ABB wins power plant equipment order in Egypt
ABB the Zurich-based leading power and automation technology group has been awarded an order worth 31 million USD from one of Egypts leading power generation utilities West Delta Electricity Production Company in Alexandria for equipment of a new power plant that will help meet growing demand for electricity in Egypt....

Credit Suisse AES launches algorithmic trading in India
Credit Suisses Advanced Execution Services AES unit has launched algorithmic doing business in Indian equities. Credit Suisse clients can now employ a comprehensive range of AES algorithmic trading strategies for Indian equities enabling them to trade more efficiently and achieve best execution Credit Suisse announced on June 19. This development...

Swisscom IT Services gets majority in Sourcag
Moving into the BPO business Business Process Outsourcing Swisscom IT Services has acquired a 60 percent stake in Sourcag AG from its two main shareholders Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank BLKB and Basler Kantonalbank BKB making it the majority shareholder. Together with Comit a provider of professional services to the financial sector and...

Anglo American dumps Xstratas merger offer
A potential tie-up between Swiss mining group Xstrata and London-based Anglo American perceived as a latest sign of consolidation pressure in the sector after the collapse of a deal by Rio Tinto with China was turned down by Anglo American just one day after Xstratas merger proposal on June 22....

Iceland central bank gets BIS official as new boss
The beleaguered Icelancic banking system which suffered a meltdown in the wake of the worldwide recession has a new leader. Mar Gudmundsson will head the central bank as its governor having served as a senior Bank for International Settlements BIS official. Iceland removed the previous leadership of its central bank...

Iceland comes with rationalisation plan
Icelands government submitted a bill on planned savings measures to state finances at Icelands Althingi parliament on June 19 estimating Euro 73 million to be achieved in increased revenue this year Iceland Review reported. The measures are said to include an increase in the social security tax for employers and...

Q-Free signs Toll road agreement in Brazil
Norwegian provider of road charging systems Q-Free has won a frame agreement for delivering On Board Units OBUs to Centro Gestao Meios de Pagto CGMP in Brazil worth 100 million Norwegian crowns Norway Post reported on June 23. Guaranteed order intake from the largest Brasilian tag distributor is said to...

More jobs in the North Sea
Norwegian Government announced a plan for the development of the Oselvar Field and expansion of the Troll Field in the North Sea estimated to create many new jobs. According to the Department of Oil and Energy the investments on these two fields alone will amount to a total of 10.3...

Statkraft starts its first solar park; in Italy
Norwegian energy provider and largest renewable energy company Statkraft announced construction of its first ever solar park. The power plant will be located in the Latina region 60 kilometers to the south of Rome and will be completed in 2009 Norway Post reported on June 19. With an installed capacity...

Odfjell signs joint venture agreement with NCC
Norwegian shipowners Odfjell SE have signed a 50/50 joint venture agreement with National Chemical Carriers Ltd. Co NCC to establish a company in Dubai to commercially operate their respective fleets of coated IMO 2/3 chemical tankers of 40 000 DWT and above company officials said. They are thus setting up...

Kongsberg wins in Singapore and signs up with Lockheed Martin
Kongsberg Norcontrol IT has been awarded a contract with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore MPA for the future maritime surveillance system that will cover the Singapore Strait and the approaches to Singapore Port. The contract is worth approximately 145 million Norwegian crowns revealed to Kongsberg Gruppen in its...

Nordic countries meet over Icelands EU bid
Leaders of five Nordic nations started a two-day meeting on June 14 to confer over the proposed entrance of Iceland into the European Union DPA reported. The aim of the meeting which takes place in the small town of Egilsstadir in the Eastern part of the island was to provide...

Iceland Foods to raise employment in the UK
Iceland Foods expects to create 3.500 jobs across the UK through the planned opening of 20 new stores this year and the acquisition of 51 former Woolworths outlets. The company already owning the chain of 663 Iceland stores and 45 Cooltrader outlets said it had up to 30 new stores...

ABB grabs 52 million USD power order in Brazil
ABB the Zurich-based leading power and automation technology group was awarded a 52 million USD order from Spanish technology company Abengoa to supply transformers and shunt reactors for projects to interconnect the grids in northern and southern regions of Brazil. ABBs equipment will serve three projects under construction for Manaus...

