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☆ You can't replace the dollar, but here are 5 alternative assets that are chipping away at the greenback's supremacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The dollar isn't going away, but other assets classes are slowly chipping away at its dominance. The US dollar is the world's top reserve currency — by far. CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty ImagesThe US dollar has been the world's reserve currency since the second world war, playing a crucial role in the world's trade. In 1999, over 70% of the world's foreign exchange reserves were held in the US dollar. Even alternative currencies like the Swedish krona, the South Korean won, and the Australian and Canadian dollars have been chipping away at the greenback's share.

☆ Sweden's economic gloom goes from bad to worse as government predicts steeper GDP contraction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / Contributor / Getty ImagesThe Swedish government is now predicting a deeper than expected GDP contraction in 2023, according to data released Monday, worsening an already gloomy outlook for the country's economy. Sweden's Ministry of Finance estimated in December that GDP would shrink by 0.7%, but it now predicts a 1% downturn as it reassesses the "challenging economic environment." "We face major challenges, but we will get through them together," Sweden's Minister for Finance, Elisabeth Svantesson, said in a press release Monday. The latest CPI data shows inflation is finally starting to slow, but wages are limping behind and house prices are facing a serious downturn. Eroding real wagesMost European countries are experiencing sky-high inflation, leaving real wages lagging behind.

☆ Wall Street is bullish on Europe — but analysts warn investors to avoid these 5 stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

And Wall Street is calling Europe a better bet than the U.S. right now . "The region also remains cheap and under-owned unlike the U.S." Amid this bullishness on Europe, however, a number of investment banks have named stocks in the region they think investors should avoid. Underweight stocks One such stock is Danish shipping firm Maersk , which is on Barclays' list of underweight stock calls for the first quarter of 2023. Barclays' price target of 140 Swedish krona ($13.50) on the stock suggests the stock has potential downside of almost 25% to its Jan. 30 closing price. The bank has ascribed a price target of 145 Swedish Krona on the stock, which implies potential downside of 30%.

☆ H&M Sales Rise but Lag Behind Rival as Growth Slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

H&M’s overall performance in 2022 has been hampered by the closure of its stores in Russia and Belarus in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB reported a 12% rise in annual sales but the rate of growth slowed in the fourth quarter as the fast-fashion giant grapples with economic uncertainty. The retailer on Thursday said revenue for the 12 months to Nov. 30 came in at 224 billion Swedish krona, equivalent to $21.84 billion. That means the company has yet to bounce back to prepandemic levels, having reported sales of 233 billion krona in 2019.

☆ Yan Rachinsky: Russian Nobel Peace laureate slams Putin's war on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Allegra Goodwin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Yan Rachinsky blasted President Vladimir Putin’s “insane and criminal” war on Ukraine in his acceptance speech in the Norwegian capital Oslo on Saturday. Representatives of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureates collect the awards at Oslo City Hall, from left: Natalia Pinchuk, the wife of Ales Bialiatski, Yan Rachinsky, chairman of the International Memorial Board and Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of the Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties. Markus Schreiber/APUkrainian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk called for an international tribunal to Putin and Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko to justice over “war crimes” in her acceptance speech. Human rights groups from Russia and Ukraine – Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties – were officially awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 on Saturday, along with the jailed Belarusian advocate Ales Bialiatski. The new laureates were honored for “an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power” in their respective countries.

☆ 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.

Philip Morris (PM.N) increased its bid by more than 9% to 116 Swedish crowns per share and said that the offer was its "best and final price". Philip Morris made an all-cash offer of 106 crowns per share for Stockholm-based Swedish Match in May. By Swedish law, 90% of Swedish Match shareholders need to approve the offer before Nov.4. Pontus Dackmo, CEO of Protean Funds who has 500,000 shares in Swedish Match, said he was still not impressed by the sweetened offer from Philip Morris. The company had earlier said it was expecting EU antitrust approval for its Swedish Match bid in late October.

☆ Philip Morris Raises Offer for Swedish Match and Buys U.S. Rights for IQOS
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Jennifer Maloney | Ben Dummett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Philip Morris International raised its offer for Swedish Match AB by 9.4% and has agreed to pay $2.7 billion to regain the U.S. rights for its IQOS heated tobacco products from Altria Group Inc.Philip Morris said it is now offering 116 Swedish kronor, equivalent to $10.34, for each Swedish Match share, up from the original offer in May of 106 Swedish kronor. The total value of that deal, though in dollar terms, is roughly unchanged from the original offer because the appreciation in the U.S. currency against the Swedish krona, made it easier for the company to raise its offer.

☆ Philip Morris to Raise Offer for Swedish Match and Buy U.S. Rights for IQOS
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Jennifer Maloney | Ben Dummett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Marlboro maker Philip Morris has been under pressure from Elliott Management and other investors to sweeten its bid for Swedish Match. Philip Morris International plans to raise its offer for Swedish Match AB and has agreed to pay $2.7 billion to regain the U.S. rights for its IQOS heated tobacco products from Altria Group Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. Philip Morris’s original offer for Swedish Match in May was 161.2 billion Swedish Krona, which was then equivalent to $16 billion. The new offer is expected to be announced as soon as Thursday, the people said.

☆ Nobel economics prize awarded to U.S.-based economists including Bernanke for work on financial crises
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

U.S.-based economists Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig were awarded the Nobel prize in economic sciences for 2022 for their research on banks and financial crises. They added this was "invaluable" during the 2008-09 financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic. The winners of the prize — officially called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel — receive 10 million Swedish krona ($883,000) to be split between them. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences select the winners from a list of candidates recommended by the Economic Sciences Prize Committee. He again cited the insurance sector in the U.K., when he said the "mismatch" came when there were calls for more collateral from insurance companies.

☆ Oil slides nearly 4% on heightened recession worries and a fresh 20-year high for the US dollar
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Oil prices slumped Friday and were on course to lose ground for the week. WTI crude oil fell to a nine-month low and traded just above $80 a barrel. Fears about global recession ramped up after this week's round of rate hikes by central banks. Oil prices were also lower as the US Dollar continued to march higher. Dollar-denominated oil prices can be hurt by gains in the greenback's value as it makes the commodity more expensive to purchase by holders of foreign currencies.

☆ Nordic countries consistently rank as the happiest in the world. 2 Finnish recruiters explain why their work culture and lifestyle are so attractive.
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-19 | by ( Hendrikje Rudnick | Nathan Rennolds | Business Insider Deutschland | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nordic countries consistently come highest in world happiness rankings. World Happiness Report/worldhappiness.reportFanny Aberg and Marcus Honkanen are originally from Finland, but they now live and work in Sweden. In an interview with Insider, Aberg and Honkanen described the Nordic mindset and the differences in lifestyle and working culture compared with other countries. Nordic MindsAberg said that in Nordic countries, "family always comes first." When asked which words described the "Nordic culture," Aberg said open, honest, personal, and transparent.

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