rubles for information that "will help to uncover a fraudulent call center or catch criminals working there." In total, 5 million rubles are allocated for these purposes, but with a large flow of useful data, funding can be increased, told RBC.