Economic expectations continue to brighten up in June
According to The Financial Market Test Switzerland carried out by global financial institution Credit Suisse in cooperation with the Centre for European Economic Research ZEW economic expectations continued to brighten up further in June. The relevant Credit Suisse ZEW indicator climbed back into positive numbers for the first time since...

Holcim expands business to Australia and China
Swiss cement giant Holcim will buy Australian operations of Cemex Mexico in a bid to boost its position in the country. The world number two in the cement sector announced on June 15 it had agreed to a sale price of 1.77 billion Swiss Francs in a deal funded entirely...

Nestle to invest heavily in South-east Asia this year
The worlds largest food company Nestle SA said on June 13 it would invest 260 million Swiss Francs in South-east Asia this year to expand its business and manufacturing facilities in the region DPA reported. The ongoing investments demonstrate our confidence in the region chief executive officer Paul Bulcke said...

Romande Energie ewz join for worlds largest wind-farm project
Romande Energie acting through its subsidiary Romande Energie Renouvelable and ewz the electricity utility in Zurich have formed a consortium to launch a wind-farm project in the municipalities of Provence Romairon Fontanezier and Val-de-Travers. Romande Energie will take on a 60 per cent stake and Zurich will own 40 percent...

Rolls Royce trainees head to Norway
The British Rolls Royce Group has decided to establish its maritime training centre for Europe in Aalesund Norway in little more than two years Aftenposten reports. Rapid development of new equipment and a steadily growing number of new vessels with Rolls Royce equipment onboard creating a great need for training...

Telenors 26.6% stake in VimpelCom goes to auction
The Russian Bailiff Service said it had prepared documents to auction off a 26.6% stake in Russian mobile firm VimpelCom held by Norways telecoms giant Telenor. The stake was blocked under a court order in March as part of a long-running dispute between Telenor and Russias Alfa Group the two...

Iceland the UK and Netherlands Agree on Icesave
The government of Iceland has agreed to take a loan of EUR 3.88 billion from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to repay those who lost their savings with the collapse of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki and its online savings unit Icesave. Under the terms of the agreement the money...

Out of time watch jobs are disappearing
The Swiss watch industry has cut even more jobs as the global financial crisis has graded its impact Swiss info reported. Zenith belonging to the French luxury group LVMH has slashed 70 jobs out of 250 following 24 job losses in January. Metalor which specialises in precious metals plans to...

Its automatic ABB wins a big contract in Algeria
ABB the Zurich-based leading power and automation technology group has won a contract worth about USD 223 million from Sonatrach the Algerian oil and gas company for three gas plants in Algeria. Scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2012 the project includes new compressor trains re-instrumentation of existing...

Nespresso´s coffee capsules plant welcomed
Swiss food giant Nestle has opened a second Nespresso factory in canton Vaud to meet fast-growing global demand for its pioneering coffee capsules Swiss info reported.The 300 million Swiss Francs 275 million USD state-of-the-art plant at Avenches located north of Lausanne is said to be able to produce 4.8 billion...

Swiss government rethinks its share in UBS
On May 9 The Swiss Federal Department of Finance announced an it was in talks with various parties in order to assess its options about the share it bought last year from the banking giant UBS AG as part of a bail-out plan to help the troubled institution. The department...

EFTA News - New Europe News
EFTA News - New Europe News: The European News Source.

 

Selling America for Designer Boots, Top Hats and Thimbles
Like a near-concluded game of Monopoly, America is selling off its last properties to maintain its lavish lifestyle.

theTrumpet.com: Scandanavia
theTrumpet.com -- Understand your world.

 

Seized Telenor Stake in a Russian Company Moves Toward Sale
A court seized the Norwegian telecommunications company’s stake in VimpelCom after it refused to pay a $1.7 billion fine in a legal dispute with a Russian cellphone company.

Despite Energy Reserves, Norway Slips Into Recession
The government still has a healthy budget surplus, but the gross domestic product for Norway contracted for its second consecutive quarter.

Norway Wins, While Russia Calls the Tune
A Belarussian-born, Russian-speaking singer representing Norway took first place in the annual Eurovision song competition held here over the weekend, against a backdrop of controversy after the police cracked down on a gay rights rally.

