Economy

The North Korea crisis  

"Made in China" lashes bolster Kim's coffers from the West  

 

Companies in the West, Japan and South Korea are tricked into buying North Korean goods. This is because the North Korean dictatorship sends semi-finished products, mostly consisting of false eyelashes and wigs, to be completed and packed in China, reports Reuters.  

 

When the false eyelashes are completed in the neighboring country, they receive a "Made in China" stamp, which allows North Korea to dodge sanctions and strengthen the inflow of foreign currency. This is stated by several people involved in the trade that the news agency spoke to.  

 

- We must assume that the millions of dollars from false eyelashes that flow into North Korea every month go to Kim Jong-Un's regime, says South Korean lawyer Shin Tong-Chan.  

 

North Korea has long been a significant exporter of goods in the hair segment, including false eyelashes and wigs. During the pandemic, exports fell drastically as the country closed its borders and demand fell. 

 

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Meta's future  

Meta's rally historic - increased by 2,140 billion  

 

Meta's stock surged more than 20 percent on Wall Street on Friday. The social media company's market capitalization thus jumped by 197 billion dollars. This corresponds to SEK 2,140 billion and is the largest increase in value during a single trading day in the stock exchange's history, according to Bloomberg. The previous record was $190 billion and was set by both Apple and Amazon in 2022.  

 

Morgan Stanley's analyst Brian Nowak noted in a comment to the financial statements on Friday that Meta's prospects are bright.  

 

"Meta's AI pipeline for both users and advertisers is robust, with new tools to be launched throughout the year," he writes. 

 

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Swedish inflation  

Ingves on the criticism: "There is always a measure of horoscope"  

 

Can anyone really explain the global inflation rally after the pandemic? The question is discussed in this week's Ekonomibyrån in SVT. 

 

- It is an important discussion to have if this type of inflation that we have seen is a different type of inflation, says the writer Katrine Kielos-Marçal.  

 

Among other things, the Riksbank has received criticism for not predicting any interest rate increases in the near term as recently as February 2022. The then head of the Riksbank, Stefan Ingves, defends the interest rate path they landed in at the time. 

 

- It is a forecast and not a promise. There is always a measure of horoscope talk. But often in the media, that's not what you want to hear, he says.