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Norway House Providing Support for Companies Entering the US Marketplace Through Business Accelerator Resource Network (BARN)

“Norway House connects the United States and contemporary Norway through arts, business, and culture.”

Norway House is a forward-thinking, international business and culture organization in Minneapolis, Minnesota dedicated to establishing, renewing, and advancing connections between contemporary Norway and the United States through education and partnerships centered around the arts, business, and culture.

BARN (Business Accelerator Resource Network) provides unique and individual support for companies entering the US marketplace. Barn gives access to senior mentors with extensive globalization experience, and provides introduction to strategic partners and service providers. BARN is a springboard into the American marketplace.

Reuters: Microsoft in deal with Equinor for Norway CO2 storage project

Microsoft Corp has signed a memorandum of understanding with Norway’s Microsoft Corp has signed a memorandum of understanding with Norway’s Equinor to explore the use of a carbon dioxide storage facility as the tech firm seeks to erase its carbon footprint, it said on Wednesday.

The world’s largest software company pledged in January to remove enough CO2 by 2050 to account for all its emissions since its founding in 1975, and to invest $1 billion in a carbon removal technology.

Microsoft will become a technology partner in the Northern Lights project, part of a wider Norwegian effort to develop carbon capture technology at industrial sites and store CO2 under the seabed, Equinor said at a news conference in Oslo.

AmCham Financial Forum – Outsourcing & Fintech

AmCham Financial Forum – Outsourcing & Fintech

AmCham Norway’s fully subscribed Financial Forum convened its October session in hybrid fashion at both our downtown Oslo office and via Microsoft Teams.

Escalon Co-Founder Sarah Lerche commenced the collaborative, cross-industry session by outlining critical factors for success when outsourcing in an increasingly digital landscape. Chief among these criteria – the importance of relationship management and communications, both during the onboarding process and for the duration of the engagement.

With Escalon’s CFO, payroll, HR, and accounting service offerings – closing over 1 200 books each month – Lerche underscored the importance of concise contracting and clear designation of clients’ responsible contacts. “Set responsibilities early on and document everything!”

Presenters

Sarah Lerche

Co-Founder

Camilla Wollan

Partner

Innovation in the Financial Space

Following up on Lerche’s financial automation insights was DLA Piper Partner Camilla Wollan. Focusing upon current and future trends, Wollan expertly mapped the Norwegian fintech space – both in terms of players and evolving policy impacts. Emphasizing that “Norwegian law is technology neutral” as an advantage for local, nimble businesses, Wollan went on to concede that “too many Norwegian fintech companies are not internationally oriented.”

She noted that COVID-19 has forced banks to develop new solutions for increased digital interaction with customers, with a focus on cost-efficiency rather than design. Cashless payment solutions, for example, have been essential during the pandemic and the threshold for payment without confirmation has increased. The threat of cyber security breaches and need for security measures, therefore, has also increased. “Industry – regulator collaboration is key to fintech success,” observed Wollan.

The wider group then shared trends from their respective industries, along with predictions on what will come next. Forum participants included senior finance representatives from AbbVie, Accenture, AIG, American Shipping Co.CitiConnectum Capital ManagementDiscovery Networks Norway, Fast SolutionsGIEKIBMKPMGOSM AviationRaise GruppenSonitor and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

About the Financial Forum

The AmCham Financial Forum is a platform that gives financial leaders the opportunity to interact, share best practices, and learn from each other – building a better understanding of what it takes to run a successful international finance department in Norway. Our December Financial Forum is currently being planned – for interest in participating, please contact Madeleine Brekke.

Bloomberg: Norway Oil Strike to End After Mediation; Crude Extends Drop

A strike that shut down about 8% of Norway’s oil and gas output will end after successful mediation talks, said Norwegian Oil and Gas Association spokesman Kolbjorn Andreassen.

The settlement will restore production at six fields already shut down by the dispute and prevent an escalation to another six over the weekend. Those facilities pump about 130,000 barrels of crude oil and 43 million cubic meters of gas a day. It also averts the shutdown next week of Norway’s largest oil field, the 460,000 barrel-a-day Johan Sverdrup facility.

Read entire article here

OffshoreTechnology: Aker Solutions secures work at ConocoPhillips-operated North Sea fields

Norwegian engineering and contracting firm Aker Solutions has secured a three-year contract extension for maintenance and modifications work from American multinational energy company ConocoPhillips.

Norwegian engineering and contracting firm Aker Solutions has secured a three-year contract extension for maintenance and modifications work from American multinational energy company ConocoPhillips.

The contract extension is to an existing framework agreement for work at North Sea fields operated by ConocoPhillips.

Read entire article here

How American Public Opinion Will Shape the Next US Administration with the German Marshall Fund’s Bruce Stokes

How American Public Opinion Will Shape the Next US Administration with the German Marshall Fund's Bruce Stokes

Preceded by a week that featured perhaps the most contentious debate in US history and the stunning revelation that the President himself had contracted COVID-19, Bruce Stokes, Non-Resident Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, joined AmCham members from across the Nordics for a masterclass on how surging US demographic transformation will affect the upcoming presidential election – and the coming administration. The event was a part of the Nordic AmChams US Election Series.

