HKL and CAF entered into contract on the procurement of metro trains

HKL- the Metro Operator in Helsinki - and the Spanish manufacturer of rolling stock Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles S.A. i.e. CAF) signed a contract on the procurement of 20 new metro trains on Wednesday 6th of February.

HKL’s Executive Board chose CAF as the supplier of the new metro trains of Helsinki in October. CAF’s tender was the most affordable in terms of overall economy as the acquisition price and the commercial terms, operating and maintenance costs, level of the train technology, design and innovativeness as well as co-operation capabilities and the reliability of deliveries were taken in the account in the evaluation.

After signing the contract the procurement project of metro trains will continue by drawing up more detailed technical designs. Also a life-size mock-up will be made of the new metro train that enables the assessment of the structural details of the new trains with different user groups.

The total length of the new trains is 90 metres, corresponding to the train units currently in use at off-peak hours and with a passenger capacity of 576.

The train is accessible in its entirety from one end to the other, making it easy to move between cars during the journey. In terms of their visual appearance, the trains will resemble the M200 series, the exterior and seat colour being orange also in future.

The trains will at first be equipped with a temporary driver’s cab, necessary in the transitional stage towards the automation of the metro traffic control system. Once the automation is completed, the temporary cabin will be dismantled and the space converted for passenger use.

CAF is one of the major manufacturers of metro vehicles in the world. In recent years CAF has delivered metro trains for example to Madrid, Rome, Washington, Barcelona and Brussels.

The new metro train fleet is required for the West Metro. The delivery schedule of the new trains is planned so that the operation of West Metro can be started according to the schedule. The first train will arrive in Helsinki for test runs in the turn of January-February 2015. In total 15 trains will be delivered by the end of the year 2015 and they are needed for starting of the operation of West Metro. The remaining trains will be delivered in spring 2016.

In addition, the procurement is part of the preparation for the potential extension of the West Metro from Matinkylä to Kivenlahti. The procurement also covers the opportunity to exercise the second option, should the so-called East Metro to Sipoo be realised sooner than expected.

Source: Helsinki City Transport

Statoil: 2012 fourth quarter results

Operating and Financial review

Statoil's (OSE:STL, NYSE:STO) fourth quarter 2012 net operating income was NOK 45.8 billion. In 2012, net operating income was NOK 206.6 billion.

Statoil delivered equity production of 2,004 mboe per day in 2012, increased by 8% from 1,850 mboe per day in 2011. Adjusted earnings increased by 7% to NOK 193.2 billion in 2012, from NOK 179.9 billion in 2011. Statoil achieved an organic reserve replacement ratio (RRR) of 1.1 in 2012.

"2012 was a year of strong strategic and operational progress for Statoil. We grew our production by 8% in 2012, in line with the target we announced in 2011, and we deliver strong earnings growth. We are well underway to deliver profitably on our ambition of producing more than 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalents per day in 2020," says Helge Lund, Statoil's president and CEO.

"Statoil's strategy remains firm. We continue our strong exploration performance, adding more than 1.5 billion barrels in new resources, and we are maturing our high quality project portfolio, including the Johan Sverdrup and Skrugard fields. We continue to manage our balance sheet and enter 2013 from a robust financial position," says Lund.

Statoil's Board of Directors will propose to increase the dividend to NOK 6.75 per share for 2012. This is in line with the company's dividend policy and an increase from NOK 6.50 in 2011.

Statoil maintains its ambition of producing more than 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalents per day by 2020 and estimates organic capital expenditures for 2013 at around USD 19 billion. The company will complete around 50 exploration wells in 2013 with a total exploration activity level at around USD 3.5 billion.


Capital Markets Update

Today, Statoil presents the Capital Markets Update, focusing on our position as the leading oil and gas operator in Norway and the second largest gas supplier to Europe.

"On the Norwegian continental shelf, we announce that we are on track to meet our ambition of producing more than 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalents per day in 2020," says Lund.

"We also announce that Statoil's gas sales in the European markets were all-time high in 2012, at solid prices. We see a strong outlook for the European gas markets and are well positioned to capture value as the markets develop," says Lund.

Statoil also announces today increased gas volumes for the Block 2 discoveries offshore Tanzania to 7-9 Tcf in total recoverable resources.

Fourth quarter results 2012

Statoil's net operating income was NOK 45.8 billion compared to NOK 60.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Adjusted earnings were NOK 48.3 billion, compared to NOK 45.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Adjusted earnings after tax were NOK 15.1 billion, up from NOK 14.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Net income was NOK 13.0 billion compared to NOK 25.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Toyota is the Latest Major Automotive Brand to Leverage Best-in-Class Nokia Mapping Technology using its Local Search for Automotive.