Norway Song a Winner
Celebratory crowds took to the streets of Oslo on Sunday to mark Norway’s victory at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Thriving Norway Provides an Economics Lesson
Instead of spending its oil riches, Norway saved, and it is now growing in the midst of the global recession.

Norwegian Stake in Russian Joint Venture Seized
A Siberian court’s seizure of Telenor’s shares in a Russian cellphone company rekindled investors’ fears.

Norwegian Nobel Laureate, Once Shunned, Is Now Celebrated
Knut Hamsun welcomed the German occupation of Norway during World War II. Now his reputation is being rehabilitated during a yearlong 150th birthday celebration.

2 Adults Slain Outside Norwegian School
A woman was killed and a man was seriously injured in a shooting outside an elementary school more than 200 miles above the Arctic Circle.

OPEC Plans Further Output Cut
The cartel will slash its oil production by a further 2 million barrels a day, the Saudi oil minister said.

Randy Scandinavia? Calm Down, Boys, You’re Misinformed
What happened to the image of Scandinavia as the frigid tundra of hot sex?

$2.5 Billion Is Added to Bailout for Iceland
Iceland finally received international backing for its bailout plan on Thursday, as Nordic countries followed up a $2.1 billion loan by the International Monetary Fund.

Women Gain in Education but Not Power, Study Finds
A study found that women still lag far behind men in top political and decision-making roles, though their access to education and health care is nearly equal.

Iceland Turns to Neighbors to Prevent a Collapse
As its stock market dropped almost 80 percent, Iceland said it drew $273.2 million from the central banks of Norway and Denmark.

Norway Finds Virtue (and Value) in Transparency
Yngve Slyngstad, who became the Pension Fund’s chief executive in January, has witnessed firsthand how the market’s latest convulsions affect a fund of this magnitude.

Prematurity May Lead to Adult Problems
Premature babies, even those with no apparent treatable medical problems, may face an increased risk of medical and social disabilities in adulthood.

NYT > Norway
World news about Norway, including breaking news and archival articles published in The New York Times.

 

Man killed by lightning
A 31-year-old man was struck and killed by lightning in Persberg, outside Filipstad in western Sweden on Friday evening.

Holidays delay 16-year- olds' murder trial
The prosecution of two 16-year-olds for the murder of a 15-year-old girl in the Stockholm suburb of Stureby has been delayed almost two months because the forensic expert is on holidays, infuriating the defence lawyer.

Man bashed by urinating gang
A man was seriously assaulted by a gang of urinating youths in Umeå on Friday night, sustaining serious injuries.

Sweden raps Iran over British Embassy arrests
The Swedish Foreign Ministry summoned Iran's ambassador on Friday as part of a coordinated EU protest over the detention of British embassy employees in Tehran.

Convicted terrorist back in Sweden
A 21-year-old Swedish man who was convicted of terror-related crimes in Bosnia-Hercegovina has been transferred to a Swedish prison.

Sweden's presidency hit by Barroso setback
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt announced on Friday that no decision will be made in July as to the eventual re-election of European Commision President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Shrugging off news of my shrinking baby
In the first of a new series, Joel Sherwood explains that fatherhood in Sweden is going so well that he isn't even particularly fazed by news that his child is growing smaller.

Borg bashes business group 'ideologues'
Sweden's finance minister Anders Borg lashed out at the country's business community on Friday, calling Sweden's main business group "ideological megaphones" who've shirked their responsibility during the economic crisis.

Summer Rail Destinations: Stockholm
The antiquity of Gamla Stan, the forests of Djurgården, the cliffs of Södermalm and of course the surrounding blue sea: all these elements combine to help make Stockholm one of the world's most beautiful cities.

Supreme Court in landmark rape rulings
Testimony from the victim of an alleged rape is not sufficient to secure a conviction without additional supporting evidence, Sweden's highest court ruled on Friday.

Ericsson wins China broadband order
Ericsson has been awarded contracts to provide broadband internet in China in cooperation with three telecom operators, the Swedish mobile phone network supplier said on Friday.

Stolen Mongolian crown found at police station after 20 years
A decorative Mongolian silver crown stolen in 1984 from a Stockholm museum has been found on the premises of the Swedish Police Service, where it has spent more than twenty years in accidental storage.

Swedes' unpaid debts continue to pile up
Swedes' cumulative unpaid debts reached a new record of 62.2 billion kronor ($7.9 billion) in June, with Swedes at the higher end of the earnings scale finding it increasingly hard to pay their bills.