Full recording available on the right

State of the US Presidential Race: A Look Behind the Numbers

Before joining the German Marshall Fund, Stokes served as the director of Global Economic Attitudes at Pew Research Center, and he drew upon his extensive polling and analysis expertise when presenting a broad spectrum of recent polling. The polls highlighted various trends, ranging from Trump’s job approval to increased partisanship.

Stokes then explored the factors driving these trends. A particular focus was the tremendous rate of change in the US, which he explained by noting the increasing rapidity by which the House, Senate, and White House change party hands.

“Between 1960 and 1979, the House, Senate, or White House changed hands three times. In the twenty years to follow, from 1980-1999, it happened four times. However, between 2000 and now, it’s happened eight times.”

A critical factor in understanding the American perception of change, Stokes added, is demographic development. The US is rapidly becoming more diverse, with more than 38% of the US population having a non-white background. Simultaneously, middle- and lower-class wages have stagnated, and regardless of background, fewer and fewer Americans can claim to have realized the American dream by earning more than their parents.

All in all, Stokes concluded, these trends have coalesced to create a demographically divided, highly partisan electorate.

American Views on Trade and International Issues

Despite the emergence of a divided, partisan electorate, trade is one issue where Stokes noted agreement. 79% Americans agree that trade represents “an opportunity for economic growth” rather than a “threat to the economy.” The agreement on trade, however, did not extend to other international issues, with both Democrats and Republicans holding decidedly different conceptualizations of international threats, cooperation, and opportunities.

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Countdown to Election Day

To conclude, Stokes discussed the various trends around voting and voting difficulties that are coming to define the American political discourse with the election looming on the horizon. Nearly half of American voters plan on voting early or absentee, a trend almost certainly driven by COVID-19. National debates around voting access, Stokes added, have led to an increasingly partisan divide on the difficulties of voting in America, with many Biden supporters expressing concern over voting procedures and Republicans expressing concern over voter fraud.

Pressemelding: Regjeringen lanserer eksporthandlingsplan

Regjeringen lanserer i dag eksporthandlingsplanen “For og med norsk næringsliv”.

Les eksporthandlingsplanen her.

For å bygge et sterkere samarbeid med næringslivet, vil regjeringen samle kompetanse i en ny enhet for eksportfremme som går under arbeidsnavnet Business Norway.

– Eksportbedriftene skaper arbeidsplasser og verdiskaping i Norge. Nå er de inne i en krevende periode, og vi vil gjøre det vi kan for at de kan fortsette med dette under og etter koronakrisen, sier næringsminister Iselin Nybø.

Det vil oppnevnes et midlertidig eksportpanel bestående av næringslivsrepresentanter som skal å gi råd og innspill til arbeidet med Business Norway. Utgangspunktet er å samle kompetanse fra relevante aktører og skape et tettere samarbeid mellom de offentlige virkemiddelaktørene og næringslivet.

Eksporthandlingsplanen skal bidra til gode rammebetingelser for næringslivet, både i Norge og på verdensmarkedene. 

– God og forutsigbar markedsadgang ligger til grunn for alt vi ønsker å få til på eksportområdet. Vi er avhengige av et velfungerende internasjonalt handelsregelverk gjennom WTO, og tilgang til det europeiske markedet gjennom EØS-avtalen, sier utenriksminister Ine Eriksen Søreide.

Fakta om handlingsplanen

  • Handlingsplanen bygger på regjeringens eksportstrategi fra 2017. Som følge av at situasjonen for norsk næringsliv har endret seg, blant annet som følge av koronakrisen, er det behov for nye tiltak.
  • Tiltakene i handlingsplanen skal bidra til at flere konkurransedyktige næringer skal eksportere varer og tjenester som etterspørres i verdensmarkedene. Målet er økt verdiskaping i Norge og at norsk eksport skal bidra til å bygge opp norsk næringsliv etter koronakrisen. 
  • Handlingsplanen omhandler tema som den overordnede handelspolitiske situasjonen, den globale økonomiske krisen skapt av koronapandemien og konkurransesituasjonen for norske selskaper i utlandet.

Tiltak i handlingsplanen

  • Styrke arbeidet med eksportfremme
  • Styrke klyngeprogrammet
  • Styrke arbeidet med å fremme kultureksport
  • Invitere næringslivet til et tettere samarbeid om eksportfremme gjennom en ny eksportfremmeenhet, Business Norway
  • Videreføre regjeringens handelspolitikk gjennom EØS- og WTO-samarbeidet og inngå frihandelsavtaler med prioriterte land.

