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☆ Factbox: FACTBOX European companies cut jobs as economy sputters
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaDec 7 (Reuters) - Decades-high inflation and the impact of war in Ukraine have forced companies across Europe into lay-offs or hiring freezes. * FINNAIR (FIA1S.HE): the Finnish airline will cut about 150 jobs, of which 90 are in its home country, as part of a plan to return to profitability. * MICHELIN (MICP.PA): the tyre maker plans to cut up to 1,600 jobs in France, fewer than the 2,300 estimated in its initial voluntary redundancy plan as it seeks to safeguard production. * HUSQVARNA (HUSQb.ST): the garden equipment and tools maker will cut 1,000 jobs, the vast majority of them related to the shift from petrol to battery-powered tools. * H&M (HMb.ST): the Swedish fashion giant, which employs roughly 155,000 people, will cut some 1,500 jobs as part of a 2 billion crown ($189.5 million) savings drive.

☆ Factbox: European companies cuts jobs as economy sputters
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Buy-now, pay-later kingpin Klarna's valuation dropped from $45.6 billion to $6.7 billion in 2022. Its CEO wants a 'sane market' before IPO.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Buy-now, pay-later firm Klarna wants 'a sane market' before IPO. The company is losing hundreds of millions of dollars annually, but says it is reducing credit losses. Klarna took a valuation haircut to $6.7 billion and carried out two rounds of job cuts in 2022. At one time, the company was the most highly valued startup in Europe with a valuation of $45.6 billion. That plunged by 85% to just $6.5 billion as the company raised again this year in a tougher market.

☆ Turkey says it expects more extraditions from Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sweden on Friday deported Turkish citizen Mahmut Tat, who had sought asylum in Sweden in 2015 after being sentenced in Turkey to six years and 10 months in jail for alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). "This is a good start from Sweden that shows their sincerity and goodwill. We hope new (extraditions) will follow in line with this sincerity," Bozdag said in a televised interview with state broadcaster TRT Haber. However, he made clear that Turkey expected further moves from Stockholm before it could ratify Sweden's NATO application. "In line with the trilateral memorandum with Sweden and Finland, they should lift all (arms) embargoes on Turkey, change their legislation for the fight against terrorism, and extradite all terrorists that Turkey wants.

☆ Sweden extradites man with alleged terrorism links to Turkey, media report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Sweden on Friday extradited a Kurdish man with alleged links to terrorism to Turkey as Ankara keeps up pressure on the Nordic country to meet its demands in return for NATO membership, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday. Mahmut Tat had sought asylum in Sweden in 2015 after being sentenced in Turkey for six years and 10 months for alleged links to the Kurdish militant group the PKK. Turkish state television TRT said Tat was sent to an Istanbul prison on Saturday. Turkey said on Wednesday that Sweden and Finland had made progress towards NATO membership but that they still needed to do more to satisfy Ankara's demands on tackling terrorism. Others wanted by Ankara are people with alleged links to Fethullah Gulen - a Turkish cleric who lives in the United States and is accused of orchestrating 2016 failed coup attempt against Erdogan.

☆ Ukraine war shows Europe too reliant on U.S., Finland PM says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shown that Europe is too reliant on the United States for its own security, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Friday. We would be in trouble without the United States," Marin told an audience at the Lowy Institute. She added she had spoken with many U.S. politicians who had said they think Europe should be stronger. "The United States has given a lot of weapons, a lot of financial aid, a lot of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Europe isn't strong enough yet," Marin said. "We have to make sure that we are building those capabilities when it comes to European defence, European defence industry."

☆ Arctic data cable linking Europe to Japan secures first investment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The subsea cable, which the developers say will be the first to be laid on the Arctic seabed, will connect Europe and Japan via North America as part of the global internet infrastructure. An earlier plan to run the cable along the Russian Arctic coastline, in a venture with Russia's second-biggest mobile phone operator Megafon (MFON.MM), was cancelled last year. This was due to Russia's increased reluctance to authorise the cable being laid in its territorial area, Finland's Cinia, the company leading the Far North Fiber consortium, said. Far North Fiber is a joint venture between Cinia, U.S.-based Far North Digital and Japan's Arteria Networks (4423.T). Far North Fiber gave no value for the investment but a source said one pair of fibres was worth around 100 million euros, with a further 100 million in maintenance costs required throughout its 30-year lifespan.

