Economy

Swedish arms exports
Potential Gripen buyer to visit Sweden

Peru's Defense Minister Walter Astudillo is expected to visit Sweden on August 27 and a meeting with Defense Minister Pål Jonson (M) is on the agenda, writes DI.

During the visit, the ministers are expected to meet at Karlberg Palace for a bilateral meeting.

Peru has previously been highlighted as a possible Gripen customer. Saab CEO Micael Johansson confirmed earlier this year that there is interest.

First Greenland, now Ørsted - continued pressure on Denmark

Just hours after Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stood next to California Governor Gavin Newsom with a new climate research agreement, Donald Trump stopped Ørsted's wind power project. This is reported by the FT and points to a tangled diplomatic situation.

The question now is whether the wind power project is part of the "shadow war" over Greenland. Danish officials have begun to connect the events. At the same time, the meeting between Newsom and Rasmussen is drawing some criticism given the tensions between Denmark and Trump.

– It may not have been so smart, a source tells the business newspaper.

On Monday, Trump halted Ørsted's wind power project, which caused a billion-dollar blow to the company and a double-digit decline in the share price. The Danish state owns 50 percent of Ørsted.

Denmark's economy crushes Sweden's: No challenges

Denmark's economy is doing well. The neighboring country has higher growth and lower unemployment than Sweden, writes Svenska Dagbladet.

Unemployment is below 3 percent, compared to Sweden's 7 percent. In addition, the country has a unique system for mortgages – when interest rates rise, households are allowed to repay their loans at a lower amount than the original value, the newspaper writes.

– Not really, to be completely honest, says Helge Pedersen, Nordea's chief economist in Copenhagen, when asked if there are any challenges for the Danish economy.

Pedersen downplays the effect of the turbulence surrounding Novo Nordisk and instead points to the country's latest GDP figure. Denmark's growth in the second quarter amounted to 1.3 percent compared to the previous quarter. Sweden's figure landed at 0.1. 

Trump warns of tougher China tariffs and new retaliatory tariffs

Donald Trump warned last night of tougher tariffs against China of 200 percent if the export of rare earth metals is restricted.

-They have to give us rare earth metals. If not, we have to put 200 percent in tariffs or something like that, Trump told reporters after a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House, several news media outlets report.

Trump is also considering introducing new export restrictions on advanced technology. In a post on Truth Social, he warns of measures against countries with regulations that "hurt" American tech companies.

“Digital taxes, digital services legislation, and digital market regulations are all designed to harm or discriminate against American technology,” he writes.