EU mulls diplomatic pullout in Iran: Sweden
The Swedish Foreign Ministry has said the EU is considering taking action if Iran fails to release British embassy staff being held in the capital Tehran.

Suicide link in mother and child killing
Police in Stockholm who discovered a young woman and her infant son dead in an apartment late on Thursday night suspect the killings may be related to the suicide of a man who jumped in front of a train.

The Local - Sweden's news in English
Swedish news throughout the day from The Local

 

In Finland, a Man of Politics, Without His Cloth
The Rev. Mitro Repo, an energetic Finnish Orthodox priest, won a seat in the European Parliament by bucking strict rules about mixing politics and piety.

In Finland, Nuclear Renaissance Runs Into Trouble
A Finnish project suggests a new generation of reactors will be no easier or less costly to build than in the past.

Porsche Finds Fortune From Unlikely Outsourcing
Instead of outsourcing to cheaper production markets, Porsche has been using Finnish factories, yet it remains profitable.

$2.5 Billion Is Added to Bailout for Iceland
Iceland finally received international backing for its bailout plan on Thursday, as Nordic countries followed up a $2.1 billion loan by the International Monetary Fund.

Finland Sees a Familiar Pattern in Photos From the Georgia Conflict
One of the stranger questions to emerge after the August conflict between Russia and Georgia: Did Russians go to war wearing a camouflage design filched from Finland?

Women Gain in Education but Not Power, Study Finds
A study found that women still lag far behind men in top political and decision-making roles, though their access to education and health care is nearly equal.

Former Finnish President Wins Nobel Peace Prize
Martti Ahtisaari has worked to end conflicts in troubled spots around the world for more than three decades.

Hot Lixx Rocks Finland
An American who goes by the stage name Hot Lixx Hulahan won the 2008 Air Guitar Championship in Oulu, Finland.

With India’s First Gold, Suddenly a Billion People Notice the Olympics
Abhinav Bindra became the first-ever Indian to take home an individual Olympic gold medal, beating top Chinese and Finnish competitors in the 10-meter air rifle shooting competition.

Iraqi Parties, After Meetings in Finland, Agree on Principles to Guide Further Talks
The document that Iraq’s fractious groups agreed upon was the first step in a process that experts in reconciliation say could take decades.

Identities on Display: Bonding at the Museum
The contemporary identity museum is the kind of institution that is as central for our time as the imperial art museum was for 19th-century Europe.

Cool, Hot and Finnish, With a Dose of Mythic Imagination
Urgent emotions and irrational fantasies run through “Arctic Hysteria: New Art From Finland” at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center.

ARTS, BRIEFLY; Special Paper Required For Harry Potter Book
Author J K Rowling blocks publication of Finnish version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows because edition lacked ecologically friendly certification she favors

U.S. Given Poor Marks on the Environment
The U.S. ranks at the bottom of the Group of 8 industrialized nations in the analysis conducted by researchers at Yale and Columbia Universities.

A Finnish Turf Battle Pits Wolf Against Reindeer Herder
A town in Finland is on the front line of the country’s wolf wars, a fight between backers of E.U. regulations meant to maintain the population of wolves and the roughly 7,000 reindeer herders.

NYT > Finland
World news about Finland, including breaking news and archival articles published in The New York Times.

 

Fondly, Greenland Loosens Danish Rule
The largely frozen country has ushered in a new era of self-governance, paving the way for independence from Denmark.

U.S. Backs Dane for NATO Post Amid Turkey’s Objections
The United States has thrown its support behind the Danish prime minister as the new secretary general of NATO, but must now try to get Turkey to agree, senior officials said.

Flemming Flindt, Dancer, Dies at 72
Mr. Flindt was a Danish dancer, choreographer and company director who both preserved his country’s ballet heritage and staged controversial new productions.

Fertility Drugs and Ovarian Cancer Not Linked, Study Says
A Danish study found “no convincing association” with the cancer, though researchers said they would continue to follow their subjects to see if risk increased with age.

Europe to Ask Wealthy Nations to Adopt Carbon Trading System
The European Commission was preparing an appeal on Friday to wealthy countries and to the United States in particular to adopt carbon trading to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

For Intimate Music, the Boldest of Designs
Jean Nouvel’s Copenhagen Concert Hall, which opened on Saturday evening, is a loving tribute to Hans Scharoun’s 1963 Berlin Philharmonie.

