Norges Bank Governor Øystein Olsen discusses interest rates, the krone and global economic risks after the central bank kept its deposit rate at 1.50% on Thursday, as expected, and stuck to its main message that a tightening cycle started over a year ago has now been shelved. Olsen speaks with Bloomberg’s Jonas Cho Walsgard in Oslo.
Watch the full interview HERE.
Representatives from all four Nordic AmChams met in Stockholm to discuss best practices and deepen regional cooperation. Graciously hosted by AmCham Sweden, the meeting was an excellent opportunity to highlight common challenges and explore opportunities to work across borders to serve the needs of an increasingly more diverse Nordic member base. Our very own Sustainability, Digitalization, and Financial Forums were a popular topic discussion, highlighted as a best practice for their ability to connect members from a broad range of industries, foster collaboration, and promote shared interests.
To conclude the trip, we joined our Nordic peers at AmCham Sweden’s annual Christmas Mingle at Stockholm’s Grand Hotel. In his keynote speech, AmCham Sweden Managing Director Peter Dahlen took time to highlight how the strong bonds between the Nordic AmChams “make real the promise of AmCham as a global network.” Guests also had the opportunity to hear from the new United States Ambassador to Sweden, Ken Howery.
Eftas overvåkningsorgan, Esa, har besluttet å ta Norge inn for Efta-domstolen over kravet om at ledere og styret i selskaper med hovedkontor i Norge, skal være statsborgere og innbyggere i et EØS-land.
Det skriver Esa i en pressemelding onsdag.
«Basert på etablert rettspraksis og tidligere traktatsbruddsprosedyre, mener Esa at disse kravene er i strid med grunnleggende EØS-prinsipper om etableringsfrihet», heter det i meldingen.
Lovverket Esa mener er problematisk finnes både i Aksjeloven (for AS) og Allmennaksjeloven (for ASA-selskaper). Der stilles det krav om at daglig leder og minst halvparten av styret og eventuelt bedriftsforsamlingen, skal være bosatt i Norge, med unntak av EØS-borgere når de er bosatt i et EØS-land.
Les hele saken HER.
Mytene er mange om hodejegerbransjen, som på tilsynelatende mystisk vis finner frem til kandidater til de spennende lederjobbene.
– I 40 år har bransjen vår holdt det meste hemmelig, sier Bendik N. Blindheim, adm. direktør i Isco Group.
– Derfor er det kanskje ikke så rart at det oppfattes som litt mystisk.
Men alle de tre hodejegerne Finansavisen har snakket med benekter at det er mystikk involvert i dag.
Les hele saken HER.
Se for deg følgende: Du er ansvarlig for verdens største produsent av drikkevarer – og dermed ansvarlig for en av verdens mest kjente merkevarer. Da er også sjansen stor for at emballasjen fra et av dine produkter kommer på avveier og ender opp som søppel et eller annet sted i verden. For eksempel i en skog eller på en strand.
Det er ikke greit for deg – eller for alle de 700.000 personene som hver dag jobber for merkevaren din – å se at emballasjen med logoen din på, har endt opp i naturen. Og det er ikke greit for alle andre som blir utsatt forsøplingen. Og det er ikke bra for kloden vår.
Hva gjør du? Jo, da sørger du for at sjansen blir så liten som mulig for at emballasjen fra dine produkter kommer på avveier. Og bruker størrelsen på selskapet ditt til å påvirke alle andre til å gjøre det samme.
Det er nettopp dette verdens største brusprodusent nå er i ferd med å gjøre.
Les hele saken HER.
From Digitalization Minister Nikolai Astrup’s comments at AmCham’s annual member reception to headlines in all national newspapers, one thing is abundantly clear: the future is digital – and Norway has tremendous ambition to be global leader in this digital future.
For Norway to realize it’s digital ambitions, however, it will need a digitally competent workforce, a workforce capable of mining, developing, and analyzing large amounts of data – a resource many are calling the world’s new oil.
Despite this future demand, however, unemployment among recent master’s students graduates in fields related to information and communication technology (ICT) is paradoxically nearly double that of the average for Norwegian master’s students, according to a 2018 report from the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU). One possible explanation noted by the report was a lack of work relevance in theory-heavy ICT master’s programs, a trend that has led ICT students to demand more internship opportunities and learning programs that prepare them to immediately enter the workforce.
In response to this increasing student demand and growing employer need for job candidates with sophisticated data analytics skills, AmCham member organizations SAS Institute and BI joined forces to form a strategic partnership aiming to create global analytics leaders through BI’s bachelor’s and master’s programs in business analytics.