☆ This startup comes up with cash offers for homeowners in 24 hours. Check out the pitch deck Rive used to raise a $24 million Series A to make buying and selling real estate easier.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Finnish proptech Rive has just closed a 23 million euros (around $24 million) Series A funding round. We got an exclusive look at the 14-slide pitch deck Rive used to raise the cash. While listing some properties on the market, Rive also has a portfolio of its own. Rive gives sellers cash offers with time frames that suit their moving plans. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck the company used to raise the cash below.

☆ Rates and recession: European shares face rocky start to 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Danilo Masoni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

For the coming months, though, investors fear euro zone equities could lag other markets. "The economic outlook looks challenging as our economists forecast a recession in the euro zone," said Marc Haefliger, Head of Global Equity Strategy at Credit Suisse in Zurich. The economic slowdown will hit the cyclical euro zone market disproportionately," he added. The STOXX index of the euro zone's top 50 blue chip stocks (.STOXX50E) is seen falling another 7.9% from Friday's close to 3,650 points by mid-2023. Among country benchmarks, Germany's DAX (.GDAXI) is seen ending the first half of 2023 at 13,209, down 9.2% from Friday's close.

☆ CEO of $4.5 billion tech firm slams his peers over layoffs: 'These are humans'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Finland — The boss of European digital insurance startup Wefox offered a damning response to tech companies that have laid off workers en masse. Swedish fintech firm Klarna was among the first major employers in tech to slash jobs this year, cutting 10% of its workforce in May. Several companies have followed suit, from those in Big Tech to venture-backed startups like Stripe. Julian Teicke, CEO of Wefox, told CNBC he is "disgusted" by what he views as a disregard by some of his peers for their employees. Venture capitalists have been advising startups in their portfolios to cut costs and freeze hiring as economists warn of an impending recession.

☆ Klarna CEO says firm was 'lucky' to cut jobs when it did, targets profitability in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Finland — Klarna will become profitable again by next year after making deep cuts to its workforce, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told CNBC. Klarna lost more than $580 million in the first six months of 2022 as the buy now, pay later giant burned through cash to accelerate its expansion in key growth markets like the U.S. and Britain. "We're going to return to profitability" by the summer of next year, Siemiatkowski told CNBC in an interview on the sidelines of the Slush technology conference last week. Buy now, pay later firms, which allow shoppers to defer payments to a later date or pay over installments, have been particularly impacted by souring investor sentiment. In the public markets, PayPal has seen its shares slump more than 70% since reaching an all-time high in July 2021.

☆ EU preparing new Russia sanctions package, von der Leyen says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Essi Lehto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HELSINKI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The European Union is pressing ahead with a ninth sanctions package on Russia in response to Moscow's attack on Ukraine, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said during a visit to Finland on Thursday. "We are working hard to hit Russia where it hurts to blunt even further its capacity to wage war on Ukraine and I can announce today that we are working full speed on a ninth sanctions package," von der Leyen told a news conference. We will not rest until Ukraine has prevailed over Putin and his unlawful and barbaric war," she said. Von der Leyen did not provide details of what measures a new round of EU sanctions could contain. At a joint news conference with the prime ministers of Finland and Estonia, and the deputy prime minister of Sweden, von der Leyen said Russia's attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure such as power supply amounted to war crimes.

☆ Startups trying to turn cities into carbon sinks to fight climate change have raised a record $2.2 billion this year, new report shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Green construction startups have raised a record $2.2 billion in 2022, per VC firm A/O PropTech. The construction and operation of buildings account for 37% of global CO2 emissions from energy use, according to the UN. The adoption of bio-based materials, such as wood, and a circular approach to construction can help cities become carbon sinks, the report stated. A carbon sink is when something can store more carbon emissions than it produces. Most building materials are currently "down-cycled" and used for things like filling potholes, she added.

