Swedish spring budget pledges $1.2 bln in extra spending
STOCKHOLM, April 15(Reuters) - Sweden's government said on Tuesday it will raise spending by around 11.5 billion Swedish crowns ($1.18 billion) this year, to support economic recovery under threat from global trade friction.
"The US decision on significantly raised tariffs has caused concern...However, Sweden is on stable economic ground and able to take further action should the need arise," Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said in a statement.
Svantesson had already warned that economic growth would be negatively affected by uncertainty surrounding the effects of on-again, off-again tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
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Press and Journal
21 minutes ago
- Press and Journal
Ikea to step up presence in Inverness with new lockers in supermarket car park
Welcome back to Planning Ahead – which brings you a round-up of the latest proposals across Inverness. Following Ikea's successful launch of a click and collect service last year, the Swedish furniture giant submitted plans to install 40 pick-up lockers at Tesco Inshes car park. They have now been given the green light. Meanwhile, plans have been submitted to replace the front sign of the High Street's WH Smith with a TG Jones one. It comes just over two months after WH Smith sold its nearly 500 High Street stores to Modella Capital. Plans have also been submitted to build a new active travel path for cyclists and pedestrians north of Inverness. In the last planning ahead, we revealed that an Inverness B&B had submitted plans to transform a garage into short-term let accommodation. Plans to do the exact thing at a property in Dalneigh have now been submitted. Let's get to it this week! Last March, we published that WH Smith had agreed to sell all 500 of its UK High Street shops, which employ around 5,000 people, in a £76 million deal. The 233-year-old British retailer reached a deal to sell the chain to Modella Capital, which will see the stores rebranded as TG Jones. The first steps to convert the WH Smith store on the High Street into a TG Jones shop have now been taken. Plans have been submitted to replace the front sign of the premises with two large blue signs reading TG Jones. The planning application reads that the additions will 'keep with the character of the area and will have very little impact on the surrounding properties.' TG Jones has been chosen by the new owners to evoke a sense of the same long family history that WH Smith has. The offering of the store is expected to remain similar. A new active travel path could be built north of Inverness. The Cawdor & West Nairnshire Community has submitted plans to form a path about half a mile long for cyclists and pedestrians. It would be connected to an existing pathway from Clephanton to Croy that is parallel to the B9091. The proposed new route would initially run along a boundary gap between a conifer woodland and roadside broadleaf strip. It would then go along the edge of a field and the verge of the B9091 by Heathpark. Amid the holiday let boom, the owners of a property on Columba Road have submitted plans to convert a garage into 'habitable accommodation for short term lets'. According to the application, the new short-term let accommodation will be managed by the homeowner. The proposed accommodation would include one bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen/living room area. Ikea lovers are in luck as plans to install dozens of pick-up lockers at a supermarket car park have now been approved. The Swedish retailer has been operating a mobile pick-up point at Tesco Inshes over recent months. The company explained that this has proved 'successful', with the new proposals aiming to provide a 'permanent, secure and attractive service for customers.' The company informed that the pick-up point will no longer be in operation once the lockers are installed. The new facility will be located at the northern end of the car park and will feature a block of 40 storage lockers. It will lead to the loss of around eight to 10 parking spaces at the site. The lockers will be blue and yellow, the colours associated with the IKEA brand, to help customers identify the location. They will be of different sizes and will accommodate a range of orders, from home accessories and homewares to furniture. A safe collection area protected by bollards and integrated LED lighting will be set up in front of the lockers. Customers will be able to collect their order after receiving a six-digit code. Permission has also been granted to install two new Ikea signs above the lockers, which will be internally illuminated at night. A spokesperson for Ikea UK said: 'We're always exploring ways to provide our customers in and around the Inverness area with convenient and cost-effective delivery solutions such as our pick-up lockers. 'As a convenient and accessible way for shoppers to pick up their purchases, our lockers are a popular choice among customers. 'We look forward to sharing more details about our plans and what this means for the local community in due course. 'In the meantime, Inverness residents can shop online, with the option of using our Ikea collection point at Tesco Extra Inverness.'
