Røkke calls for Bankruptcy Court investigation into Kværner (Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)

Yukos Oil’s representative, Bernt Stilluf Karlsen, dominated Kværner’s extraordinary general meeting yesterday, but Kjell Inge Røkke’s demand for an investigation into Kværner’s losses will be met. Kjell Inge Røkke and Aker Maritime (AMA) will ask the Asker and Bærum Bankruptcy Court to carry out a full investigation of Kværner. Despite being isolated at yesterday’s general meeting, Mr Røkke and AMA received enough votes to ask the Bankruptcy Court to investigate Kværner’s massive losses.

Lindholdt’s position not secure (Verdens Gang/Saturday)

The future of Tore Lindholdt, chief executive of the National Insurance Fund, who yesterday voted against an official investigation into Kværner’s losses, is not guaranteed under the new coalition government. Among the coalition partners, it is the Conservatives and Liberals who are particularly suspicious of Mr Lindholdt. That scepticism has not been reduced by Mr Lindholdt’s opposition at yesterday’s extraordinary general meeting of Kværner’s shareholders to an investigation into the company. Mr Lindholdt’s leadership of the National Insurance Fund has not so far been an issue for debate in the Government. But it will be.

Unemployment rising (Aftenposten)

Unemployment is rising, according to figures to be released today. The figures are the first concrete indication that the Norwegian economy has started to feel the effects of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the USA. Construction workers have been the first to feel the pinch. Senior economist Tormod Andreassen of the Sprarebank 1 Group believes Norwegian employees are in for some painful adjustments. Before the September 11 terrorist attacks the Central Bureau of Statistics had forecast a growth in export revenues of 3.5 per cent. Seven weeks later the Norwegian Central Bank was warning of a 1 per cent drop. The difference amounts to NOK 10 billion. If the Central Bank is right, many Norwegian companies could be forced out of business.

Viksveen feels he has not been completely exonerated (Aftenposten/Saturday)

Stein Viksveen felt an enormous sense of relief yesterday morning when he heard that the charges of espionage against him had been dropped for lack of evidence. But the affair has left him with a bitter aftertaste. He will now take some time to consider whether to take the matter further. The Director General of Public Prosecutions took the unusual step of elaborating his decision to drop the charges. Neither Stein Viksveen nor the National Police Security Service (POT) have any reason to feel completely satisfied with the Director General’s decision, which, as far as this case is concerned, is an indication that the Director General’s decision to drop the charges was a wise one.

Trade Council turned inside out (Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)

The Norwegian Trade Council’s board of directors has initiated a comprehensive restructuring of the organization following the criticism levelled at it by the commission of inquiry which had been set up to investigate the Council’s activities in South Africa. The commission has recommended nine measures to create a healthier climate within the Council. The board voted on Wednesday this week to approve all nine recommendations. The Trade Council’s chairman, Kaci Kullmann Five, has accepted the independent inquiry’s criticism and has announced new guidelines for employees. The Council’s employees will be schooled to act with "respect and insight" when they are sent abroad.

Commission closes loophole after Korsvold controversy (Aftenposten/Saturday)

The charges against Åge Korsvold, Storebrand’s former chief executive, have been dropped. More than a year after the Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission started its investigation of Mr Korsvold’s stock option purchases in his own company, the case has now been brought to a close. The Commission has announced it will be introducing new regulations to prevent senior executives of financial institutions escaping with impunity if they act in the way Mr Korsvold did at Storebrand.

Senior civil servant calls for cut in Finance Minister’s fiscal powers (Aftenposten/Sunday)

The Finance Minister’s closest adviser on tax issues has called for a cut in Finance Minister Per-Kristian Foss’s powers to decide the details of the country’s tax regulations. Director General at the Ministry of Finance, Hans Henrik Scheel, wants some areas of fiscal policy removed from the Minister’s remit. He says that politicians are responsible for the unpredictability of fiscal policy. During a lecture to the Socio-Economists’ Autumn Conference on Tuesday Mr Scheel said among other things: "One way of creating greater stability could be to delegate to a body which is not subject to day-to-day political management the task of working out in detail certain rules which have been adopted in principle. The taxation of companies’ profits could be one place to begin."

Bombing divides Government (Verdens Gang/Sunday)

Liberal leader and Agriculture Minister Lars Sponheim has given his full support to Foreign Minister Jan Petersen (Con) in the dispute with the Christian Democratic Party over the USA’s use of cluster bombs in Afghanistan. "We cannot have a situation where the national executive of a coalition partner seeks to dictate the priorities of Norway’s foreign policy," said Mr Sponheim in an interview with VG. "It is the Foreign Minister who must decide which priorities are important after discussions with the Americans." Mr Sponheim believes that it would be a betrayal of the USA if Norway, as a Nato member, were to oppose American use of cluster bombs at this time.

