Economy

Airline strikes
Airline chaos predicted as 10,000 flight attendants strike in Canada

More than 10,000 flight attendants and hosts went on strike at the Canadian airline Air Canada this morning, Swedish time. This is reported by several media outlets.

The strike, which has been threatening for several days, was announced after the union and the employer failed to reach an agreement during negotiations last night.

The strike means that Air Canada will cancel hundreds of flights, which is causing "chaos" according to the CBC radio channel. Around 130,000 travelers are believed to be affected each day the strike is ongoing, including 25,000 Canadians who are abroad.

Upturn for old watches - Rolex and Patek Philippe hot

The market for used luxury watches is booming. During the first half of 2025, Bloomberg's Subdial Watch Index, which tracks the 50 most-traded watch models on the secondary market, rose 5.3 percent. This is the best development since early 2022 and a trend that has continued into the third quarter, the news agency writes.

Rolex Daytona 116508 and Patek Philippe's Aquanaut 5167A were among the models that rose the most in price.

That the index has risen so sharply is somewhat surprising, given that households are under pressure and global trade is dominated by tariff concerns. But trade uncertainty and rising commodity prices may also explain why some people are avoiding buying new – increasingly expensive – watches. 

Swedish economists: Victory for Putin – difficult to pressure without sanctions

It is difficult to determine whether last night's meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was constructive or productive, but it could be the beginning of a complicated process. This is what SEB's senior economist Robert Bergqvist writes in an update on X.

He notes that neither sanctions were eased nor agreements were reached on increased trade and, like other analysts Reuters spoke to, he believes that the market's reactions will be small.

Danske Bank's senior strategist Maria Landeborn and Carnegie's international strategist Henrik von Sydow also believe this in an interview with DI. Both point to the meeting as a success for Putin, where he was invited into the "fine room".

Landeborn believes that it will be difficult to pressure Russia into concessions without the threat of sanctions, something that Nordea's chief economist Annika Winsth agrees with.

"No new sanctions on Russian oil today. It seems as if Putin won the talks, which puts continued pressure on the EU to stick together," she writes in a comment to EFN. 

Ikea's investments
Ikea's new investment in China may spread: "Part of the culture"

When the Swedish furniture giant Ikea now starts selling its products on Chinese and American trading platforms, it will be a break from how sales were previously managed. This is written by SvD.

To some extent, the change is due to increasing accessibility in the markets in both the US and China, says Tolga Öncü, head of Ikea's global store operations.

In the future, similar collaborations around the world may be relevant.

- Testing new solutions is a big part of Ikea's culture, says Öncü.