Russia's central bank has kept the key interest rate at 21%, bucking expectations of a hike to 23%.Russia's top central banker said she is eyeing "excessive cooling" in the economy.Russia's high interest rates are impacting business investments and profits, business leaders complain.Russia's economy has been running hot on wartime activities, prompting the country's central bank to hike rates up to 21% but it's now worried about too much cooling.Elvira Nabiullina, Russia's top central banker, expressed that concern on Friday when she kept the key interest rate unchanged. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected her to hike rates to 23%."Our politics is aimed at prevention of extreme scenarios, which means that we cannot let the economy overheat further," Nabiullina said at a press conference following the rates decision, according to TASS state news agency."It is necessary to make sure that overheating subsides. That said, it is necessary to avoid excessive cooling, which is why we keep a close eye on this," she said.Nabiullina said the central bank kept the interest rate steady as monetary conditions have "tightened even more than was implied by the key rate increase" in October, when the bank raised the rate from 19% to 21%. Russia started the year with its benchmark interest rate at 16%."Consequently, lending growth notably slowed down in November," she said. "We will need some time to assess how steady this deceleration in lending is and how the economy is adjusting to the new conditions."Russian business leaders complain about high interest ratesNabiullina's comments came as Russia's inflation hovered around 8% in the year to November, compared to the target rate of about 4%. Staples, like the price of butter and potatoes, have shot up this year. But the central bank's three straight rate hikes since June may be working, the top central banker signaled."Tough monetary conditions have evolved in the economy, which are to provide for inflation slowdown in coming quarters," she said, per TASS.Russian business leaders have been complaining about the central bank's high interest rates, which they say are stifling business activities.Sergei Chemezov, the CEO of the defense conglomerate Rostec, said in October that record-high interest rates were "eating up" the profit from the company's orders."If we continue to work like this, then most of our enterprises will go bankrupt," Chemezov said.Economic cracks in RussiaEven Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday acknowledged that his country's economy is not in a good place and he blamed the central bank and federal government.The Russian leader said that the central bank could have used instruments other than interest rates to cool the economy and that the federal government could have worked with economic stakeholders to improve supply."There are some issues here, namely inflation, a certain overheating of the economy, and the government and the central bank are already tasked with bringing the tempo down," Putin said during his marathon annual press conference.Price rises had been an "unpleasant and bad" outcome, he said.Given the sweeping sanctions against Russia's economy, Nabiullina faces a challenging job to keep Russia's seemingly resilient economy going.Economic cracks are emerging as the Kremlin focuses on shoring up its defense industry for its war in Ukraine but at the expense of other sectors, Alexandra Prokopenko, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center fellow wrote on Friday.Prokopenko, a former Russian central bank official, wrote that growth momentum could stall next year, with social and fiscal challenges developing into crises around 2026.

Apple is developing smart home locks with face recognition tech.This move aligns with Apple's growing interest in the home devices market.Apple's device would compete with Google's Nest and Amazon's Ring in home security.Apple is reportedly working on bringing its facial recognition technology to home security.The tech giant is developing a smart lock and doorbell that would allow residents to automatically open their home doors by scanning their faces, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.The report said that Apple's doorbell system could work with existing third-party locks or the company could partner with one lock provider to sell a complete product. The technology is still in the early stages and could be released at the end of 2025 at the earliest, the report said.Apple did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.The smart lock adds to Apple's growing interest in the home devices market. Last month, Bloomberg reported that Apple is working on an artificial intelligence-powered, wall-mounted tablet. The iPad-like device could be voice-operated, serve as an intercom, and control home appliances. Earlier this year, Bloomberg also reported that the company is working on building home robots.Not all these developments may come to life. This year, Apple scrapped its car project and stopped efforts to develop a subscription model for the iPhone.The door device couldIt could also allow the iPhone maker to compete withGoogle's NestandAmazon's Ring. These devices have doorbells with a motion sensor that activates the camera and records a video of the surrounding area.Such a product could draw the company into new debates about balancing users' privacy rights and working with law enforcement. Through emergency requests, police departments have received videos from Ring without receiving consent from the owner.Apple and its CEO, Tim Cook, are known for prioritizing user privacy. In 2016, Cook refused to cooperate with the US government to unlock an iPhone used by a shooter in a mass shooting and attempted bombing in San Bernardino, California.

