Momentum grows for global talent

Norway’s fast-growing population of foreign and globally oriented residents are making their presence known and their voices heard, as they try to break into tightly knit Norwegian networks or form their own. The scores of them who packed a private Oslo home on Monday night proved the momentum they’re building, and they even managed to [...]

Minister admits: ‘We have a serious discrimination problem’

A new study has proven what many people in Norway already knew: Your chances of landing a good job in the country are dramatically lower if you don’t have a Norwegian name, and women still face challenges securing executive positions. The findings have upset, even embarrassed, top politicians who like to think Norway is an [...]

Northern Norway sails into oil age

The northern city of Hammerfest was being called “the new Stavanger,” a reference to Norway’s oil capital, as reaction and celebration continued following Statoil’s announcement of a huge new oil discovery just 200 kilometers away. The entire northern region is believed to be on the threshold of a new “golden age” of economic development. “This [...]

Extra billions flowed into state treasury

Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen suddenly found himself with tens of billions of extra kroner as the New Year began, that he hadn’t expected. He says it will come in handy if the Norwegian economy starts feeling the effects of the debt and euro crises elsewhere. The extra money that flowed into the state treasury is [...]

Firms brace for tough year ahead

Norway’s economy has weathered the storms of the past three years but most Norwegian companies are preparing for what some fear may be crisis times ahead. While many see signs of slowdown, though, others aren’t worried and don’t see the euro zone trouble as a major threat. “This is an incredibly difficult and uncertain situation, [...]

Labour rejects trade pact threat

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of the Labour Party has firmly rejected a move by one of his own government partners to trash Norway’s most important trade agreement with the European Union, the so-called EØS-avtalen. Støre was clearly provoked by the Center Party leader’s latest offensive, which may show just how desperate Labour’s troubled partner [...]

Stores notice fall in holiday sales

Norwegian consumers seem to be more careful with their holiday shopping this year, and sales have slipped in comparison to last year. Economists, though, still think Norway will avoid the worst of the global finance crisis and economic slowdown. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported that sales so far in December were down 1.8 percent in [...]

‘We’re crying with our clients’

Several top maritime lawyers who serve Norway’s shipping industry are working even longer days than usual, as miserable shipping markets wreak havoc with the finances of major shipowning companies. Some are comparing the situation to the crisis of the 1970s, when ships came out of the yards, were put straight into lay-up, and shipping fortunes [...]

Central bank cuts interest rates

UPDATED: The executive board of Norway’s central bank (Norges Bank) cut its key lending rate by a full half-point on Wednesday, because of concerns over effects of global financial turbulence and the euro crisis. The move brings the nation’s most important benchmark rate down to 1.75 percent, but bank customers can’t expect to see their [...]

Aker chose ‘The Tromsø Solution’

The northern city of Tromsø was celebrating after industrial firm Aker Solutions chose what it called “The Tromsø Solution” for its Arctic base of operations. The company’s new engineering office for offshore activity in the northern areas may employ as many as 300 persons within five years. Tromsø was chosen over such rival locations as [...]

Shopping season clicks into gear

Parking lots were full at many shopping centers in Norway through the weekend, with retailers legally allowed to stay open on Sunday during the holiday shopping season. An annual bounty of Christmas markets was also in high gear, but high prices left Oslo at the bottom of an international list ranking the Christmas shopping experience. [...]

Banks reluctant to cut dividends

Norway’s central banker and its finance minister have called on the country’s commercial banks to boost their own capital, to better meet financial turmoil. It remains unclear whether the call will be heeded, since the boss of Norway’s biggest bank, DNB, is non-committal about cutting dividends to retain funds. Øystein Olsen, chief of Norway’s central [...]

Norwegians lining up for food

Lines at soup kitchens aren’t just occurring in crisis-struck countries in southern Europe. Some people are waiting more than four hours for food handouts in Oslo as well, when their cash doesn’t last through the month. Unemployment remains low in Norway but those out of work are finding it harder to find jobs. Unemployment benefits [...]

Fewer immigrants arrive in Norway

As the economy shows signs of slowing down in Norway, fewer immigrants from eastern Europe are arriving in the country looking for work. More are still coming from southern Europe, but many find it hard to find a job despite Norway’s low unemployment rate. Newspaper Dagsvisen reported on Wednesday how Theo Nikolaidis from Greece has [...]

Fredriksen vows to save Frontline

Norwegian shipowner and industrialist John Fredriksen, long ranked among the wealthiest men in the world, remains in command of Oslo-based tanker-owning company Frontline. Tankers have always been Fredriksen’s passion, and despite huge losses in a miserable market, he doesn’t seem inclined to let Frontline sink. “John Fredriksen has a desire that no financial creditors will [...]

« Previous Page — Next Page »