Business

Norway's central bank followed other countries' this week in keeping their key interest rates unchanged even as inflation rises. Raising rates could have stemmed price hikes, but also could have further weakened Norway's currency, the krone. "Inflation is too high,...

The British train company that took over operations in southwestern Norway is giving up on running the three train lines Sørlandsbanen, Arendalsbanen and Jærbanen. All of them run between Oslo, Kristiansand and Stavanger, and it's been a bumpy ride...

Norway's international environmental organization Bellona has avoided bankruptcy, after an emergency call for donations was met and even exceeded. Bellona founder and leader Frederic Hauge expressed both "gratitude and humility" on behalf of Bellona's board of directors. Employees had already...

Norway is known for its strict rules around the purchase and consumption of alcoholic beverages, from high taxes to the state monopoly on retail sales. They've been loosening up in recent years, though, and now the government is proposing...

UPDATED: Members of one of Norway's largest trade union federations, Fellesforbundet, could head back to work on Thursday after their hotel- and restaurant employers settled a lengthy strike. The strike continued  for around 350 members of another labour organization,...

Stein Lier-Hansen, once one of Norway's most powerful men, now faces five years in prison and large compensation claims after being found guilty of serious corruption. It's all tied to his long career representing industrial employers in labour negotiations...

Norwegians have long led the world in replacing fossil-fuel vehicles with electric ones, and that's having more consequences than just a decline in emissions. The numbers of petrol/gasoline stations are declining dramatically nationwide. News service Nettavisen reports that 430 stations...

UPDATED: Stein Erik Hagen revolutionized the Norwegian grocery business with the first "low-priced" RIMI chain in 1977, and went on to become one of Norway's wealthiest and most socially committed businessmen. He died of a massive heart attack at...

UPDATED: More than 4,400 workers at Norwegian hotels and restaurants have entered the sixth week of a nationwide strike, and union leaders warn they'll soon impose boycotts. They're seeking higher wages and, most importantly, quicker receipt of sick pay...

An additional 1,487 members of two major trade union organizations have been called off the job at hotels, restaurants and company canteens around the country. That means the strike that began in Oslo and Bergen on April 19 has...

It's getting even more expensive than usual to buy a home in Norway. The central bank (Norges Bank) raised its policy rate by a quarter-point, just after the national real estate brokers' association announced another rise in housing prices. Analysts...

Law enforcement officials and some politicians have been wanting to scrap Norway's thousand-kroner note (currently worth around USD 108), but the central bank has decided to keep it. Norges Bank revealed, however, that there will be fewer of them...

Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor reported disappointing first-quarter earnings this week, as the US' war on Iran hurts its Asian operations. The state-controlled company also faces tumbling share prices, a major class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of former Telenor customers...

The Norwegian krone  has been getting much stronger against the world's most important currencies. On Wednesday it was up 7.8 percent against the US dollar since New Year, and that may fend off a series of interest rate hikes. By...

Norway's spring strike season started off fairly well this year, with settlements that left industrial workers and many others with pay raises averaging 4.4 percent. Employers also agreed to cover sick pay until state workers' compensation clicks in, but...