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced that Toyota Motor Europe is the latest automotive brand to select the HERE platform's Nokia Local Search for Automotive to power its next generation Touch & Go  navigation and infotainment systems. Nokia Local Search for Automotive is a specifically designed solution developed to fulfill the requirements of the automotive industry.


By leveraging Nokia Local Search for Automotive, Toyota drivers will have fast and easy online access to the latest high-quality industry mapping information and community-generated content - including millions of ratings, reviews and images fed directly into their cars.

The introduction of this service demonstrates how Nokia's HERE business is continuing to extend its industry-leading portfolio of products to meet the needs of its automotive customers.

"The ability to deliver comprehensive and driver-relevant content tailored to automotive requirements makes the Nokia Location Platform an interesting proposition," said Derek Williams, General Manager, Telematics & Multimedia, Toyota Motor Europe. "It is an excellent basis for creative location-centric concepts and we are delighted to bring this technology to our customers. Nokia Local Search for Automotive is expected to be commercially available in Toyota systems from early 2014 in Europe, Russia and the Middle East."

Moving forward, Toyota Motor Europe will collaborate with Nokia to study more services that leverage the Nokia Location Platform, including best-in-class content. Nokia is currently the leading company providing end-to-end mapping, navigation and location solutions for the automotive industry.

"Nokia and Toyota share the same vision of what the in-vehicle location experience should be - immersive, always on. Today's announcement underlines Nokia's commitment to providing fresh content and services to the auto industry so it can deliver innovative consumer solutions," said Eric Fumat, Vice President Sales & Business Development EMEA, Nokia Location & Commerce.

Hints on global and regional economy growth from Nordic Financial Group

POHJOLA'S ANALYSTS: YIELDING RETURNS IN A SLOW GROWTH ENVIRONMENT

There is a fragile global economic recovery underway. Emerging economies, led by China, will once again remain the main engines of global economic growth while developed countries will plod along. The US economy will slow to around 2% and the euro area expects zero growth. The fiscal policy is still a drag on growth in developed countries. Fiscal policy adjustment has advanced more in the euro area than in the USA. The current extremely easy global monetary policy will help compensate for the negative effects of fiscal policy on growth.

- In asset allocation, we will overweight equities and corporate bonds and underweight government bonds. Our recommendation for the allocation of commodities is close to neutral. According to the analysts, the recommendation is affected by reasonably positive attitude to risk appetite, return potential in equities supported by accelerating profit growth and dividends, expectations of higher long-term rates in the USA and the higher return/risk potential of high-yield corporate bonds in dollars than bonds in emerging markets.

The overweight equity exposure is justified by the fact that the gradual global economic recovery will give some support to companies' profit performance. Companies in Europe and the USA are revising down their profit forecasts to a lesser extent.

- Stocks have gained considerably but the continued decline in equity risk premiums as the euro crisis eases, declining trend of corrections to negative forecasts and low return expectations of alternative investments argue for our positive view of equities, explains Jarkko Soikkeli, Equity Strategist.

- Our favourite sectors for early 2013 are energy, consumer goods and construction. When it comes to other sectors, we take a more cautious view of media, forest industry and healthcare. Our favourite stocks for early 2013 are Metso Corporation, Metsä Board, Neste Oil Corporation, Nokian Tyres Plc and YIT Corporation. At the same time, we recommend avoiding the following stocks: Orion Corporation, Pöyry PLC, Sanoma Corporation, Tieto Corporation and UPM-Kymmene Corporation, continues Soikkeli.

In the bond market, Pohjola's analysts expect the Riksbank to cut its key rate twice by 25 basis points and the ECB once by 25 basis points. Economic fundamentals in both Sweden and the Eurozone also argue for lower money market rates and short swap rates. With respect to long-term rates, the greatest upward pressure is on US interest rates. According to the analysts, the recommended duration in the Eurozone is seven years.

- We expect corporate bonds to continue to gain momentum and risk premiums to continue to decline moderately. In our asset allocation recommendation, we shift to an overweight in high-yield bonds and, to a moderate extent, Investment Grade bonds. We recommend maturities of over three years. When it comes to Finnish corporate bonds, our view is that Nokia Corporation and Nokian Tyres Plc exhibit the most attractive the risk/return potential, says Jukka Ruotinen, Head of Fixed Income and FX Research.

- Although we believe that the euro will strengthen against the US dollar in the long run, we expect the currency pair to weaken in the next few months, sent down by lowering euro rates. We also expect heightening expectations of interest rate cuts to weaken the Swedish krona. In the meanwhile, the Russian rouble will benefit from higher crude oil prices and the stabilisation of capital flows.

