Agreement more important than environmental principles (Klassekampen)

Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik believes important environmental principles could suffer catastrophically during the forthcoming Johannesburg summit. At the same time he will not guarantee that Norway will vote against those same catastrophic proposals. "This is a process of consensus, and it would take a lot for Norway to vote against a final communiqué," said Mr Bondevik. The PM and the Minister for Development Assistance, Hilde Frafjord Johnson, met a number of environmental and development organizations yesterday to brief them on the status of negotiations ahead of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (Rio + 10). Mr Bondevik and Ms Frafjord Johnson summed up the outlook before the conference by saying: "No country can say it has done enough, and there is no reason to suppose that Norway will be satisfied with the result of the summit."

Norway joins energy alliance (Dagsavisen)

The Bondevik government has promised that Norway will be making tough demands at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. The objective is to create an alliance to promote increased use of solar, wind and bio-energy. Yesterday Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik met representatives of voluntary organizations to discuss Norway’s strategy for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which starts in Johannesburg in just over a week. The PM announced that Norway would try to enlist the support of other countries for a resolution stating that renewable energy sources should make up 10 per cent of the world’s energy supply by 2010.

Call for pension contributions to be invested in the stock market (Aftenposten)

We should have a pension fund. And the individual’s state pension should be more closely tied to returns on the stock market, according to Sigbjørn Johnsen, chairman of the Pensions Commission. The stock market slump has prompted lively debate on the Pension Commission’s conclusions. While the Commission puts the finishing touches to its first report, the parties on the political left are making their feelings clear. "Millions of employees the world over have lost their pension contributions because of the stock market slump. It should be a warning for those who want each individual to invest their future national insurance contributions in the stock exchange," said Stein Reegård, chief economist at the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO). The stock market slump has without doubt given the LO, the Labour Party and the left in general strong arguments in the dispute over the Pension Commission’s conclusions.

Storebrand boss admits lack of candour (Dagens Næringsliv)

Idar Kreutzer, chief executive of Storebrand, has admitted that he did not give the market the full facts about a scheme which has resulted in substantial losses for the company. The bonus scheme for senior executives has cost Storebrand NOK 235 million due to so-called hedging agreements, entered into under former Storebrand boss, Åge Korsvold. Mr Korsvold and his closest colleagues, including current chief executive Idar Kreutzer, must have thought in 1999 that Storebrand’s share price would go through the roof. They were afraid that the company’s bonus scheme would lead to major costs for the company as the share price gradually rose. To avoid additional bonus costs Storebrand’s senior management set up a hedging agreement, known as a "total return swap", with an international bank. Its purpose was to reduce the company’s costs if Storebrand’s share price rose sharply. Conversely, Storebrand was left to carry the risk if the share price fell. This year alone the deal has cost Storebrand NOK 141 million.

Storebrand took over bank on verge of collapse (Aftenposten)

Einar C. Nagell Erichsen and the other investors who sold Finansbanken to Storebrand in 1997 can thank their lucky stars today. If Storebrand had not taken over the bank, it would probably have gone to the wall, said Per Kumle, Finansbanken’s chief executive. The acquisition of Finansbanken is a steadily worsening financial nightmare for Storebrand. The insurance group must once again put up more capital, this time to the tune of NOK 240 million. And the bank’s losses just keep on growing.

Call to repatriate Jahre millions (Aftenposten)

Led by shipping magnate Morits Skaugen, strong forces are now at work to ensure that the fortune amassed abroad by the late Anders Jarhre, the Sandefjord-based shipowner, is used for charity. But for that to happen the Norwegian state must renounce its massive tax claim. The proposal has met with opposition in the Finance Ministry, and how Anders Jahre’s executors feel about the issue remains uncertain. Over NOK 500 million has been discovered in a foundation in the tax haven, the Cayman Islands. Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen thinks it is a good idea for a private foundation to take over the cash. The Conservatives have refused to comment, while the Labour Party opposes the proposal.

