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More top picks for the Swedish-American business community.
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REUTERS | Top asset manager BlackRock Inc. said it wants U.S. companies to aim for a board that is 30% diverse and, for the first time, contains at least one member from an under-represented group. In new guidelines explaining its priorities for 2022 at portfolio companies, posted on its website, the $9.5 trillion asset manager also gave companies new guidance for reporting on climate change. But it said some continued investment in fossil fuels will be needed.
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WSJ | American companies are planning for steeper wage increases next year than at any point since the 2007-2009 recession, according to a new report, amid a tight labor market and the highest inflation in three decades. A survey by the Conference Board finds that companies are setting aside an average 3.9% of total payroll for wage increases next year, the most since 2008, with many citing higher inflation as a reason.
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🇸🇪 DAGENSNYHETER | Sweden, now solidly recognized as a Gaming wonder child, put on the map by companies such as Mojang and Dice, and now further evidenced as Apple selects this year’s 15 best apps through its decades-old App Store Award. Former winners are apps and games such as Pokémon Go and Disney+. This year, Sweden distinguishes itself both in the realm of apps and games, with Swedish gaming company Toca Boca being behind the app Toca Life World, which is recognized within the category iPhone App of the Year, and through a lesser-known company from Helsingborg helping Sweden pull its weight with gaming company Pixelbite being recognized for its Space Marshals 3 in the category Apple TV game of the Year.
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WGBH | New research led by scientists at Harvard University Medical School explains one of the many mysteries of COVID-19: why people infected with the virus often temporarily lose their sense of smell. The study’s lead author, Dr. Sandeep Robert Datta, said their findings was a surprise and could lead towards eventual treatments for a range of neurological disorders caused by the virus. His team took a close look at a specialized type of sensory neurons in the nose that detect and transmit smells to the brain. They discovered that two other kinds of cells that support those neurons are being attacked. Those cells can regenerate more quickly. “And so we think, on the whole, this is good news, and suggests that people who lose their sense of smell, for the most part, are going to go on to get their sense of smell back.“, he said.
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🇸🇪 DAGENSINDUSTRI | During November, Venture capital companies invested over 3.1 billion SEK in Swedish tech companies. Biotech, software companies, food savers, and loan challengers brought in the most capital. Among the companies raising capital is software company Neo4j who extended its summer investment round of 2.7 MSEK to 3.3 MSEK, making it among the ten largest during 2021. This means the risk appetite was kept steady for the fourth month in a row, even if it fades in comparison to the record month of June with its 32.7 billion SEK. In total, 68.3 billion SEK has been invested in Swedish tech companies throughout 2021's first 11 months, and thus the record of 27 billion SEK invested during 2020 has been surpassed.
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🇸🇪 DAGENSINDUSTRI | Klarna’s new Swedish Country Manager Jesper Eriksson announces he will work to establish the payment company as a challenger to Facebook’s and Google’s marketing services, while simultaneously attempting to ward off critics questioning whether Klarna might be attempting to build the next Amazon. ”That would have been very counter-productive” says Eriksson in an interview with Dagens Industri. The ambition is for the company’s app to operate as an all-encompassing shopping engine, including functions such as wish lists and where price changes and discounts will be monitored for consumers. As part of the app, is also inspiration functions such as targeted recommendations on anything from fashion to beauty.
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NYTIMES | Biden Orders Federal Vehicles and Buildings to Use Renewable Energy by 2050
President Biden set in motion a plan to make the federal government carbon neutral, ordering federal agencies to buy electric vehicles, to power facilities with wind, solar and nuclear energy, and to use sustainable building materials. In a series of executive orders, Mr. Biden directed the government to transform its 300,000 buildings, 600,000 cars and trucks, and use its annual purchases of $650 billion in goods and services to meet his goal of a federal government that stops adding carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by 2050.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS | Kentucky Hardest hit as Storms Leave Dozens Dead in 5 States
A monstrous tornado, carving a track that could rival the longest on record, ripped across the middle of the U.S. in a stormfront that killed dozens and tore apart a candle factory, crushed a nursing home, derailed a train and smashed an Amazon warehouse. “I pray that there will be another rescue. I pray that there will be another one or two,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said, as crews sifted through the wreckage of the candle factory in Mayfield, where 110 people were working overnight when the storm hit. In Kentucky alone, 22 were confirmed dead after half a day, including 11 in and around Bowling Green.
THE GUARDIAN | The Music Industry Unites to Pledge Net-zero Emissions by 2050
Three major labels – Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group – plus independents such as the Beggars and Secretly groups of labels, Warp, Ninja Tune and more, have signed the Music Climate Pact which will see them pledge “actionable climate targets”. The companies will sign up to one of two existing schemes, Science Based Targets or the SME Climate Commitment, the latter part of the the UN’s Race to Zero initiative. Both schemes require signatories to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, and achieve a 50% reduction by 2030.
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