Financial Times (May 29)
Britain’s GDP is set to increase by £10 billion as the Office for National Statistics begins to include illegal drug sales and prostitution in its calculations. To move into alignment with EU standards many countries have already taken this step. Italy is also advancing plans to include “among other activities, the sale of cocaine and prostitution.” Estonia, Austria, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden and Norway have already added prostitution and illegal drugs to their GDP calculations.
Tags: Alignment, Austria, Britain, Calculations, Cocaine, Drug sales, Estonia, EU, Finland, GDP, Italy, Norway, Prostitution, Slovenia, Statistics, Sweden
Washington Post (March 6)
Russia’s energy stranglehold around Europe, which imports about a third of its fuel from Russia, must be loosened. “In the long term, Europe and Ukraine should continue to make their energy markets more flexible. Ukraine should consider building an LNG import terminal on the Black Sea, and the country must clean up its notoriously corrupt energy production sector.” Abundant supply in the U.S., Norway, Qatar and Eastern Europe can also play a role in freeing Europe “from Gazprom’s grip.”
Tags: Black Sea, Eastern Europe, Energy, Europe, Gazprom, Imports, LNG terminal, Norway, Qatar, Russia, U.S., Ukraine
Institutional Investor (February Issue)
“Talk of currency wars is once again in the air, making foreign exchange potentially a major component of investment returns.” Last year, “the dollar underperformed all major currencies except the yen.” In 2013, the Norwegian krone, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar are likely to benefit if the dollar’s slide continues.
Tags: Australia, Currency, Dollar, Forex, Investment, Krone, New Zealand, Norway, U.S., Yen
Wall Street Journal (August 15)
Singapore is “the world’s richest country.” According to a report from Knight Frank and Citi Private Wealth, Singapore’s per capita GDP (purchasing power parity) of US$56,532 in 2010 “is the highest in the world, topping Norway (US$51, 226), the US (US$45, 511) and Hong Kong (US$45, 301).” According to a report from the Boston Consulting Group, Singapore also “has the highest percentage of millionaire households in the world.”
Singapore is “the world’s richest country.” According to a report from
Knight Frank and Citi Private Wealth, Singapore’s per capita GDP (purchasing power parity) of US$56,532 in 2010 “is the highest in the world, topping Norway (US$51, 226), the US (US$45, 511) and Hong Kong (US$45, 301).” According to a report from the Boston Consulting Group, Singapore also “has the highest percentage of millionaire households in the world.”
Guardian (July 26)
“British, American and Norwegian engineers are in a race to design and build the holy grail of wind turbines.” They are competing to build massive 10MW offshore turbines “that could transform the global energy market.” Currently the largest turbines are in the 3MW range, but within 3 years the Guardian believes three different 10MW designs will be operational.
Tags: Energy, Norway, U.S., UK, Wind turbines
Financial Times (April 29)
Russia settled a long-running border dispute with Norway. While the land border separating the two countries has been fixed since 1826, the maritime border has been hotly disputed. The two countries will split the sea equally, with the maritime border extending from the coast to the North Pole. With the boundary dispute settled, oil companies will be less hesitant to invest in exploration around the Barents Sea. Even more importantly, the Financial Times hopes this signals renewed commitment by Russia to the “rule of law.”
Russia settled a long-running border dispute with Norway. While the land border separating the two countries has been fixed since 1826, the maritime border has been hotly disputed. The two countries will split the sea equally, with the maritime border extending from the coast to the North Pole. With the boundary dispute settled, oil companies will be less hesitant to invest in exploration around the Barents Sea. Even more importantly, the Financial Times hopes this signals renewed commitment by Russia to the “rule of law.”
Tags: Border, North Pole, Norway, Russia
