Swedish News

 

  • Preparing for Broadway (and probably studying Henrik Ibsen over Christmas) is Peter Stormare who will play Judge Brack in "Hedda Gabler".

  • Stockholm fourth most expensive city.
    They probably suspected it for some time already, the citizens of Stockholm. And now a new study confirms it: In comparison with 24 major cities around the world, Stockholm ranks as the fourth most expensive when measured by the price of consumer products. Oslo, Copenhagen, and Paris are more expensive, while Shanghai, San Francisco, and Vilnius are among the cheapest according to the study, which was carried out by the price comparison website Pricerunner.

  • Comme des Garçons and H&M: A dress for the Christmas party? Perfect with frills and beads.

  • Peter Stormare on Broadway.
    Swedish actor Peter Stormare is set to play Judge Brack in Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” on Broadway. The play will open for previews on January 6 at the American Airlines Theater and the premiere will be on January 25, 2009. Marie-Louise Parker plays Hedda and Ian Rickson directs the Norwegian play.

  • Or how about a suit jacket with a different cut? To be found at H&M stores.

  • Man attacked by bear.
    A man was attacked by a bear outside Bollnäs in northern Sweden. The attack took place near Vallsta Centrum, a few kilometers outside the city and almost 300 kilometers north of Stockholm. Rescue officials say the man was badly bitten and clawed but that his life was not in any danger. "The man had a hunting rifle and was probably a hunter. It's possible he shot and injured the bear, which may still be in the area," said police spokesman Hesan Akbari. A team of hunters was sent out early on Thursday afternoon in an attempt to track down the bear. Sweden is home to an estimated 2,900 bears, and the size of the population is growing, according to the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. But bear attacks in Sweden remain unusual. Since 1977, there have been 26 reported attacks on people, resulting in two deaths. It is most common for attacks to coincide with hunting expeditions, which has been the case for 19 of the 26 attacks.

  • Sweden has most shoplifters in Scandinavia.
    Swedish shoplifters have stolen more than their Nordic counterparts for the second year in a row, a new study has shown. From July 2007 to June 2008, nimble-fingered thieves swiped goods worth an estimated 5.8 billion SEK ($730 million) from stores in Sweden. The Global Retail Theft Barometer analyzed shoplifting trends at 1,426 stores and 17 different retail chains in Sweden. Checkpoint Systems, the company behind the study, noted that thefts account for 1.35 percent of turnover, up from 1.32 percent last year. "We are still worst in the Nordic region, and worst by quite some distance. We are closer to levels in Eastern Europe than in Western Europe," Checkpoint Systems' Swedish manager Louise Alplin told the TT news agency. Since the cost of stolen goods is added to the price paid by consumers, Alplin reckons that shoplifting costs a family of four 2,520 SEK ($315) every year. "It's an awful lot of money - this really hits us consumers," said Alplin.

  • How to survive the Swedish winter.
    It’s coming and it’s coming fast. The dark dreary winter. How to survive it? Readers of The Local gave their tips. Says Marcus Cederström: “The beautiful thing about the Swedish winter is the exciting romantic feel of the darkness, and the lights throughout town, candles in every window. You wake up in darkness and you go to sleep in darkness. My tip is to go outside when the sun shines during the middle of the day, take a walk at lunch. Go skiing or ice-skating. And if all fails, take a trip to Spain.” Claudia Tenenblat adds: “This will be my first winter in Sweden. I am a little afraid of the darkness. I intend to drink a lot of wine by the fire, cook romantic meals and go for long runs when there is sunshine. As a trump card, I hold on to an open ticket to Rio, for emergencies like the sun disappearing for three weeks!”

  • Comme des Garçons at H&M.
    We told you some time ago about this exciting news, and now you can see for yourself what happens when the Japanese fashion label collaborates with Swedish H&M. “It was a fascinating challenge,” said Comme’s founder Rei Kawakubo about the project. Nordstjernan took a look at some of the items from the collection. Here’s a dress with frills and ornaments, something for the Christmas party perhaps? And take a look at the suit jacket with the unorthodox cut. It will work with jeans as well as more elegant slacks – definitely a keeper.

  • Borg tops in Sweden power rankings. Finance minister Anders Borg has surpassed prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt as Sweden’s most influential powerbroker, according to a new ranking. Borg’s top rank comes from the weekly Swedish news magazine Fokus, which recently published its annual list of Sweden’s 100 most important powerbrokers. The rankings are based on a combination of several criteria, including presence in the media, formal power, informal power, and other factors. Last year, Borg landed in third place in the Fokus rankings, but shot past Reinfeldt to the top spot in 2008, leaving his boss to claim the number two spot. He has taken on a unique role when it comes to shaping the Moderates’ and the entire Alliance’s policies,” said Fokus editor-in-chief Martin Ahlquist.