Sweden

Hexagon CEO probe adds to Swedish governance murk

31 Oct 2016

Norwegian authorities have detained the $13 bln Swedish IT company's boss, Ola Rollen, for suspected insider trading. Rollen, who denies the charges, has grown Hexagon's market cap over 50-fold. After misdeeds at the likes of Swedbank, local scandals are no longer even a shock.

GE plays tactical hardball with Elliott

27 Oct 2016

The U.S. industrial firm is feuding with the hedge fund over two 3D-printing companies. It refused to cave in to Elliott on one, opting for a rival instead, and raised its bid on the other. This is a decent enough compromise and will stop activists from seeing GE as easy prey.

Ericsson bloat puts reverse charge call on shares

21 Oct 2016

The $18 bln Swedish telecoms kit maker burned through cash in the third quarter and lost revenue in its key North American market. The gory details follow last week’s profit warning. Ericsson's huge cost base has left it floundering as demand for mobile broadband upgrades slows.

Ericsson’s poor strategy rings in fresh pain

12 Oct 2016

The Swedish telecom company's dividend is at risk after third-quarter operating income slumped more than 90 percent. Industry peers are also exposed to falling demand for mobile network kit. But Ericsson has cut costs too slowly and embarked on misguided diversification.

Bedroom musicians may amplify Spotify profit issue

29 Sep 2016

The Swedish streaming group is in talks to buy SoundCloud, a site where amateur musicians upload songs for free. It would bring 175 mln monthly listeners and additional industry clout. But buying a loss-making group might not help Spotify address its key goal: turning a profit.

Spotify’s investor pitch sounds off-key

8 Sep 2016

The Swedish group may restrict access to new albums to secure lower record-label fees. Music costs are rising faster than sales and need to be cut ahead of a possible IPO. An $8.5 billion private funding valuation hinges on the tricky task of weaning customers off free music.

Handelsbanken partly untangles knotty problems

25 Aug 2016

The Swedish lender has sold its 6.8 pct stake in Industrivarden, distancing itself from the conglomerate’s corporate jet scandal. This also boosts its capital, ahead of potentially punitive reforms. But Handelsbanken’s new boss still needs to prove he is his own man.

Unilever finds new ways to banish grubbiness

16 Aug 2016

The consumer goods giant is buying Blueair, a posh Swedish air purifier that is big in China and Japan. It follows a $1 billion purchase of subscription service Dollar Shave Club. On one hand, both are strategic shifts; on the other, they’re just creative takes on cleanliness.

Handelsbanken harsh streak hints at racier future

16 Aug 2016

The Swedish lender fired boss Frank Vang-Jensen after just 18 months following an alleged power grab. Handelsbanken has sector-topping returns and was teacher's pet in Europe's stress tests. A new plan to grow abroad implies over-centralisation wasn't the ex-CEO's sole failing.

SAF-Holland lacks firepower in truck bidding war

4 Aug 2016

The truck parts maker’s $490 million offer for Swedish peer Haldex was trumped by Germany’s ZF Friedrichshafen, which offered just 6 percent more. SAF is already stretching itself and will struggle to outbid a much bigger rival that has the target’s support.

Swedish solvency scuffle ominous for EU bank peers

23 Jun 2016

Sweden’s regulator has played down a report that Nordea faces a $9.8 bln capital hole. But fears of solvency standardisation still riled investors, who had assumed watchdogs were rolling over. With global standard-setters mulling “capital floors”, expect more discombobulation.

Eurovision puts Ukraine in helpful spotlight

16 May 2016

Kiev’s pride in winning Saturday’s annual croon-fest has a downside: it has to pay to host next year’s. Russia has pointed out Ukraine has a ropey economy and a war in the east. The experience of former hosts, though, suggests there could be a return on the investment.

Ericsson’s Nokia-Alcatel fear rings in new changes

21 Apr 2016

The $30 bln Swedish mobile equipment maker is tinkering with its restructuring after a bad first-quarter miss. Ericsson promises no new savings, just higher costs for reorganisation this year. It looks desperate, but may help Ericsson square up to the newly merged Nokia-Alcatel.

Nordic bank low-rate survival kit is hard to copy

18 Feb 2016

Swedish and Danish banks have been dealing with negative policy rates for a while. But they have fee-driven business, low costs and strong capital ratios. They offer only a partial guide for European or Japanese peers for whom sub-zero interest rates are more novel.

Overdue Mylan deal is not the one investors wanted

11 Feb 2016

Three months after rival Perrigo refused its $26 bln offer, the drugmaker has agreed to buy Sweden’s Meda AB. Though the $7.2 bln transaction makes strategic sense, the 92 pct premium is hard to justify. Mylan might have been better served by trying to sell, rather than buy.

New Alfa Laval boss can sweeten sour news

2 Feb 2016

The high-flying $7 bln Swedish engineer is being hit hard by collapsing orders in the marine as well as oil-and-gas sectors. Shares dropped 13 pct after a bleak outlook. Incoming boss Tom Erixon needs quick wins. As costs are under control, a share buyback could be his best bet. 

H&M suffers from rare wardrobe malfunction

28 Jan 2016

The Swedish fast-fashion retailer said discounts on a glut of winter wear would weigh on sales. H&M is a little less efficient than chief rival Inditex, and the strong dollar isn’t helping either. Still, both are in a different league from most peers.

Sweden can be trailblazer for global rate-setters

19 Jan 2016

Small countries sometimes lead the way in monetary policy. Sweden can begin to challenge the global obsession with inflation-targeting by pursuing central bank reforms outlined in a new report co-authored by former Bank of England chief Mervyn King. This shift is overdue. 

Sweden ignores Swiss lesson on FX intervention

5 Jan 2016

The Swedish central bank is talking about intervening to curb the inflation-dampening strength of the crown. Its own history and the experience of Switzerland, which spectacularly abandoned attempts to cap its currency almost exactly a year ago, augur failure. 

Electrolux’s GE failure leaves only faint stains

7 Dec 2015

The Swedish group will be deprived of extra growth after a U.S. acquisition was scotched by trustbusters, who felt that owning GE’s appliance unit would give Electrolux overmighty pricing power. The $1 bln fall in Electrolux’s value suggests investors never held such hopes.