Sweden spent a decade making cash feel optional. Then it passed a law saying some shops cannot treat it as optional. Act (2026:769) took effect on 1 July 2026. Grocery stores and pharmacies with staffed checkouts must accept cash for purchases up to 0.1 price base amount (5,920 kronor in 2026) and no more than … Continue reading New times, new ways
Social Commentary
A good intention is not the same thing as a good investment.
According to Järn Bygg Färg (24 August 2026), four in five Swedes are willing to live in a new home that contains reclaimed building materials. The same survey, from Byggvarubedömningen, also found that 87 percent worry about hazardous substances, moisture and mould — and that reclaimed products can cost more than new ones once transport, … Continue reading A good intention is not the same thing as a good investment.
Swedish Media Found the Closed Eyes. They Missed the Other Camera.
Traditional Swedish media did not invent the pictures of Donald Trump at yesterday’s 25th-anniversary ceremony. At the Pentagon, cameras caught the 80-year-old president with his eyes shut and his head dipping while the names of the 184 people killed there were read. It looks bad. The White House says he was “solemnly listening” and that … Continue reading Swedish Media Found the Closed Eyes. They Missed the Other Camera.
Four months is not a generation
In May I wrote that America’s War on Poverty may have helped create a permanent underclass — not because the intentions were evil, but because transfers replaced market income and left too many people dependent on the state instead of work. The post kept getting visits. Nobody left a sermon in the comments. Fair enough. … Continue reading Four months is not a generation
Sweden’s GDP Just Beat the Forecast. Don’t Turn It Into a Fairy Tale.
Sweden’s official GDP numbers land about two months after the quarter ends. On 28 August, Statistics Sweden reported that the economy grew 1.6 percent in Q2 from the previous quarter. That beat the 1.2 percent consensus and came in stronger than the flash estimate of 1.4 percent. Calendar-adjusted, GDP was 3.3 percent higher than a … Continue reading Sweden’s GDP Just Beat the Forecast. Don’t Turn It Into a Fairy Tale.
One call. 8,235 SEK saved every year.
We’ve had the same insurance company for over ten years.Home insurance, car insurance, accident insurance – everything just rolled on year after year without us lifting a finger. The only policy with a different company is our son’s child insurance. We took that one out while I was pregnant. It has no exclusions. Every other … Continue reading One call. 8,235 SEK saved every year.
My Parents Were Right. The Third Disaster Just Hit.
A few hours ago a magnitude 7.7 earthquake slammed the Flores region in Indonesia. Buildings damaged, power outages, hospital patients evacuated, people dead. The usual ugly checklist. Labuan Bajo – the gateway to Komodo – took hits. Hotels damaged, tourists scrambling, the whole fragile machine that keeps this place running suddenly looking very temporary. This … Continue reading My Parents Were Right. The Third Disaster Just Hit.
The West’s birth-rate collapse just found an unexpected ally: the free market, and a war in the Strait of Hormuz.
While central banks scramble to contain the macroeconomic fallout from the ongoing conflict choking the Strait of Hormuz, they may be missing a bizarre, deeply invasive side-effect. It is highly efficient. It is also pure dark satire. Geopolitical tension is driving up the cost of oil-dependent manufacturing and global shipping. The world’s largest condom maker, … Continue reading The West’s birth-rate collapse just found an unexpected ally: the free market, and a war in the Strait of Hormuz.
When a European heatwave hands you a Nazi ghost fleet
Europe’s latest heatwave and drought have dropped the Danube to critically low levels. In eastern Serbia, near the port town of Prahovo, that has done something the river does every dry summer – only this year it’s worse: it has dragged dozens of rusted German WWII ships back into the daylight. In September 1944 the … Continue reading When a European heatwave hands you a Nazi ghost fleet
When “Free Security” Costs You Late Fees
Last month my 78-year-old mother got a call from her private banking advisor at SEB. He strongly recommended she activate their free security feature: “delay payment.” He made it sound completely harmless. My mother has always taken pride in paying every bill on time. She has never received a reminder fee or interest invoice in … Continue reading When “Free Security” Costs You Late Fees