More cash for carbon-free gas-fired power stations (NTB)

The Government is planning to allocate even more cash for carbon-free gas-fired power stations than indicated in the political platform negotiated by the coalition partners before taking office, the so-called Sem declaration. To postpone the construction of emission-producing gas-fired power stations, Petroleum and Energy Minister Einar Steensnæs has now announced that more money will be allocated to carbon-free solutions than the coalition partners agreed on in the Sem declaration, reports NRK. However, Mr Steensnæs refused to specify how much more the Government now wishes to spend. In the Sem declaration the Government said that power station developers would not have to pay electricity tax if they chose a carbon-free alternative.

No whale-meat exports to Japan this year (NTB)

There will be no exports of whale-meat this year. The Japanese need time to prepare for imports of Norwegian whale-meat. Three countries; Japan, Iceland and Peru, have reserved the right not to abide by the trading ban on minke whale products imposed under CITES (the UN sponsored Convention on Trade in Endangered Species). The three countries can therefore purchase products from the Norwegian minke whale hunt. However, it is without doubt Japan which represents the most attractive market.

Worth Noting

• Åge Korsvold has sharply criticized the Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission following the Director General of Public Prosecution’s decision yesterday to drop the charges against him, 13 months after he was forced to resign as chief executive of Storebrand. "The Commission’s handling of this affair contributed to it being blown up out of all proportion. Now they are left with nothing, which should give some people pause for thought," said Mr Korsvold. (Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)

• Christian Democrat leader Valgerd Svarstad Haugland is extremely uncomfortable with the fact that her party is now perceived as being an eager "warmonger" and finds it difficult to defend the bombing of Afghanistan on behalf of the Government. Cluster bombs, on the other hand, are something she is strongly opposed to. (Dagsavisen/Sunday)
• Norway’s heavy industry has called on the Norwegian Competition Authority to reject Statkraft’s bid to acquire Agder Energi. The industry believes Statkraft is in the process of buying itself the power to manipulate electricity prices. (Aftenposten/Saturday)
• The Government is to abolish the dividend tax and make a substantial cut in the residential property tax in next year’s national budget. VG has received confirmation of this from reliable and centrally placed sources within the Government. The sources also confirm that these measures have been given priority over the abolition of the investment tax from April next year. (Verdens Gang/Sunday)
• Education Minister Kristin Clemet has refused to follow the recommendation of her own Ministry to abolish all exams in secondary schools. She has now halted all the work which had been initiated by her predecessor Trond Giske and supported by Jon Lilletun. Ms Clemet underlines that the final exams taken by pupils before they leave secondary school are just part of the total evaluation of their performance. (Dagbladet/Saturday)
• Trade and Industry Minister Ansgar Gabrielsen (Con) wants to postpone any major sale of state-owned companies until the National Insurance Scheme has been reformed. "We need a strategy for both the sell-off and the creation of shareholder groups to handle it. And then we are into a reform of the state pension scheme and the National Insurance Scheme," he said. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Children and Family Affairs Minister Laila Dåvøy believes a public nursery place should cost around NOK 1,500, and no more. But this will not be achieved for another four years. Today the average cost of a nursery place is around twice this amount. ( Dagsavisen/Saturday)
• The current coalition government is losing popularity compared to a purely Labour government. But Kjell Magne Bondevik still has the people’s confidence as Prime Minister, according to a recent opinion poll by Sentio-Norsk Statistikk. Only 13.4 per cent of voters prefer the government we have now. This is a fall of 3 percentage points since September. A purely Labour government is once again the most popular choice, with the backing of 14 per cent of the electorate. (Nationen)
• Powerful forces within the Centre Party want to break down the party’s reluctance to cooperate with others and its focus on "self-determination". They want the party to move in the direction of a collaboration with the Labour Party. (Aftenposten/Saturday)
• Opposition to EU membership has fallen, according to Nationen’s EU poll for October. 49.6 per cent of voters now oppose EU membership. (Nationen/Saturday)
• The Public Roads Administration has checked its own road tunnels and discovered that over 60 per cent of them are provided with inadequate safety equipment. According to a report prepared by the Public Roads Administration, at least 440 of the country’s 948 road tunnels do not have the required safety equipment, such as fire extinguishers and emergency telephones. The report is due to be published in three weeks. (Verdens Gang)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

So far Kjell Inge Røkke has lost every single battle for control of Kværner. At the extraordinary general meeting at the end of last week it was once again apparent that Mr Røkke has no friends or allies in that company. Mr Røkke’s call for an investigation into Kværner was backed only by his own votes. The other shareholders want to look forward and forget the painful past. Perhaps the industrial locomotive will continue to roll on down the line now that the Russian robber baron, Mikhail Khodorkovski has elbowed his way onto the footplate. Despite his defeat at the general meeting, Mr Røkke will get his investigation if he goes to the Bankruptcy Court and demands one. He is a large enough shareholder to do so by himself. We hope he does. Of course it is unpleasant for Kværner to be placed under the microscope by a commission of inquiry. Inquiries are time-consuming and are normally a bad advertisement for the company concerned. But Kværner’s reputation is so bad already that an inquiry could be beneficial to the company’s standing. Assuming, that is, that Kværner’s management and board have nothing to hide, and that Mr Røkke’s insinuation of fraud was wildly off base.

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