Latest news with #TerjeSolsvik
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
Swedish police suspect shots were fired near mosque in Orebro
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish police suspect that shots have been fired near a mosque in the city of Orebro west of Stockholm, they said in a statement on Friday. (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik)
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Fintech Klarna's second-quarter revenue up 20% year-on-year
FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured at the entrance of Klarna's headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden on May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Supantha Mukherjee/File Photo OSLO (Reuters) -Swedish fintech Klarna, which in April paused plans for an initial public offering in the United States, said on Thursday its second-quarter revenue grew 20% from a year ago on a like-for-like basis while adjusted profits increased slightly. Klarna's April-June revenue grew to $823 million in the quarter, while its adjusted operating profit stood at $29 million, an increase of $1 million from the same quarter of last year, its earnings report showed. The number of active Klarna customers rose to 111 million in the quarter, an increase of 31% year-on-year, the company said. Klarna, which helped reshape online shopping with its short-term financing model, in April halted its plans for a U.S. stock market listing amid recession fears and uncertainty over tariffs, sources familiar with the situation said at the time. The company had made its paperwork public in March for a long-awaited stock market debut, after it started the process of going public for a second time in three years in November 2024. Klarna did not say when it might resume an initial public offering. Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, last month reported that the company's IPO could take place as soon as September. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Essi Lehto and Tomasz Janowski)
The Star
24-07-2025
- Climate
- The Star
Danish police evacuate music festival amid heavy rain
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Danish police evacuated a music festival on Thursday and warned people in the west coast city of Esbjerg to stay indoors amid flooding caused by a cloudburst. "Heavy rain came and we assessed that it was necessary to shut down the concert," a police spokesperson said. Police had initiated the evacuation of some 20,000 people, he said, adding there were no reports of injuries. Festival organisers said on Facebook that the rest of Thursday's programme would be cancelled due to safety concerns. Broadcasters DR and TV showed images of cars in Esbjerg that were partly submerged, and people wading through water in the city of around 71,500 inhabitants. "It is advised against going outside. Unnecessary driving is discouraged," the police said in a post on social media X. Several parts of the Scandinavian region are currently subject to flood warnings. (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Ed Osmond)
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As war and tariffs fog the outlook, some central banks trim rates
By John Revill and Terje Solsvik ZURICH (Reuters) -The Swiss and Norwegian central banks became the latest European rate-setters to ease monetary policy on Thursday, citing a weaker inflation outlook that contrasted sharply with the Federal Reserve's warnings about higher U.S. prices. The Bank of England kept rates on hold as expected, while flagging that they would remain on a "gradual downward path" in a finely balanced statement that also acknowledged "heightened unpredictability" in the global environment. U.S. President Donald Trump's haphazard threats of heavy trade tariffs and an escalating Israel-Iran conflict have left top central banks trying to steer policy in conditions of near-unprecedented uncertainty for the global economy. Speaking after a two-day meeting where Fed policymakers kept rates on hold, the U.S. central bank's chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday laid out how import tariffs imposed on America's trading partners will drive up prices for U.S. consumers. Trump is due in coming days to say whether tariffs currently pegged at a 10% baseline will rise - in some cases to more than double that level - in a move seen weakening the global economy and so keeping a lid on inflation pressures in many countries. "Inflationary pressure has decreased compared to the previous quarter," the Swiss National Bank said as it cut rates by 25 basis points to zero and did not rule out returning to negative rates. In a move that took most analysts by surprise, even Norway's central bank - long the most hawkish of major central banks - also cut its policy rate by 25 basis points said there were more cuts to come due to a more benign outlook for prices. "Inflation has declined since the monetary policy meeting in March, and the inflation outlook for the coming year indicates lower inflation than previously expected," Governor Ida Wolden Bache said of inflation which slowed to 2.8% in May. That mirrored the view taken by Sweden's central bank, which cut its key interest rate to 2.00% from 2.25% on Wednesday and said that, with price pressures weak, it may ease further before the end of the year to boost sluggish growth. On June 6, the European Central Bank cut its main interest rate for the eighth time in the past year and signalled a pause in policy easing at least next month because inflation was now safely back at its 2% target after three years of overshooting. CAUTION, LITTLE CONVICTION Earlier this week the Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady and said it would move cautiously in removing remnants of its massive, decade-long stimulus. Governor Kazuo Ueda said the BOJ's near-term focus was on downside risks, notably the