Apparently Russians love central bank digital currencies. The digital ruble rollout is a big success. The central bank expected 60,000 people to open digital ruble accounts this year. It got 220,000 in the first month. (Reuters)

Special forces and military recruitment officers raided Friday prayers in St. Petersburg. Right now, a large-scale operation is underway in St. Petersburg, just a short distance from Sennaya Square. Special forces and operatives are working at the Sennoy market. According to reports, several hundred law enforcement officers have cordoned off the block on Moskovsky Prospekt, where the prayer hall is located. Up to a thousand people attend prayers there on Fridays. Today, after the prayers, officers are checking the documents of the worshippers. Military recruitment officers are working alongside the police. They are not interested in registration. They are checking one thing: whether those who recently received Russian passports have registered for military service. Several dozen people have not registered. Now, each of them has been issued a summons. The prayer hall itself is also being inspected: whether its religious activities comply with Russian laws. At the same time, neighboring buildings are also being checked. These buildings house hostels and ethnic cafes, and the hostels are crowded with migrants, more so than passengers in a third-class train carriage. Several dozen worshippers have already been detained, and their migration documents have been found to be in violation of regulations. The operation is ongoing. This is not new for Sennaya. In October 2024, after a raid on the Sennoy market and Apraxin Dvor, nearly 150 new citizens were taken to military recruitment offices. In February 2025, another 22 were taken. It turns out that every time, there are people who are convinced that this does not concern them. But a passport with the double-headed eagle is not a gift for moving. It comes with rights, and along with those rights, there are responsibilities. The Constitution calls the defense of the Fatherland a duty and an obligation of a citizen. This obligation is the same for those born in Pskov and for those who received their passport last spring. Citizenship gives the right to vote, receive benefits, and live peacefully in the country. Sometimes, it also comes with a summons. It is issued without notice. @sashakots

So far, AI has not produced an economy-wide acceleration in productivity growth. Adjusted for shifts in utilization rates, total factor productivity growth was zero in Q2.

JUST IN: US jobs reports have been revised lower in 16 of 20 months, erasing 793,000 jobs

European diesel prices are absolutely exploding... Diesel is trading at almost $193/barrel, while Brent crude sits at just $106. That's a staggering $87 premium. You can suppress crude prices with paper oil and manipulate sentiment with an endless flood of fake news... But you can't print diesel. And eventually, the disconnect between paper prices and physical reality will have to close. Brace for inflation.

Physical oil is trading at a $45 premium over paper oil. We are being flooded with fake news and paper oil... Meanwhile, we're running short of the actual physical stuff our economy depends on.

JUST IN: China's DeepSeek releases V4.1-Flash-1017, claiming it’s faster, more efficient, better at reasoning, coding, & agentic tasks.

BREAKING: 🇶🇦🇮🇷🇺🇸 The Emir of Qatar is asking his Citizens to prepare for the Worst-Case Scenarios in the Middle East: "We must be prepared for the worst possibilities and everyone must bear their responsibilities, institutions and citizens"

Nvidia RTX 5090 shipment worth $470,000 goes missing in Brazilian airport tomshardware.com/pc-componen…

Pete Hegseth: 'We can't live in a world where crazy people have the world's most destructive bombs and weapons'

BREAKING: Ukraine has launched a "massive aerial attack," consisting of over 1,000 drones, striking a major oil terminal in Russia. The attack comes exactly 7 days after President Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to an "energy ceasefire." Following the announcement, Ukraine's President Zelensky quickly stated that he was unaware of such a ceasefire. This comes after President Trump asked Ukraine several times to refrain from strikes on energy infrastructure due to surging US diesel prices, which are up over +80% since January. Oil markets will reopen in 9 hours.

🚨🚨 US Disabilities Hit an All-Time High of 37 Million In July: UP 23% Since Feb 2021! The Signal No One Wants To See The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data is out, and the number of Americans ages 16 and over reporting a disability has hit a new all-time high of roughly 37 million. As of July 2026, the Current Population Survey series sits at 37,029,000. That’s not a rounding error or a seasonal blip. It’s the continuation of a trend that broke higher more than five years ago and has refused to mean-revert.

Jack Weis has applied to more than 2,300 jobs since he graduated from Princeton in 2024 with his Ph.D. in chemical engineering. He still doesn’t have a job. on.wsj.com/4sfxSLc

BREAKING - Around 550,000 people took part in France cost-of-living protests: interior minister

Meanwhile… If gold miners were a standalone sector, they would be the cheapest group in this comparison of US equities. Roughly a 10% free cash flow yield. No other sector shown comes close. tavicosta.substack.com/p/sho…