LOCAL FISH COFFEE / DevolutionSave this picture! Zou XunkaiQuanzhou, ChinaArchitects: DevolutionAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:200 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Zou Xunkai Lead Architects: Jiansong Tang, Qi Wang More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Swimmers climbed ashore. Fishermen carrying plastic buckets filled with daily necessities for going out to sea boarded their boats. They met in the middle of two small buildings. This was originally an ice-cutting room next to the ice factory. For many years, it delivered ice to fishing boats that were about to set sail. Now, it is a coffee shop called LOCAL FISH, delivering coffee to strangers who arrived. Motorcycle traffic is frequent. Suntanned local men in the corridor on the second floor of the dangerous building of the ice factory opposite and watched and said: "LOCAL FISH, damn! We have so many of them (the name of the cafe is also a type of fish name) and they still want them", "This is a coffee shop", "Do we have a discount for coffee?"Save this picture!Save this picture!How should a cafe that appeared on the dock due to the transformation of the town be understood and introduced to the local area? This was the consensus that the operators of "LOCAL FISH" Yasan and Amei and we, as the designers, initially needed to reach. After several twists and turns, we defeated a competitor who intended to paint them pink for photos. We tried our best to preserve and restore the original appearance of the building walls corroded by sea salt; exposed steel bars; ice-making, professional cranes, crew introduction phone numbers on the wall, and dense names of ship owners and fishing boat numbers are the dense information network of the fishing port.Save this picture!Save this picture!Because it was originally a space for processing ice, the small building has a unique scale and spatial feeling. We imitated this scale in the design narrow doors and stairs, small passages and turning platforms, but opened large windows to input the surrounding port scenery into the room. The original lifting platform for transporting ice cubes, one was sunk on the first floor, and the other was lifted to the second floor as a small exhibition space.Save this picture!Save this picture!We made a more restrained treatment on some details, so that they are not inconsistent with the rough interface but show a sense of quality. The owner's choice of lamps, furniture and artworks also adds to the decorative style and interest of the small building. Next to the two small buildings, the skeleton of a ship was disassembled and reassembled into the skeleton of a shed. The colorful fishing nets woven by local fishermen were stretched between the skeletons and sparkled in the sun. This is a shady place shared by people waiting to board the ship, people fishing, people from the rescue association, people who swim in winter and people who drink coffee.Save this picture!Save this picture!Next to the two small buildings, the skeleton of a ship was disassembled and reassembled into the skeleton of a shed. The colorful fishing nets woven by local fishermen were stretched between the skeletons and sparkled in the sun. This is a shady place shared by people waiting to board the ship, people fishing, people from the rescue association, people who swim in winter and people who drink coffee.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Quanzhou, ChinaLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeDevolutionOfficeMaterialsMaterials and TagsPublished on December 23, 2024Cite: "LOCAL FISH COFFEE / Devolution" 23 Dec 2024. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1024875/local-fish-coffee-devolution&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save? / You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

As one of the strongest characters in Marvel Rivals, many players will have to play against Luna Snow. She has high damage potential and can quickly escape from enemies trying to pin her down, so it can be a bit of a challenge to take her out. It's really important to understand how to do just that because her Ultimate can completely change the tide of a fight.

Indiana Jones and The Great Circle allow players to secure and wear various disguises in different regions to hide from enemies and enter restricted areas without getting detected. This mechanic is another reason how the game stays true to the movies by allowing Indy to slip into a particular uniform to fool enemies like the Nazis. However, even wearing a disguise won't protect Indy from getting recognized by higher-ranking enemy soldiers, so there's still a level of caution required while infiltrating enemy bases and restricted areas.

Developed by Newcastle-upon-Tyne-based Ubisoft Reflections (formerly Reflections Interactive), the Driver series has been captivating players since the late 1990s. Debuting with the classic title, simply Driver, for the PlayStation 1 and following the exploits of police officer John Tanner for the majority of the series, the focus is mostly on driving in open-world cities.

For a summer event, Rentforevents outdoor movie screen rental turned our park into an open-air cinema. The screen was massive, weather-resistant, and paired seamlessly with their projector and sound equipment. They provided setup assistance, ensuring everything was stable and aligned. A suggestion for outdoor use: check for power outlets or ask about generator options. Also

Hi! I am a beginner sound designer currently working on my portfolio. I am looking for interesting projects to include in it, and yours looks nice. I like its cozy visual style! I noticed that there are still no sound effects in the teaser on your Steam page. Let me know if I can help you with sound design; it's free.

Hi everyone! I am a beginner sound designer and composer for video games, videos, and animations.Currently, I am working on my portfolio. I dont want to redesign existing finished games, which is why Im looking for interesting and unique indie projects. I believe that if Im doing some work for free, it would be great if someone could use it for their benefit. If you are a game developer and your project needs sound effects or music, I would be glad to help!

Fin Design & Effects did a great job in bringing Disneys Nautilus to life with their mastery of creating breath-taking visual effects. The team was assigned to open the film, as they introduce the famous submarine, Nautilus. They built a fully CG tall ship complete with dynamic sails, ropes, and destruction, placed seamlessly into a live action setting. The ocean environment, from calm seas to raging waves, was entirely created, with intricate interaction simulations.One of the exceptional works was on the climax sequence, where they revealed the Halvar cliffs. Fin led the creative lead on this monumental reveal under the guidance of Fin Visual Effects Supervisor Will Gammon, collaborating with other studios and crafting the cliff and pillar environment.Besides these big moments, Fin contributed to many epic underwater shots and beautiful environments that made the series rich with their visual artistry. Nautilus truly shines through their exceptional work.The post Nautilus VFX Breakdown by Fin Design & Effects appeared first on Vfxexpress.