Fakta om norsk eksport

  • Samlet norsk eksport var på 1 311 mrd. kroner i 2019. I 2014 var eksporten i alt på 1 225 mrd. kroner. I perioden 2014 – 2019 har eksporten i alt økt med 87 mrd. kroner (7,1 pst).
  • Norsk eksport inkluderer salg av varer, tjenester, råolje og naturgass, samt skip.
  • Tall fra SSB viser at omkring 80 prosent av vareeksporten og halvparten av tjenesteeksporten vår går til EU.
  • Utenfor Europa går rundt 10 prosent av den samlede eksporten vår til Asia, mens nær 6 prosent går til Nord- og Mellom-Amerika. Litt under 2 prosent av eksporten går til Afrika, mens eksporten til Sør-Amerika ligger i underkant av 1 prosent.

Les pressemeldingen på regjeringen.no

Three Questions with Sølvi Spilde Monsen

THREE QUESTIONS WITH

Sølvi
Spilde
Monsen

Managing Director, Manpower Norway

How has COVID-19 altered how Manpower Norway approaches solving staffing challenges for clients? What challenges and opportunities does a lack of foreign workers due to travel restrictions create?

COVID-19 has been challenging for many of our clients, and consequently, also for us. The staffing business is always a good indicator of the health of the Norwegian business environment.

In March, we experienced that large sectors like kindergartens and tourism/travel were shut down from one day to another, resulting in a hundred thousand furloughed and unemployed people.  But we also witnessed an opposite effect: Several sectors saw an increase in demand as a result of Covid-19 – for instance, within food supply and logistics, and within the health sector, of course.

The staffing sector plays an important role under circumstances like this. Since we are doing business in all sectors and across the whole of Norway, we are able to transfer people from sectors with low demand to sectors with high demand. During the pandemic we have been able to help get a lot of people into new positions. For instance, we have relocated a hotel chef to a warehouse and transferred a helicopter pilot to a bank.

Gradually, we have been returning to more normal conditions, but we are still not back to where we were before the crisis. We believe that it will take a long time before we are back to business as we knew it before.

Naturally, the COVID-19 situation has significantly altered the Norwegian job market, as many companies have unfortunately had to consider furloughing and/or laying off employees. What does ManpowerGroup’s Q4 Norwegian workforce report reveal about the evolution of the Norwegian workforce in the past six or so months? What signs of optimism do you see?

Our latest outlook survey reveals that Norwegian employers expect a stable labor market during the next three months, reporting a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of +0%. This is a clear improvement from the ‑7% outlook of Q3, which was the weakest since the survey began in Norway 17 years ago.

This tells us that Norwegian employers now have a more positive outlook, following the shock of this spring. However, the crisis is not yet over, and companies are still cautious about rehiring. It may take time for the economy to recover, but we are seeing positive signs in some industries, most notably within construction.

Hiring prospects are also positive in the Finance & Business Services sector. The lowest expectations are found in the Manufacturing sector, with an outlook of -12%, decreasing by six percentage points quarter-on-quarter and 32 percentage points year-on-year. Outlooks were also bleak for the Restaurants & Hotels and Other Production sectors, reporting Net Employment Outlooks of -10% and -4% respectively.

Describe your dream vacation in the US. Where would you go and why?

I lived in San Francisco in 1984, and I would love to go back to see old friends and visit some of the beautiful and exiting places in this area. I would start out with a day or two in San Francisco to visit the Golden Gate Park and the Golden Gate Bridge, and I would definitely have a wonderful dinner at Crab House at Fisherman’s Wharf.  In addition, I would go hiking in the golden hills north of San Francisco and also visit the wine districts of Sonoma and Napa Valley for winetasting and picnics at some of the magnificent wineries.

Thereafter, I would head south and spend some days on the beach in amazing Carmel, visiting Carmel Valley before ending my trip with the breathtaking views of Big Sur.

World Oil: Norway kicks off construction of world’s largest floating offshore wind farm

Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Kværner apprentice Arne Linga started construction of Hywind Tampen, a floating offshore wind farm, at Kværner Stord. The technology project opens up new opportunities for Norwegian industry. Prime Minister Solberg and Linga started the cutting robot on the project’s first sheet of steel on Thursday, 1 October. Kværner’s assignment will include building 11 floating concrete hulls for the turbines on Hywind Tampen.

“Hywind Tampen is a new chapter in Norway’s narrative as an energy nation. With support from the Norwegian authorities, we’re not only building Norway’s first offshore wind project; we’re refining floating offshore wind technology along with the Norwegian supplier industry,” says Equinor president and CEO Eldar Sætre.

Read entire article here

Bloomberg: CEO of Norway’s Wealth Fund Has Too Much Cash for Banks

Norway’s banks can’t absorb the hundreds of millions of dollars in cash that the new CEO of the country’s wealth fund needs to deposit as part of an agreement he struck to allow him to take on the role.

Nicolai Tangen, who started running the world’s biggest sovereign investor last month, agreed to liquidate his personal fund investments and place the proceeds in bank deposits as part of his contract. The intention was to ensure that the former hedge fund manager wasn’t exposed to any conflicts of interest through his holdings.

Tangen’s bank deposits represent almost 8 billion kroner ($862 million), the Oslo-based wealth fund said on Thursday.

Read entire article here