Consumers conned out of millions (Dagbladet)

A 50 per cent cut in VAT on food was supposed to lead to a 10 per cent drop in food prices for consumers. But the major supermarket chains, the food industry and the farmers have already siphoned off a third of the money. "Disappointing. The major supermarket chains are trying it on," said Labour’s Bjarne Håkon Hanssen, who one year ago – when he was Agriculture Minister – declared that a 50 per cent cut in VAT on food would result in a 10 per cent cut in the price of food to consumers. The figures now show something quite different. The cut in consumer prices was no more than 6.2 per cent, according to recent figures from the Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute (NILF). The difference, which represents substantial sums of money, ends up in the pockets of Rimi-Hagen and his colleagues in the supermarket chains and food industry, as well as the farmers.

Worth Noting

• Incoming Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg is in favour of turning the Government Petroleum Fund into a pension fund. At the same time he has warned that such a change would renew the debate about how much oil money can be used to fund public spending.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Yesterday afternoon the spot price of a barrel of North Sea oil for immediate delivery passed the USD 26.85 mark. The price is approaching the highest level so far this year. On 29 April it reached USD 27.33 per barrel. At that time the price was driven up in particular by concerns over the crisis in the Middle East.
  (Aftenposten)
• For almost two years Storebrand has been led by a man suffering from "Kreutzer’s syndrome". The company has lost a massive NOK 3,125 million since Idar Kreutzer took over from Åge Korsvold.
  (Dagbladet)
• KLM is flying right up SAS’s tail fins in Norway and services the same international destinations at a lower price. At the same time KLM is casting an friendly eye on the new cut-price domestic carrier, Norwegian, as a new regional partner. With cut-throat competition in the skies, you are the winner no matter what.
  (Dagsavisen)
• Statoil shares are not a very exciting investment at the moment, but look good in the long term, according to the US investment bank Merrill Lynch, which, one year after its stock market launch, is now starting to cover Statoil.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The Centre Party and MP Inger Enger plan to blow new life into a dormant clause in the regulations governing driving licences which allows the Directorate of Public Roads to issue driving licences valid only in a restricted geographic area. "It is better to put limits on elderly drivers than to take their driving licences away completely," said Ms Enger.
  (Nationen)
• The amount of money spent by Norwegian consumers in shops on the Swedish side of the border has skyrocketed. In July Norwegians bought twice as much wine in Sweden as in June. At the same time sales of wine at the Norwegian state retail monopoly for wine and spirits, Vinmonopolet, have dropped. Vinmonopolet denies that private imports of wine and spirits from Sweden are a problem, and is warning against any cut in alcohol taxes. The attitude of Vinmonopolet has stunned the industry.
  (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

Scientists cannot say for certain that the storms and floods in Central Europe have been caused by climate changes for which humans are responsible. Nor are they sure that our emissions of greenhouse gases have led to the drought in Africa. But there is broad agreement among the world’s climatologists about the existence of a greenhouse effect, created by human activity, which is leading to more unstable weather patterns. In the future there will be more frequent storms, according to scientists. The most frightening thing about this gloomy long-range weather forecast is that it has led to barely any political action. Towards the end of the 1980s the Chernobyl disaster and the Brundtland report created a strong wave of environmental concern among both ordinary people and the politicians. Paradoxically, it seems as though the will to do anything has been weakened over the past decade, at the same time as the UN’s documentation of the problems has become increasingly solid. Norway is one of the world’s richest countries, and our wealth rests primarily on exports of oil – and thereby greenhouse gas emissions – to other countries. For this reason we have a particular responsibility to do something. Three Norwegian climate change measures should be obvious. We must reduce our own emissions, we must take the lead in the development of carbon-free energy technology, and we must be a driving force in the UN’s environmental efforts. In the name of decency we should also provide assistance to some of those who have been hit by climate problems. This could be done by using some of our oil wealth to establish a separate climate fund, in addition to our development assistance budget.