hit from U.S. tariffs. The latest set of central bank decisions, covering most of the Group of 10 major currencies and their economies, gives a snapshot of the impact policymakers expect significantly less free global trade to have. For the U.S. economy, the Fed sketched a modestly stagflationary picture, with growth in 2025 slowing to 1.4%, unemployment rising to 4.5%, and inflation ending the year at 3%, well above the current level. Fed policymakers signalled borrowing costs are still likely to fall in 2025, but chair Powell cautioned against putting too much weight on that view. "No one holds these ... rate paths with a great deal of conviction, and everyone would agree that they're all going to be data-dependent," he said. For other economies, the consensus for now is that the tariffs will inevitably hit their local industries and so weaken growth and jobs - but at least their consumers will be spared the inflationary hit coming for their U.S. counterparts. That all could change, depending on whether the escalation of conflict in the Middle East drives oil prices substantially higher than the gains seen so far and whether America's trading partners end up retaliating with tariffs of their own. That will become clearer from July 9, when Trump has said countries will face higher tariffs across the board unless they reach a deal with him. (Additional reporting by Howard Schneider in Washington; Leika Kihara in Tokyo; Simon Johnson in Stockholm; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Catherine Evans) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As war and tariffs fog the outlook, some central banks trim rates
By John Revill and Terje Solsvik ZURICH (Reuters) -The Swiss and Norwegian central banks became the latest European rate-setters to ease monetary policy on Thursday, citing a weaker inflation outlook that contrasted sharply with the Federal Reserve's warnings about higher U.S. prices. The Bank of England kept rates on hold as expected, while flagging that they would remain on a "gradual downward path" in a finely balanced statement that also acknowledged "heightened unpredictability" in the global environment. U.S. President Donald Trump's haphazard threats of heavy trade tariffs and an escalating Israel-Iran conflict have left top central banks trying to steer policy in conditions of near-unprecedented uncertainty for the global economy. Speaking after a two-day meeting where Fed policymakers kept rates on hold, the U.S. central bank's chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday laid out how import tariffs imposed on America's trading partners will drive up prices for U.S. consumers. Trump is due in coming days to say whether tariffs currently pegged at a 10% baseline will rise - in some cases to more than double that level - in a move seen weakening the global economy and so keeping a lid on inflation pressures in many countries. "Inflationary pressure has decreased compared to the previous quarter," the Swiss National Bank said as it cut rates by 25 basis points to zero and did not rule out returning to negative rates. In a move that took most analysts by surprise, even Norway's central bank - long the most hawkish of major central banks - also cut its policy rate by 25 basis points said there were more cuts to come due to a more benign outlook for prices. "Inflation has declined since the monetary policy meeting in March, and the inflation outlook for the coming year indicates lower inflation than previously expected," Governor Ida Wolden Bache said of inflation which slowed to 2.8% in May. That mirrored the view taken by Sweden's central bank, which cut its key interest rate to 2.00% from 2.25% on Wednesday and said that, with price pressures weak, it may ease further before the end of the year to boost sluggish growth. On June 6, the European Central Bank cut its main interest rate for the eighth time in the past year and signalled a pause in policy easing at least next month because inflation was now safely back at its 2% target after three years of overshooting. CAUTION, LITTLE CONVICTION Earlier this week the Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady and said it would move cautiously in removing remnants of its massive, decade-long stimulus. Governor Kazuo Ueda said the BOJ's near-term focus was on downside risks, notably the hit from U.S. tariffs. The latest set of central bank decisions, covering most of the Group of 10 major currencies and their economies, gives a snapshot of the impact policymakers expect significantly less free global trade to have. For the U.S. economy, the Fed sketched a modestly stagflationary picture, with growth in 2025 slowing to 1.4%, unemployment rising to 4.5%, and inflation ending the year at 3%, well above the current level. Fed policymakers signalled borrowing costs are still likely to fall in 2025, but chair Powell cautioned against putting too much weight on that view. "No one holds these ... rate paths with a great deal of conviction, and everyone would agree that they're all going to be data-dependent," he said. For other economies, the consensus for now is that the tariffs will inevitably hit their local industries and so weaken growth and jobs - but at least their consumers will be spared the inflationary hit coming for their U.S. counterparts. That all could change, depending on whether the escalation of conflict in the Middle East drives oil prices substantially higher than the gains seen so far and whether America's trading partners end up retaliating with tariffs of their own. That will become clearer from July 9, when Trump has said countries will face higher tariffs across the board unless they reach a deal with him. (Additional reporting by Howard Schneider in Washington; Leika Kihara in Tokyo; Simon Johnson in Stockholm; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Catherine Evans) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
