Poorly managed road construction (Aftenposten)

The Office of the Auditor General has investigated five major road construction projects that exceeded their budgets by NOK 1.6 billion during the four years it took to complete them. According to the Office of the Auditor General, this was due to a lack of knowledge, planning and financial follow-up. Olav Søfteland, General Director of Roads, says that this is a matter of psychology. "We use a tight budget when making our plans in order to trim expenditures and force the project coordinators to think economically," said Mr. Søfteland.

Higher CO2 emissions than expected (Dagsavisen)

According to the Government’s white paper on petroleum policy, Norway has far greater petroleum reserves in the North Sea than has been previously believed. There is enough left to continue the Norwegian petroleum and gas activities for another 50 and 100 years, respectively. Extraction of this petroleum and gas will produce 25 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions. The petroleum and gas industry will thus generate far more CO2 than the entire world produces in the course of one year.

Sceptical towards tax promises (Nationen)

Only 1.9 per cent of voters believe that the Government’s pledge to reduce taxes substantially will be honoured. Fifty-six per cent believe that there will be no change, and 38 per cent that any reductions will be insignificant. Centre Party voters are the most sceptical. A total of 70 per cent of respondents do not believe that the tax cuts will give them more money to spend. The voters who support the parties in the coalition government are just as unconvinced as everyone else, while the Red Electoral Alliance voters have most confidence in the Government’s ability to fulfil its promises.

NHO asks Government to drop tax cuts (Dagsavisen, Saturday edition)

Chief economist Tor Steig of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) is asking Minister of Finance Per-Kristian Foss (Cons.) to postpone the billions of kroner in tax cuts that have been promised to ordinary wage earners. In the view of the NHO, the Government should instead concentrate on helping the private sector, so the hike in interest rates and the higher exchange rate for the Norwegian krone do not give companies more problems than they already have.

Norway tops European statistics for sick leave (Dagsavisen, Sunday edition)

No other country in Europe has as high an incidence of sick leave as Norway. In an average week, four per cent of the Norwegian workforce is on sick leave, while only 1.5 per cent of Danish workers stay at home. Absence due to illness increased throughout 2001, and the trend has continued this year. The largest upsurge in sick leave has occurred within the construction and health services sectors.

More people want to borrow in yen (Aftenposten)

The rise in interest rates and the strong Norwegian krone have resulted in increased interest in borrowing money in foreign currency. In 2000 loans in foreign currency amounted to NOK 2.7 billion, but the amount has now increased to NOK 11.6 billion. Most people want to borrow in Japanese yen, which has a current interest rate of between two and 2.5 per cent. But economists are issuing strong warnings against this type of loan. An unfavourable change in the interest rate could be expensive when the time comes to start paying instalments.

More pills confiscated (Aftenposten, Sunday edition)

In the first half of 2002 alone the Customs and Excise Administration confiscated 317 000 sedative tablets, compared with 213 000 in the entire year of 2001. The type most frequently confiscated is Rohypnol. This is a sedative that has traditionally been used mostly by heavy drug abusers, often in combination with heroin. Now the pill has reached a new market, and is used in young, trendy circles together with ecstasy and Valium at parties.

Cities are sustaining the districts (Nationen, Saturday edition)

Urban areas account for most of the value creation in Norway, and enormous sums of money are transferred from the major cities to the outlying districts every year. The northernmost counties receive the most, without contributing themselves to the country’s coffers. Each of Oslo’s inhabitants contributes an average of NOK 66 000 a year to the common pot, while each inhabitant of Finnmark County receives NOK 23 000.

Higher quotas and lower duties (Dagbladet, Saturday edition)

Minister of Finance Per-Kristian Foss wants to introduce new customs legislation at the beginning of next year that will make cross-border trade even more advantageous. "The idea is that it should be easier for customs officials and for people travelling abroad. It’s futile for customs officials to hunt for people who are importing too much meat. According to current legislation, you are actually smuggling if you bring four kilos of meat into the country. Laws shouldn’t turn ordinary people into criminals," said Mr. Foss.

Worth noting

• MP Heidi Sørensen (Socialist Left Party) will be in the front lines today when protesters stop construction work at the gas terminal outside of Hammerfest. She knows that she will probably be arrested. "It is right to resort to civil disobedience when such vital environmental interests are at stake," she said. (Dagbladet)
• Girls are underestimated as leaders as early as in primary school, and are scared away from management positions later in life, according to Ole Risnes of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry. "The schools maintain outdated authoritarian attitudes towards leadership and management. This means that at an early age girls are already scared away from accepting leadership positions as adults," he said. (Dagsavisen)
• The mathematics exam at the teacher’s college in Sogndal this spring was obviously a problem for the students: 68.1 per cent of them failed. The percentage of failing grades in mathematics has never before been this high among the students of education in Sogn og Fjordane County. Forty-two of the 74 students could not solve the mathematics problems in the exam. (Verdens Gang)
• As many as 131 of 139 hotels have major deficiencies in their fire protection systems. A recent report by the Norwegian Fire Protection Association reveals that one of the problems is poor escape routes. Some of the gravest faults are in the fire alarm systems. In addition, too few hotel employees have received training in fire protection. (Aftenposten, Saturday edition)
• Chief analysts in Norway’s largest brokerage firms were optimistic in December. Since then eight of their ten favourite stocks have dropped in value. (Dagens Næringliv, Saturday edition)
• The new low-priced airline Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) will need to fill almost the same percentage of seats as SAS. In order to accomplish this it must have over 3200 passengers a day. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• SAS is losing NOK 16 million a day. If the airline’s income continues to decline at this rate, its assets will be depleted in a little over a year, according to the Swedish newspaper Expressen. (Aftenposten)
• Tourists and Norwegians alike are visiting museums and other attractions as never before. The Nidaros Cathedral had 35 per cent more visitors in May than during the same month last year. However, museums in the northernmost parts of the country are seeing fewer visitors. (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen, Sunday edition:

According to Norges Bank’s inflation report, if Finance Minister Per-Kristian Foss is to fulfil the tax promises made by the Conservative Party, there will not be any opportunity to make investments beyond those already included in the fiscal budget. This autumn’s budget proposal will test the credibility of Mr. Foss and the Government: which is most important – low interest rates or tax cuts? High interest rates will reflect poorly on the Government’s social profile, while tax cuts will benefit the wealthy. We are waiting with bated breath.