“Everyone’s talking about AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics – and we were looking for a partnership with a company that really knows what it’s doing in these areas. Through our new cooperation with SAS Institute, our students will develop their analytical skills in a highly applicable business context,” notes Pål Berthling-Hansen, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of the Master of Science in Business Analytics Program at BI.
The collaborative program will offer students services tailormade to prepare them for tomorrow’s digital, data-based economy. With direct access to SAS software and e-learning courses, students will be able to qualify for internships and awards for thesis projects, participate in Hackathons, and access SAS Learning Labs, which will allow them to practice with real data sets and AI projects.
“BI is at the very forefront of developing leadership and analytical skills that will be truly relevant in the business world going forward. We are truly happy to play our part in the education of future leaders that will possess the digital competence crucial to the competitiveness of our society and for customers,” adds Jørn Seglem, Managing Director for SAS Institute Norway.
Indeed, the Creating Analytics Program is not just a positive for BI and SAS but rather for the entire digital ecosystem in Norway. Through the program, master’s students at BI will be invited to participate in customized internship programs with SAS Institute’s clients and partners, enabling them to gain highly relevant work experience while simultaneously allowing the business community to get to know the next generation of analytics leaders – something crucial to the future success of the Norwegian economy.
It is a sentiment that truly resonates with BI’s Berhling-Hansen. “There is tremendous demand from employers for talent that unlocks the potential of new technologies – not to mention the perpetually growing mass of data out there. Through an internship in the “SAS ecosystem,” our students will be better prepared for the large transformation projects they will work with after they complete their studies,” he concludes.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 10, 2019 WASHINGTON, D.C. — US Chamber Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs Myron Brilliant issued the following statement on the impasse that will cause the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to cease to function this week:
“Despite a number of challenges, the WTO and the global rules-based trading system it embodies are successful institutions that benefit the entire world. The increase in trade from the WTO agreements has raised living standards, boosted innovation, and stimulated economic growth in the US and around the globe.
The Trump Administration, like its predecessors, has called attention to problems with the functioning of the WTO’s Appellate Body, which plays a key role in trade disputes. These are serious issues. However, the shuttering of the Appellate Body caused by the block placed on the appointment of new members does not serve the interests of the US business community.
“The Chamber urges all parties to redouble their efforts to address the important issues the U.S. has raised regarding the functioning of the Appellate Body. The goal must be to revive it in a more responsive and focused form in keeping with the objectives established by the US and other members when the WTO was created nearly three decades ago.
“If the WTO didn’t exist, we’d have to create it. Its rules protect US firms from unfair treatment and hidden protectionism every day. Safeguarding this institution and its dispute settlement system should be an urgent national and international priority.”
Det er tidlig desember-morgen på Qvartz’ kontor ved Slottsparken i Oslo. De ansatte har hatt helgen til å fordøye at de har fått nye eiere langt borte fra. Det globale strategi- og konsulentselskapet Bain & Company med 10.500 ansatte kjøper den nordiske konkurrenten Qvartz.
Qvartz har åtte norske partnere på Oslo-kontoret og 55 ansatte totalt i Oslo. Qvartz-partnerne blir nå eiere i Bain & Company på lik linje med Bain & Companys tusen partnere.
Les hele saken HER.
Microsoft Corp. today announced an important new partnership with the professional services company KPMG International Cooperative, which will use its cloud services to accelerate its digital transformation efforts.
KPMG is another big win for Microsoft, since it’s known as one of the world’s “Big Four” accounting organizations, along with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., Ernst & Young Global Ltd. and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Its main focus is on providing tax, audit and advisory services to large global enterprises.
As part of the new partnership, KPMG plans to roll out services such as Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 to its members and clients. Those products will become the collaboration and productivity tools of choice for some 207,000 KPMG employees in 153 countries worldwide, the company said.
Read entire article HERE.
The outlook for the global economy has improved in recent months. The likelihood of the UK leaving the EU without a deal is now significantly less, and the deadline for the Trump administration imposing import tariffs on European cars has now passed. Our forecasts for the international economy have therefore been revised up since the last time, but the international economic downturn is still expected to continue in the years ahead.
Fiscal policy has been approximately cyclically neutral in recent years. Although growth in public investment and consumption is expected to be somewhat below the trend growth, the ageing population will push up spending on retirement pensions and other benefits. The combination of cyclically neutral expenditure growth and small changes in the tax level means that the budgetary impulse is expected to remain almost constant throughout the projection period. The structural non-oil public deficit will be well below 3 per cent of the value of the oil fund by 2022.
Read the entire article HERE.