Isabella Löwengrip, the early influencer and entrepreneur also known as Blondinbella, has a company. Actually, she has a whole slew of them, in various degrees of wildly successful: The woman is remarkable. Maybe it’s because being recognized is such a huge part of her success, and that control over your image is so key, that she wants to install face recognition technology in her stores. If you find that slightly creepy don’t worry, the Swedish Data Inspection Authority (Datainspektion) is on the case. If Löwengrip wants to be able to recognize customers – big buyers? People who carry voluminous bags? – she’ll have to argue her case as to why she’s an exception. It’s unsure whether her approximately 1.5 million followers will be keen.
Category: Uncategorized
26 June – Your battery or your pension
The huge pension fund AMF, which is jointly owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svensk Näringsliv)is investing 740 million kronor in the battery factory Northvolt, up north in Skellefteå. This means that a fair chunk of workers’ pensions are being invested in a company where barely a spade has been lifted. AMF says it’s just a part of their risk portfolio, which has got to mean they’re prepared to lose it. On the one hand, batteries are desperately needed and the sooner Northvolt’s finances are in order and they’re up and running, the better. On the other hand, a lot of money is going into a technology that everyone agrees has got to get a lot better fast, and factories aren’t known for adjusting quickly. It’s also assuming there isn’t a small quantum leap on the horizon, something which everyone is basically hoping for when what we’ve got now is pretty unsatisfactory. So, yup, a pretty risky investment that we really really hope works out.
26 June – The crappy krona
It turns out the weak krona isn’t so popular with businesses after all. SvD writes that only 1 business in 5 thinks it’s helping them, while nearly half of the responding companies say it’s negative for them. Production costs over the years have moved production out of Sweden, which means an increase in imports before exporting again: The weak krona makes these imports expensive. It’s not just people buying fruit at the local ICA that are dismayed by the exchange rate. Will the Swedish Fed notice?
26 June – A hard pill to swallow
Especially if you can’t find it. The pill, THAT pill, and at least one of the brands, will be out of stock until at least the end of the summer, wrote SvD today. Another hormone replacement therapy pill (for the more mature woman’s needs one might say) is also out of stock for at least the next few months. (Also pregnancy prevention pills for cats are out of stock, though I am not comparing.)
That so many prescription medications are suddenly not available at the local pharmacy – or at any pharmacy anywhere in the country – has been a recurring news item for several months. But are pharmacies the problem? Are they just greedy money machines that won’t order what they don’t want to order and don’t care about the old and the sick and the in pain? In a debate article from May 19 (dn.se) two Stockholm doctors say no, and that in reality Swedish pharmacies knock themselves out trying to find medicine for their customers (a pharmacist showed me recently how to find a pharmacy that had what I wanted in stock – on fass.se).
For those who weren’t here at the time, previous to 2009 pharmacies were state-owned affairs, like Systembolaget. Since the deregulation, things have improved greatly, like business hours, numbers of stores (at least in the cities) and an improved selection (state-owned tampons were not fun). It’s uncertain where the bottle neck is. After all, the pharmacies don’t make money on medication they haven’t sold, and the pill has a pretty captive audience.
25 June – Eric not the conqueror
This afternoon Eric Ullenhag gave it up for Nyamko Sabuni, who can now count on being the next leader of the Liberal Party, starting Friday.
In the Debate article published in Aftonbladet, Ullenhag says the party risks deep divisions if he continues with his campaign, and asks party members to ”take care of each other,” and that other party members – and even other parties’ members – aren’t the enemy.
The ball is now in Sabuni’s court.
25 June – No go on snow
For the seventh time, Sweden tried and failed to be host country for a winter olympics (svd.se). For various reasons, Sweden lost to Italy; one stated reason was the lack of enthusiasm on the part of Sweden’s population, perhaps in particular Stockholm’s previous city counsellor for sports who stated that Stockholm didn’t want to be a part of it (svd.se). It perhaps also didn’t help that OS athletes were supposedly supposed to use public transportation to get around, something that only just barely works for the native population. The Olympic Committee was also not convinced that Sweden’s businesses were absolutely committed to financing the spectacle. The Swedish games committee had only gotten ”letters of intent” to finance it, nothing more concrete.
It is also possible that Stockholm city council chair Anna König Jerlmyr breaking out in song in the middle of her presentation didn’t go over that well either. In her defense, though, it was only a single line from an ABBA song. It was cute. Perhaps too.
Sweden’s presentation was ”new” and ”modern” according to Stockholm’s current city counsellor for sports, but it must be surmised that the majority of the Olympic committee was not so into Sweden’s big ideas of what modern is.
24 June – Sabuni nominated: it’s crunch time
The Liberal Party’s Nominating committee has formally nominated Nyamko Sabuni for party leader. From 21 districts, she received 19 votes of support so this shouldn’t be a surprise. But as noted yesterday, 11 electors wrote in a debate article in Sunday’s Expressen that they would vote their own way – iow for Eric Ullenhag – and ignore their subjects’ votes.
Will they or won’t they? We’ll be finding out soon, before or on vote day this coming Friday.
24 June – Shall the games here begin?
Today we find out if Sweden or Italy will host the 2026 winter Olympics – an Olympics we are told will not cost Swedish taxpayers a single little krona! It will be entirely financed to the max by sponsors! So great for Sweden on all fronts! Sounds too good to be true!
Even the Olympic Committee itself criticized Sweden for its budget analysis.
While there is no doubt that an Olympics in town (actually several towns and even Latvia) would be exciting, how exciting is it afterwards? Ask Falun with its two jump runs built for the 2015 World Cup that now stand almost entirely unused (dn.se). That can’t be fun to look at.
It’s not in the public’s hands, however, and we’re split on the issue anyway. If it’s to be, let’s hope we can scratch together more enthusiasm.
23 June – I don’t like it and I won’t do it
Sabuni won the majority of votes in several heavy districts throughout Sweden – but some voters’ representatives are saying they will not vote the same way.
11 ”ombudsmän” published a debate article in the afternoon paper Expressen yesterday stating that despite how their party members may have voted, they intend to vote for Eric Ullenhag as next Liberal Party leader. They must represent, they write, not just the party menbers who voted but also non-voting party members, non party members who have a liberal bent, as well as ”in the end, Sweden’s entire population” (Expressen.se).
Good of them. Saving the whole of Sweden like that, solving the problem of people not voting the way they should, saving the people from themselves.
While the representatives with a binding vote are not bound to vote the way their districts have voted, there is an understanding that they are to further that will. That these representatives have decided not to do that can only indicate an enormous hubris, paired with a misunderstanding of their job. The Liberal Party isn’t their sandbox.
22 June – Paying for money
DN.se reports that major banks in Sweden will be required to maintain cash transaction possibilities at bank locations throughout the country. Specifically, at most only 0.3% of the population will have to travel more than 25 km to get cash, and not more than 1.22% of the population will have to travel more than 25 km to be able to make a cash deposit.
Naturally, the banks are not pleased. So expensive for them! Look for fees on taking out money at an ATM near you soon.
