Markets brace for record rally as US pauses tariffs
European markets, including Stockholm, are expected to surge at Thursday’s opening after the US unexpectedly paused its planned import tariffs – sparing all countries except China. US indices soared on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq up 12 percent and the S&P 500 gaining 10 percent.
Asia followed suit overnight, with Tokyo up 8.6 percent. The rise is seen as a dramatic reversal of last week's sharp losses driven by fears of an escalating trade war. Oil prices also rebounded, with Brent crude back up to $65 a barrel. The Swedish krona held steady, trading at 9.97 to the dollar and 10.94 to the euro.
Swedish vocabulary: börs ‒ stock exchange
Union threatens strike over working hours and overtime pay
Sweden’s Unionen union has issued strike notices against free school companies, vehicle inspection firms, and the Stockholm School of Economics, targeting employers linked to the Almega employer group.
The dispute centres on demands for reduced working hours and proper overtime compensation for part-time employees. Affected companies include Academedia Support, Sweco, WSP, and Kiwa. Vehicle inspection firms Opus and Carspect are also targeted.
The Engineers’ union Sveriges Ingenjörer has joined the conflict, potentially involving around 1,000 members.
Almega criticised the move as “irresponsible.” Unless resolved, the strike will begin on 23 April.
Swedish vocabulary: strejk ‒ strike
Swedish export firms summoned as trade tensions deepen
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Wednesday summoned major Swedish export companies and trade unions for talks, although this was before US President Donald Trump's announced a 90-day pause on tariffs.
The crisis meeting, scheduled for Thursday, aimed to preserve Sweden’s long-standing political and economic consensus in favour of free trade.
“This unity is a strategic national asset,” Kristersson wrote in a debate article in the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper.
Swedish vocabulary: exportföretag ‒ exporter
EU approves retaliatory tariffs but signals readiness to de-escalate
The EU has approved a set of retaliatory tariffs on US imports in response to Washington’s metal duties. The first wave, due to take effect 15 April, will hit 1,600 goods – from dental floss and vegetables to motorcycles and steel – with tariffs mostly at 25 percent.
Two more rounds may follow in May and December. While Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the US tariffs as “unjustified,” she said Europe remains open to a negotiated solution. “These countermeasures can be frozen at any time,” she said. Sweden supported the move, calling it “measured and proportionate.”
Swedish vocabulary: tull ‒ tariff
Swedish inquiry calls for abolition of permanent residency for asylum
A Swedish government inquiry has proposed abolishing permanent residency for asylum seekers, in the interim conclusions in a study of how to tighten Swedish asylum rules to the strictest level allowable under EU law.
The first report of the so-called EU minimum level inquiry recommended that even UN quota refugees and refugees who have lived in Sweden for five years, two groups which are currently eligible to receive permanent residency, should only in future be eligible for temporary permits.
The inquiry, chaired by the judge and former Sweden Democrat official Josephine Boswell, recommended repealing the current regulations allowing for permanent residency and introducing new regulations for temporary permits.
Swedish vocabulary: asylrätten - asylum rights
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