Latest news with #TomLittle
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Fitch cuts Finland's credit rating amid rising debt
FILE PHOTO: A Finnish flag flies over the City Hall in Helsinki, Finland, February 10, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Little/File photo HELSINKI: Finland suffered its first downgrade in almost a decade after Fitch Ratings cut the Nordic country's credit rating over its failure to rein in ballooning debt. Fitch late last Friday lowered Finland's long-term rating by one level to AA from AA+, the lowest credit grade among the top three rating companies, almost a year after it issued a negative outlook on the debt. Finland's rating at Fitch is now the third-highest, eight levels above junk. 'Finland's high government debt remains on an upward trajectory, and we do not anticipate sufficient fiscal consolidation to stabilise debt over the medium term,' Fitch said in a statement. The news comes as the government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo is attempting to right the course of public finances, which have suffered from consecutive deficits since 2009. The Cabinet's stated target is to stabilise the debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio in 2027. In April, the coalition Cabinet unveiled a €2.3bil (US$2.7bil) package of measures to kickstart growth and investment in the subdued economy. Lower income and corporate tax rates, as well as a smaller levies on food and medicines, are aimed at boosting purchasing power as the economy gradually recovers from two years of contraction, helped by a series of interest-rate cuts by the European Central Bank. Underlying the efforts is an unaddressed structural shift in the export-led country's industries. Successive governments have failed to rein in spending to match the loss of income from key industries, including papermaking and consumer electronics. 'Fitch assesses that the measures already decided are insufficient to stabilise the debt ratio over the medium term, given the high level of government spending (57.7% of GDP in 2024) due to ageing-related costs, social spending and increased defence spending,' it said. — Bloomberg
The Star
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Denmark aims to host world's most powerful quantum computer
Danish flags fly above the streets in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark, January 9, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -The Novo Nordisk Foundation and Denmark's state-owned credit fund said on Thursday they will invest in what they say will be the world's most powerful quantum computer, aiming to revolutionize areas such as drug discovery and materials computing holds the promise of carrying out calculations that would take today's systems millions of years and could unlock discoveries in medicine, chemistry and many other fields where near-infinite seas of possible combinations of molecules confound classical computers. The Novo Nordisk Foundation, the non-profit which controls pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, and Denmark's Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), said in a statement they would invest 80 million euros ($92.93 million) in the initiative called QuNorth. Microsoft, which has its largest quantum lab in Denmark, will provide software and Atom Computing will build the quantum computer. The computer will be named Magne, inspired by Norse mythology where Magne, the son of Thor, is known for his immense strength. Construction will begin in autumn and the computer is expected to be ready by the end of next year. The quantum computer will start operating with 50 logical qubits, Jason Zander, Microsoft's executive vice president, told Reuters. A qubit, short for quantum bit, is the basic unit of information in a quantum computer and a logical qubit is a virtual qubit built from many physical qubits to reliably process quantum information. Last November, Microsoft and Atom created 24 logical qubits, the highest number ever created. "When we get to about 50 logical qubits, that's when we start hitting true quantum advantage," Zander said. "I get to the point where I can run something on a quantum computer that I could not run on a classic computer." "When the machine gets up to 100 (logical qubits), we can start doing science problems, get up to a couple 100s, we can start doing some chemistry and starting to answer things, and then when all the way up to 1,000, now you are solving everything," Zander said. ($1 = 0.8606 euros) (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Stine Jacobsen in CopenhagenEditing by Frances Kerry)
The Star
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Finland notifies UN of withdrawal from landmine ban treaty
FILE PHOTO: A Finnish flag flies over the City Hall in Helsinki, Finland, February 10, 2024. REUTERS/Tom Little/File photo HELSINKI (Reuters) -Finland has notified the United Nations it is leaving the Ottawa Convention that bans the use of anti-personnel landmines, its foreign ministry said late on Thursday. The withdrawal will take effect six months after the notification, in January 2026, the ministry said in a statement. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Poland - all NATO and EU members bordering Russia - have approved withdrawal from the treaty, citing the increased military danger from their neighbour. Earlier in July, Reuters reported that Lithuania and Finland are set to start domestic production of anti-personnel landmines next year to supply themselves, according to officials from the two NATO member states. (Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Stine Jacobsen)
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Denmark expands military service to include women
By Tom Little and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark on Tuesday expanded its military service to include women, as the Nordic country seeks to recruit more soldiers and strengthen its defences amid heightened security concerns across Europe. Under a law passed by Denmark's parliament in June 2023, Denmark will require women turning 18 after July 1, 2025, to register for assessment days for potential military conscription, aligning with measures already in place for men. Until now, women, who last year made up around 24% of all recruits, had been allowed to join the military on a voluntary basis. "In the world situation we're in right now, it's necessary to have more conscripts, and I think that women should contribute to that equally, as men do," Katrine, a recruit in the Danish Royal Life Guard, told Reuters without giving her last name. In Denmark, volunteers are signed up first for conscription, while the remaining numbers are drawn up in a lottery system. The armed forces are in the process of making adjustments in barracks and equipment better suited for women. "There are different things that they need to improve, especially in terms of equipment. Right now, it's made for men, so perhaps the rucksacks are a bit too large and the uniforms are large as well," said Katrine. Denmark, which together with NATO allies last week agreed to boost defence spending, plans to gradually increase the duration of the conscription period from four months to 11 months in 2026 and raise the number of recruits doing military service from around 5,000 now to 7,500 in 2033.
The Star
01-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Denmark expands military service to include women
FILE PHOTO: Volunteers in the Danish Royal Life Guards rest during a training exercise in Hovelte, Denmark, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Little//File Photo COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark on Tuesday expanded its military service to include women, as the Nordic country seeks to recruit more soldiers and strengthen its defences amid heightened security concerns across Europe. Under a law passed by Denmark's parliament in June 2023, Denmark will require women turning 18 after July 1, 2025, to register for assessment days for potential military conscription, aligning with measures already in place for men. Until now, women, who last year made up around 24% of all recruits, had been allowed to join the military on a voluntary basis. "In the world situation we're in right now, it's necessary to have more conscripts, and I think that women should contribute to that equally, as men do," Katrine, a recruit in the Danish Royal Life Guard, told Reuters without giving her last name. In Denmark, volunteers are signed up first for conscription, while the remaining numbers are drawn up in a lottery system. The armed forces are in the process of making adjustments in barracks and equipment better suited for women. "There are different things that they need to improve, especially in terms of equipment. Right now, it's made for men, so perhaps the rucksacks are a bit too large and the uniforms are large as well," said Katrine. Denmark, which together with NATO allies last week agreed to boost defence spending, plans to gradually increasethe duration of the conscription period from four months to 11 months in 2026 and raise the number of recruits doing military service from around 5,000 now to 7,500 in 2033. (Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Tom Little, editing by Franklin Paul)