Something Forgotten in an Eerie Denmark
“Just Another Love Story” administers a stinging slap in the face to the popular notion of Denmark as one of the happiest places on earth.

Danish Navy Rescues Suspected Pirates
A Danish warship on patrol to thwart piracy in the Gulf of Aden ended up rescuing seven of its presumed prey when its crew found suspected Somali pirates adrift.

Some Nations That Spurned the Euro Reconsider
European governments that have been forced to defend their currency now see a value in a common currency.

Greenland Vote Favors Independence
In a referendum, the people of Greenland voted overwhelmingly in favor of loosening their 300-year-old ties to Denmark.

Greenland Vote Favors Independence
Greenland voted heavily in favor of self-rule, in a referendum that paves the way for independence from Denmark and gives Greenland rights to lucrative Arctic resources, final results showed.

Greenland to Vote on More Independence From Denmark
The world’s largest island has been gaining more autonomy for decades but still depends on Denmark for much of its budget.

$2.5 Billion Is Added to Bailout for Iceland
Iceland finally received international backing for its bailout plan on Thursday, as Nordic countries followed up a $2.1 billion loan by the International Monetary Fund.

European Banks Reduce Rates, Some Sharply
The European Central Bank reduced its benchmark rate by a half percentage point, while the Bank of England cut rates by a startling 1.5 percentage points.

Denmark Is Rethinking Its Spurning of the Euro
Affected by the financial crisis, Denmark, a member of the European Union that has so far refused to abandon its currency for the euro, is finding out how difficult it can be to go it alone.

NYT > Denmark
World news about Denmark, including breaking news and archival articles published in The New York Times.

 

Premier Wants Iceland to Join European Union
Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, buoyed by an election victory, said she would move to protect her country’s battered economy.

At the Polls, Icelanders Punish Conservatives
The country’s leftist caretaking government appeared to be formally voted into power.

Deserted
Iraqi Palestinians are double refugees. Their ancestors fled Palestine 60 years ago, and now they are trying to flee Iraq.

Vanity Fair Article Draws Outcries From Iceland
Michael Lewis’s depiction of Iceland in an article about the country’s economic collapse struck some as unfair.

Ireland? Iceland? Doubts on Doomsday Scenario in Eire
The stunning economic fall of Iceland late last year has ignited fears that Ireland may suffer a similar fate.

A Crisis Is Separating Eastern Europe’s Strong From Its Weak
Financial problems have reached the Danube, even in a relatively resilient economy like the Czech Republic’s.

Icelandic Firm Seeks Creditor Protection
Baugur, which became a symbol for the boom and rapid decline of Iceland’s economy, filed for creditor protection on Wednesday after talks with its biggest lender broke down.

Iceland Names New Prime Minister
Johanna Sigurdardottir is a political veteran who has served for long periods as social affairs minister. She also appears to be the modern world’s first openly gay head of government.

Iceland’s Government Collapses
Large anti-government demonstrations in Iceland have been mirrored elsewhere in Europe, but the largest economies have been spared.

Some Nations That Spurned the Euro Reconsider
European governments that have been forced to defend their currency now see a value in a common currency.

$2.5 Billion Is Added to Bailout for Iceland
Iceland finally received international backing for its bailout plan on Thursday, as Nordic countries followed up a $2.1 billion loan by the International Monetary Fund.

Concession by Iceland Clears Path for I.M.F. Aid
Iceland said that it had agreed to cover European depositors at failed banks, breaking an impasse that had held up the dispersal of billions of dollars in international aid.

Bailout of Iceland Held Up by Disputes Over Compensating Foreign Savers
The $6 billion bailout of Iceland appeared to be on hold amid haggling over how the country would compensate overseas customers who lost deposits in failed Icelandic banks.

Stunned Icelanders Struggle After Economy’s Fall
The loss in Iceland after its economic collapse goes beyond the personal, shattering a proud country’s sense of itself.

Iceland, Mired in Debt, Blames Britain for Woes
Britain has provoked anger by using an antiterrorism law to freeze British assets in a failing Icelandic bank.

NYT > Iceland
World news about Iceland, including breaking news and archival articles published in The New York Times.