Our favourite commodity is crude oil due to geopolitical risks and the constrained demand/supply picture. A positive macroeconomic sentiment is also a driver for movements in crude prices. It is possible of investors to benefit from this because the forward curve for crude oil market price development is declining. The change of power in China will, for its part, foster developments in investments in the country and thus demand for base metals too. Pohjola's analysts keep, however, commodity allocation neutral because of the risks associated with the prices of natural gas and agricultural products.

Pohjola Bank plc

Pohjola is a Finnish financial services group which provides its corporate and institutional customers with a diverse range of banking, non-life insurance and asset management services and private individuals with an extensive range of non-life insurance and private banking services. 

Pohjola Bank plc (Pohjola) is part of OP-Pohjola Group, the leading financial services group in Finland. Pohjola acts as the Group's central bank and is responsible for the Group's international operations. OP-Pohjola Group consists of over 200 member cooperative banks and the Group's central institution, OP-Pohjola Group Central Cooperative, with its subsidiaries and closely-related companies, the largest of which is Pohjola.

source: Thomson Reuters One

Economic Outlook - Sweden 2013: Unemployment and business climate.

The significant decline in industrial production seen earlier in the fall continues. The business cycle will bottom out by summer 2013 followed by weak recovery. Unemployment will rise despite an unused labour market potential corresponding to one million jobs. Forecasted GNP growth for Sweden in 2013 is 0.3% lower. All this according to the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise economic outlook report for the fourth quarter entitled ‘The Million-wide Gap’.


”Exports to Europe shrink significantly due to cutbacks many countries have implemented to address their run-away national debt problems. Swedish manufactures were first out with redundancy notices, but this wave has spread to domestic sectors as household spending is negatively impacted by fears of rising unemployment,” noted Stefan Fölster, Chief Economist for the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise.

The current forecast shows increasing unemployment, which will remain high even as GNP growth begins to recover in the fall.

The report outlook also shows that Sweden has unused labour potential comparable to a million jobs annually. This potential includes currently unemployed, part-time underemployed, or those forced into early retirement. The unused potential in the Swedish markets is greatest in Örebro County and least in Gotland.

”The level of structural unemployment in Sweden has increased in every recession over recent decades. Unfortunately, redundancies issued today will also lead to lost jobs that never return. This trend can be reversed, though. To ensure these jobs remain after the current downturn, Sweden should invest in further legislative reforms promoting work and improving the business climate,” concluded Mr. Fölster.

An international review shows that a wave of such reforms is on the way in many countries Sweden competes with. The debt crisis has created the basis for significant structural reform throughout Europe, and in connection with debt reduction plans, many of these countries are preparing structural reforms to improve their international competitiveness and capability to create growth and new jobs.


Source: Svenskt Näringsliv

Sweden To Charge TV Tax For Anyone With A Computer or Tablet

Laugh your way to the bank: Sweden's SVT public television network is transitioning to the digital age and now offering all of its content free of charge, online. Unfortunately this also means that anyone with a computer or tablet will now have to start paying television license fees.

Tax supported broadcasters across the Nordics have been looking for ways to collect new income in recent years as more and more people cut cable and watch content online. The fee rings in at 2,076 SEK (€240) a year, and is enforced by Radiotjänsten.Thelocal.se reports that there has been a law in place since 2006 that states that a person who can access an entire TV channel on any device is required to pay the fee.

SVT's content is also available on mobile, but it sounds like they will not be collecting fees from everyone with a smartphone.

"The spectrum of mobile phones is so broad and we don't see their primary use as being watching a single TV channel," Radiotjänsten spokesman Johan Gernandt told Computer Sweden.

Finland essentially did the same thing starting January 1 of this year. Perviously Finns had a similar system of a TV tax enforced individually for anyone that owned a TV. But under a new law, the public service broadcasting tax is now collected from general taxes, rather than on an individual basis.

Are these new revenue streams logical or too broad? Personally I'm on the fence. Let us know in the comments.

By Greg Anderson

Source: ArticStartUp

Guidelines on Hygiene of Food for exporting to Norway

If you export processed food products to Norway, you have to make sure that your products meet all hygiene requirements. The Norwegian legislation on hygiene of foodstuffs is based on EU Regulation (EC) 852/2004. This legislation is based on the methodology of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP).

The full content of the regulations for download is here:
http://www.cbi.eu/marketintel/Norway%20legislation:%20Hygiene%20of%20foodstuffs%20(HACCP)/159458

Source: CBI - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Netherlands