NBC News
2 hours ago
- NBC News
Wegovy use among U.S. teens up 50% as obesity crisis worsens
American teens are increasingly turning to the weight-loss drug Wegovy as more families and their doctors gain confidence in its use for young people with obesity, new data shared with Reuters shows. The average rate of teens beginning treatment with the highly effective Novo Nordisk drug grew 50% last year to 14.8 prescriptions per 100,000 adolescents, according to an analysis by health data firm Truveta. That's up from a rate of 9.9 prescriptions per 100,000 in 2023, the first full year that Wegovy was available to children aged 12 and older. The average rate climbed further during the first three months of this year, reaching 17.3 new prescriptions per 100,000. That still represents a minute fraction of the estimated 23,000 out of every 100,000 teens in the country who are living with obesity, and is far slower than the uptake among U.S. adults. 'It's promising that more young people are using these medications, but it's still a very small percentage of patients with severe obesity that are getting access to them,' said Dr. Cate Varney, director of obesity medicine at the University of Virginia Health system. 'When lifestyle changes alone are insufficient, we need these additional tools.' For its analysis, Truveta reviewed the electronic health records of 1.3 million patients ages 12 through 17. The data covers 30 U.S. health systems with more than 900 hospitals and 20,000 clinics across the country. The analysis did not include other GLP-1 drugs, including Novo's Ozempic and Eli Lilly's LLY.N Zepbound, which are not approved to treat obesity in adolescents, or compounded versions of these therapies. Wegovy became an option to treat adolescents in late 2022 after decades in which the conventional approaches of diet, exercise and counseling largely failed. About 8 million American teens, or 23% of people ages 12 to 19, have obesity, up from 5% in 1980, according to U.S. government data. Young people with obesity run a much higher risk of developing chronic, costly, life-shortening conditions like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular and liver diseases. In January 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommended that doctors provide weight-loss drugs to children with obesity starting at age 12. Yet the medical community has not uniformly embraced GLP-1s for adolescents. Some doctors are hesitant because the drugs' long-term safety for children during a critical phase of development is unknown, and the treatments may need to be used indefinitely. Overall, there are limited options for many teens and their parents because insurance plans often do not cover any treatment for obesity, including intensive behavioral counseling, visits with a dietician or the new GLP-1 medications. At Nemours Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, the Healthy Weight and Wellness Clinic treated about 2,000 adolescent patients last year. About 25% were prescribed Wegovy or another GLP-1 medication, said Dr. Thao-Ly Phan, the clinic's medical director. The number of adolescents with a GLP-1 prescription nearly doubled from 2023. On average, their patients taking a GLP-1 drug lost 15 pounds (6.8 kg) within 6 to 12 months, and nearly 30 pounds after more than a year. For many of the other patients, the medications were not an option, either because of insurance hurdles or concern within families about potential risks. Other teens opted for lifestyle changes or older, cheaper weight-loss drugs, with some success. 'It is important for us to continue to monitor and better understand outcomes from the medications — both positive and negative — before widespread use,' Phan said. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized the idea of prescribing Ozempic or Wegovy widely to children to treat obesity. In a federal health report he released last month, GLP-1 drugs were cited as an example of the 'overmedicalization of our kids.' It noted a lack of 'long-term safety data, raising the specter of unforeseen problems that interrupt, damage, or impair metabolism and growth development.' Novo in a statement said semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, 'did not appear to affect growth or pubertal development' during its clinical trials involving teens. For many adults, Novo said, obesity starts in childhood or adolescence, and 'we are confident in the proven safety and efficacy of our GLP-1 medicines.' Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug Zepbound is in late-stage clinical trials for use by adolescents. Lilly told Reuters that 'there has been no evidence to date suggesting impairment in growth or metabolism' from GLP-1 medications. Dr. Robert Siegel, a pediatrician and director of the Center for Better Health and Nutrition at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, said about 15% of adolescents being treated there were prescribed Wegovy or a similar GLP-1 medication from July 2021 to July 2023. They include patients being treated for type 2 diabetes for which the GLP-1 drugs were originally developed. Siegel said he prefers to start teens on three to six months of intensive lifestyle management before even considering medication. While obesity specialists can help navigate potential risks from the drugs, many primary-care providers need more training, he said. They may not have the equipment to monitor for the loss of muscle mass — a side effect of these medicines — or lack the resources to work with families over an extended period on healthier eating and exercise. 'These medications are likely to be needed for a very long time to maintain weight,' Siegel said, 'and we only have a relatively short-term experience with them.'
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
IKEA announces sudden closure of UK store that opened just two years ago after customer backlash
One unhappy customer described the outlet as being 'pointless' PACKING UP IKEA announces sudden closure of UK store that opened just two years ago after customer backlash Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IKEA has announced it is closing down a UK store it opened just two years ago following a backlash from customers. The famous Swedish homewares retailer has confirmed the Plan and Order point at the Stockport Merseyway Shopping Centre will cease in just a fortnight's time on June 16. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 IKEA is closing its Plan and Order outlet in Stockport (file photo) Credit: Getty The store in Greater Manchester is a smaller outlet than its usual out-of-town locations and is focused on kitchen, bedroom and living room planning. The aim was to provide somewhere for customers to go to get advice and expertise on home furnishing and somewhere where they could design their ideal fittings and get individual 3D interior plans from the interior designers. According to IKEA, the decision to close the store permanently was made due to 'a result of valuable learnings' where the company recognised their customers wanted a different retail experience, more along the lines of Click and Collect and return services. While the Stockport branch will close for good, other Plan and Order points, such as the ones in Dundee, York and Hull, will be adapted to meet those new demands and also include a small range of home furnishing accessories to buy. The current Stockport customers are now being directed to the next nearest main IKEA store, the branch in Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside. Locals can also now pick up their IKEA purchases from Tesco Extra in Stockport and the Tesco Extra in Stretford as part of Click and Collect. Salma Azad, IKEA area manager said: 'After careful evaluation, we've made the difficult decision to close the IKEA Plan and Order Point at Merseyway Shopping Centre. 'In the two years since opening, we've taken valuable learnings, including how our customers prefer to meet IKEA, and we'll take these insights into future openings, to serve shoppers in a more impactful way. 'I want to sincerely thank all of the customers that have shopped with us in this time. IKEA Manchester, a store locals know and love, will continue to be the closest hub for home planning, meatballs and everything in between.' Bosses had hoped the Plan and Order in Stockport would 'become more accessible and sustainable for customers in the north west'. I did a haul of the new Oxford Street Ikea whilst on my lunch break & I managed to kit out with bargains under £3 However, it did come under criticism from some shoppers. In a Facebook post about the closure, one person wrote: 'I'm not surprised to be honest. It is very small.' While a second added: 'It wasn't the right shop for that place, they'd have been better off setting up an IKEA homeware and food shop there!' A third critic said: 'Really don't know why it opened in the first place. Pointless.' The news comes after IKEA opened its own hotel in the Canary Islands. The location offers cheap rooms, a swimming pool and breakfast is included while also offering some of their most popular homeware items. Why are retailers closing stores? RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis. High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going. However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024. End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker. It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date. This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023. It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns. The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker. Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations. Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes. Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
