Summer is leaving and at the end of October the most profitable tourism season begins in the south of Gran Canaria. It is estimated that more than 900.000 Nordic tourists will visit the south of Gran Canaria during the winter of 2024. But the Nordics come to Gran Canaria to sunbathe moderately and forget about the mess their politicians have in managing their economy. The city of Las Palmas is mainly home to long-term tourists from Finland who have owned properties in recent decades.
Recessionary Sweden's government plans to increase spending in 2025 as slowing inflation gives more fiscal room to help the largest Nordic nation's faltering economy. The Norwegian economy posted a third consecutive quarter of expansion, as a recovery in purchasing power boosted car purchases and a weak krona underpinned exports. A spate of recent data has indicated that Sweden's expected recovery is yet to materialize, including a contraction in manufacturing output last month and a preliminary estimate showing economic output contracted in the second quarter.
In the case of Norway, continental gross domestic product, which excludes the offshore energy industry and shipping, grew by 0,1% in the second quarter compared to the previous three months, according to a statement from Statistics Norway published this August. First quarter growth was revised down to 0,1%. The result shows that the energy-rich Nordic nation has been hit harder than previously assumed by the fallout from interest rates at their highest level in 15 years, even as slowing inflation and growth wages above 5% fuel consumption.
In Sweden, the center-right cabinet will increase spending by 60.000 billion crowns ($5.900 billion) in 2025, Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said, without providing a forecast on the overall budget balance. The plans are in stark contrast to last year, when the moderate Conservative government was forced to rein in spending to avoid driving up prices. The ruling coalition has drawn much ire from some of its staunchest supporters after it backed away from its usual stance of cutting taxes due to high inflation, which hit 9,7% two years ago when it came to power.
The government's announcement comes just days after the Riksbank announced its second key interest rate cut this year to 3,5%, signaling it could continue to reduce borrowing costs at its three remaining meetings this year. The Finance Ministry reduced its economic expansion forecast for this year to a calendar-adjusted 0,9%, down from the previously forecast 1,4% published in June. The economy is forecast to grow 2,8% next year, compared with 2,7% forecast in June, he said. Inflation is estimated at 1,9% this year and 1,7%, the same as projected in June.
