The main events by the morning: October 23

• Argentina abolished the tax service, replacing it with a «simplified» Agency for Fees and Customs Control. As part of this reform, the number of employees of the service was reduced by a third. The authorities claim that this will free citizens from unnecessary bureaucracy and control. Meanwhile, inflation in the country exceeded 200% by the end of 2023.

• The American McDonald's chain has been at the center of a scandal after an outbreak of poisoning caused by E. coli. According to CNBC, the US Department of Health has already recorded 49 cases of infections, of which at least 10 people have been hospitalized and one person has died. The incidents occurred from September 27 to October 11 in several states. Against this background, the company's shares fell by 6-8% yesterday after the end of the main trading.

• Russia has become the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). According to a new IMF report, Russia's share of global GDP by PPP in 2024 reached 3.55%, which allowed it to overtake Japan with its 3.38%. The IMF also revised the forecast of Russian GDP growth for 2025, increasing it from 1.3% to 1.5%.

• Donald Trump has filed a complaint against the British Labour Party for interfering in the US presidential election. According to Politico, this happened after one of the party's representatives stated that they had sent almost 100 of their members to «swing» states to support the Democrats. Trump's lawyer demanded that the Federal Election Commission launch an investigation.

• The state of Texas has filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden. State Attorney General Ken Paxton has requested proof of citizenship for 450,000 registered voters suspected of being illegal migrants. The presidential administration did not respond to the request, which became the reason for the lawsuit.