Finance Minister to let shareholders decide (Aftenposten)

Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen is now doing what his critics said he should have done in the first place – let Storebrand’s shareholders be the ones to decide the company’s fate. Mr Schjøtt-Pedersen gave assurances both during question time in the Storting yesterday and to the press that he will keep out of the decision-making process regarding the company. Yesterday’s assurances are in stark contrast to Mr Schjøtt-Pedersen’s reaction immediately after the bid by Finnish financial services company, Sampo, was made public. His comments then were interpreted as an informal instruction to the National Insurance Fund to block the Finns’ acquisition. The Finance Minister is now promising that any application for Government approval of the takeover will be handled in accordance with established procedures.

Not impressed (Dagsavisen)

Sampo’s efforts yesterday to win support for its bid did not convince Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen. "I have listened to Sampo’s vision for the future, and it was interesting. However, nothing new emerged in the course of the conversation," he said after a 30-minute meeting with Björn Wahlroos, chief executive of the Finnish financial services company Sampo, and Storebrand’s chief executive Idar Kreutzer.

Politicians to blame (Dagens Næringsliv)

Svein Aaser, chief executive of Den norske Bank (DnB), has lashed out at politicians in the Storting. He is concerned that Norway’s financial services industry is disappearing abroad piece by piece, and lays much of the blame on the defensive attitude of the politicians. "Norway has lost a large part of the finance industry, which has been built up over 150 years, in the course of one parliamentary term," said Mr Aaser, who is confident that DnB’s own bid for Storebrand will be the one to succeed.

Just desserts (Dagbladet)

According to the Conservatives’ Per-Kristian Foss, "Norway’s fiscal policy means that international companies do not even consider locating their head offices here. We have ourselves to blame if businesses keep disappearing out of the country." Mr Foss’s most important objection to a merger between Storebrand and the Finnish financial services company, Sampo, is that the company’s head offices would be moved abroad. "The creation of a major Nordic company is no catastrophe, but I am worried that the organization’s head office functions will be moved abroad," he said.

Calls for total ban on smoking in restaurants (Dagsavisen)

Jan Hoel, president of the Norwegian Union of Hotel and Restaurant Workers, is calling for a complete ban on smoking in all the country’s bars, cafes and restaurants because upwards of 1,000 restaurant workers could die as a result of their customers’ smoking. "When other methods fail we have to resort to a ban," said Mr Hoel, who believes smokeless restaurants will attract more customers. Studies in other countries show that business increases when a ban is introduced because more non-smokers go out for a drink or a meal.

Fat election promises could lead to higher interest rates (Dagens Næringsliv)

It is not only wage earners who are the target of Svein Gjedrem’s warnings over interest rates. Yesterday the Governor of the Norwegian Central Bank sent an unambiguous message to politicians that interest rates would rise if they become too slap-happy with the country’s oil revenues. "If that were to happen, we would also need frequent and significant changes in short-term interest rates, which would on the whole reflect the higher risk premium attached to the Norwegian krone. Over time this would result in a generally high level of interest rates," said Mr Gjedrem.

Half of all children born out of wedlock (Aftenposten)

Half of all the children born in Norway last year were born to single mothers or cohabiting parents, while in the 1960s barely four per cent of children were born out of wedlock. On the other hand, more than three times the number of children with cohabiting parents see their mums and dads split up, compared to those whose parents are married. According to Lars Østby, head of research at the Central Bureau of Statistics, the figures reflect an enormous change in the way people organize their lives.

Worth Noting

• Chaos surrounds the establishment of Attac Norge. The fledgling organization is having to contend with a squabbling interim board, several candidates vying for leadership, interpersonal conflicts and a fundamental disagreement over EU membership. A total of 400 people have said they will be attending the meeting to formally incorporate the organization today. (Dagsavisen)
• Statoil’s chief executive, Olav Fjell, had meetings yesterday with investors in London, Europe’s financial capital. The investors, who had been critical of the company, cross-examined him on state ownership, internationalization and the company’s efforts to increase efficiency. "It was like being on trial," he said afterwards. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The Storting has rejected Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen’s plans to levy a windfall tax on companies with extra large profits. A parliamentary majority has called on him to come up with something else. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Sheep and lambs face an anxious summer ahead. Pro-wolf activists are threatening to kill the sheep in revenge for the shooting last winter of a number of wolves in eastern Norway.

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

The partial privatization of Statoil, the Finnish bid to take over Storebrand and renewed speculation about the creation of a Nordic telecoms giant have prompted foreign interest in the state-ownership of Norwegian businesses. Finnish politicians compare Norway with Albania, which says a lot about how little foreigners know about Norwegian politics. But quite independently of the critical comments being aimed at Norway from abroad, the Government and the Storting should think through what it is they want to achieve with the little that is left of state ownership of Norwegian industry. The Government’s policies with regard to the financial services sector can best be described as walking backwards into the future. The Storting and the Government lag far behind developments in the market. And at every new turn of events the politicians are taken by surprise, which is just what has happened with the current Sampo bid for Storebrand. If the state, as the largest shareholder in Den norske Bank (DnB), does not ensure that the bank makes a higher bid for Storebrand, the insurance company will end up in Finnish hands. A result which is totally at odds with the wishes of both the Government and the Storting.