☆ China's CO2 emissions fall but policies still not aligned with long-term goals
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - China's greenhouse gas emissions have been in decline since last year but could still be some way from their peak, with the country's policies still not fully aligned with long-term goals to limit temperature increases, a survey of Chinese experts said on Monday. Energy consumption, driven by heavy industrial economic growth, was still growing too fast to meet climate goals. Global climate talks ended on Sunday with a commitment to establish a fund to help the most vulnerable nations, but countries failed to reach a consensus on bringing global emissions to a peak by 2025. This month, an annual report by the Global Carbon Project (GBP) estimated that China's emissions would fall by 0.9% in 2022, raising hopes that they have already peaked. "Over the coming years we will see growth (in emissions) coming from China before we see stabilisation and eventually decline."

☆ 'We're going to dream a little less': Sequoia's Doug Leone on fallout from FTX's collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Doug Leone, managing partner at Sequoia Capital LLC, speaks during the Bridge Forum conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, April 17, 2019. The event brings together leaders in finance and technology from Asia and Silicon Valley to connect and share insights. HELSINKI, Finland — Billionaire venture capitalist Doug Leone said there wasn't much his firm Sequoia Capital could do to predict the solvency crisis at FTX. Without mentioning FTX by name — though strongly hinting at it ("I'm not going to mention any acronyms") — Leone, Sequoia's global managing partner, said Sequoia had done "careful due diligence" on FTX. Sequoia was one of numerous blue-chip funds that backed FTX before its demise.

☆ Europe is too dependent on China for technologies, Finland's PM says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HELSINKI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Europe is currently too reliant on China for technologies and should be wary of this dependency, Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Thursday. Reporting by Anne Kauranen, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Finland to spend $143 million on Russia border fence
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Finland's government on Thursday proposed spending 139 million euros ($143.4 million) to build fences along parts of the country's border with Russia, fulfilling a promise made in the wake of Moscow's February invasion of Ukraine. Finland, which is applying for membership in the Western military alliance NATO, has a history of wars with Russia, but the forest-covered border is still only marked with signs and plastic lines for most of its 1,300 km (810 mile) length. The country's border guard authority has said it ultimately aims to construct between 130-260 km of fences, covering 10-20% of the overall length, focusing primarily on border crossing points and adjacent areas in southeast Finland. Prior to Thursday's spending proposal, parliament had only allocated 6 million euros for a trial project. ($1 = 0.9691 euros)Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's hopes for a Republican landslide to hurt Ukraine are vanishing fast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Shift in power ... and Ukraine support? Russia could well hope that a shift in power after the the midterm elections could herald a cooler attitude toward Ukraine. "Further, most Republicans remain staunchly committed to Ukraine support, despite House minority leader Kevin McCarthy's announcement of 'no blank check' for the Ukrainians under a Republican-led House. Russia's President Vladimir Putin listens while then-U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, in 2019. "The war in Ukraine must provide the U.S. with the best chance for regime change in Russia, of taking Putin out.

☆ Swedish PM vows firmer stance in search for Turkey's approval for NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lehtikuva/Vesa Moilanen/via REUTERSANKARA, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Sweden's new prime minister vowed on Tuesday a firmer stance on fighting crime and terrorism during a visit to Turkey where he will seek the approval of President Tayyip Erdogan for his country's bid to join NATO. "I think the new government will have an even firmer approach in (relation to) the NATO application from Sweden," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters in Ankara during a visit to the Turkish parliament. "One of this government's main priorities is fighting crime, fighting organized crime, fighting the connection between organized crime and terrorism," he said. Sweden, along with the United States and several other NATO countries, has supported the YPG in its fight against Islamic State. "Sweden wants to join NATO to enhance our own security, but Sweden also wants to be a security provider for others," Kristersson said.

☆ VIEW Bank of England lifts UK rates to 3% in historic hike
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Toby MelvilleLONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The Bank of England raised UK interest rates to 3% on Thursday in its largest rate hike since 1989 and warned of a "very challenging outlook" for the economy. Money markets showed traders now expect UK rates to peak at 4.6% by next September, compared to expectations of 4.8% just two days ago. UK bank stocks (.FTNMX301010) fell 0.8%BONDS: Yields on the two-year gilt were last up 1 basis points at 3.041%, compared with 3.064% before the BoE announced its decision. Rates markets are pricing another 50bps hike at each of the December and February meetings, although still reflect a lower terminal rate than just a week ago. ANDREW ALDRIDGE, PARTNER AT DEEPBRIDGE CAPITAL, LONDON"Quelling rampant inflation and kickstarting a slowing economy left the Bank facing a difficult balancing act, with today's interest rate hike to 3% hardly surprising in this context.

☆ Finland urges Turkey, Hungary to swiftly approve Swedish, Finnish NATO bids
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Lehtikuva/Vesa Moilanen/via REUTERSHELSINKI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Tuesday urged Hungary and Turkey to swiftly approve the Swedish and Finnish applications for membership of the NATO defence alliance. Hungary and Turkey are the only two remaining NATO members to not yet have ratified the applications. "All eyes are now on Hungary and Turkey. Finland and Sweden last week reiterated they would join NATO at the same time, presenting a united front to Turkey. Reporting by Essi Lehto and Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nokian Tyres to build 650 mln euro plant in Romania, replacing Russian output
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Finland's Nokian Tyres (TYRES.HE) on Tuesday said it will invest 650 million euros ($645.19 million) to build a new passenger car tyre factory in Romania. Built to make 6 million tyres per year, the Romanian plant is set to replace some of the lost output from Nokian's now divested Russian operation which had the annual capacity to produce 17 million passenger car tyres. The new plant will allow the company to "start building the new Nokian Tyres without Russia", Chief Executive Jukka Moisio said. The new factory, which Nokian aims to make the industry's first zero CO2 emissions plant, will employ 500 people. Nokian said it chose Oradea in northwest Romania because it was conveniently located to sell tyres in central Europe and green energy was available near the site.

☆ A couple bought a private island in Finland they found on Google Maps and turned it into a $2,400-a-night getaway. Here's how they did it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Claire Turrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Designer Aleksi Hautamäki and his partner purchased an island in Finland they call Project Ö. Project Ö. Mike Kelley ArchmospheresHe scoured the Archipelago online for uninhabited islands. Mike Kelley ArchmospheresThey also installed solar panels, and the drinking water is filtered from the Baltic Sea. Building off the original designWhile the bulk of Project Ö was finished by August 2018, the couple has continued to add to the original design. The outdoor lounge area at Project Ö. Mike Kelley ArchmospheresThe success of Project Ö as a home and rental property has the couple considering a career in off-the-grid hoteling.

☆ Finland, Sweden promise to join NATO together in united front to Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Sweden's new Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin during their joint news conference after their official meeting at the PM's official residence Kesaranta in Helsinki, Finland, October 28, 2022. Lehtikuva/Vesa Moilanen/via REUTERSHELSINKI, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Finland and Sweden will joint NATO at the same time, their prime ministers said on Friday, presenting a united front to Turkey which has raised questions about both their applications. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Friday Turkey's president had told her he had more questions for Sweden than for her country. "It is very important for us, of course, that Finland and Sweden would join NATO hand in hand," Marin told reporters at a joint press conference in Helsinki with her Swedish counterpart. "It's completely legitimate that Turkey gets confirmation that Sweden is doing what Sweden has committed to do within the framework of the agreement," he added.

☆ Finnish seismologists detect five blasts in Russian waters
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Finnish seismologists detected five underwater blasts in Russian waters in the Baltic Sea last week, the Helsinki University Institute of Seismology said on Tuesday. Four explosions were recorded on Thursday and one on Friday in Russian territorial waters in the Gulf of Finland, Tiira said, adding it had been clear that the observations had been caused by blasts and not by other seismic activity. "It can be seen in the shape of the signal and in the content of its frequency," he said. The institute did not know what had caused the blasts but that similar disturbances had been detected during previous naval drills and sweeping of old mines from the sea bottom, Tiira said. "We have detected explosions in that same area before, but not very often, not even every year," he said.

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