Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Supermarkets move to lower prices after comparisons and the Norwegian government to unveil plans to strengthen the armed forces, plus other news from Norway on Friday.
State budget spending to increase by billions of kroner
Wages and inflation have both been higher than the government expected when it drafted the state budget, and now it has announced it will adjust its spending accordingly.
"The changed forecasts not only affect public enterprises such as hospitals, police, schools and others, but also the value of grants to companies and organisations and transfers to people, such as child benefit. We are doing something about this," Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said on Friday morning.
Vedum said that spending was likely to increase by billions. However, he didn't provide an exact estimate of how much more could be spent.
The government to unveil plans to strengthen armed forces
On Friday, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance will hold a joint press conference on what is being done to strengthen Norway's Armed Forces.
Defence Minister Bjørn Arlid Gram will also be present at the press conference at the Rena camp in Åmot municipality at 10:30am.
Rema and Coop lower prices
February 1st saw supermarket chains adjust their prices wholesale, as they usually do at this time of year. However, prior to the rise, supermarket chains warned that increases could be high.
Several news organisations made comparisons of items commonly found in Norwegian shopping baskets and found that Rema and Coop Extra had raised their prices by between five and 10 percent.
In comparison, the other supermarket in the competition for the title of the best budget option, Kiwi, chose to freeze the price on many commonly bought items.
"Despite significantly increased raw material and purchasing costs, we now choose to lower the prices back to the level before February 1st," Tom Kristiansen, managing director of Rema 1000, said in a press release.
Meanwhile, Coop has told the Norwegian newspaper VG that it will roll back prices on around 4,000 products.
Håfjell named one of the top biking destinations in the world
Håfjell, perhaps more widely known in Norway as a ski destination, has been named one of the best biking destinations in the world.
Overall it was ranked 15 out of the 20 best places to cycle in the world. The mountain biking offer in Håfjell has 19 trails, a chair lift and a gondola service to reach its courses.
It has been recognised as one of the world's best mountain biking destinations by MTB magazine.
See Also
State budget spending to increase by billions of kroner
Wages and inflation have both been higher than the government expected when it drafted the state budget, and now it has announced it will adjust its spending accordingly.
"The changed forecasts not only affect public enterprises such as hospitals, police, schools and others, but also the value of grants to companies and organisations and transfers to people, such as child benefit. We are doing something about this," Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said on Friday morning.
Vedum said that spending was likely to increase by billions. However, he didn't provide an exact estimate of how much more could be spent.
The government to unveil plans to strengthen armed forces
On Friday, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance will hold a joint press conference on what is being done to strengthen Norway's Armed Forces.
Defence Minister Bjørn Arlid Gram will also be present at the press conference at the Rena camp in Åmot municipality at 10:30am.
Rema and Coop lower prices
February 1st saw supermarket chains adjust their prices wholesale, as they usually do at this time of year. However, prior to the rise, supermarket chains warned that increases could be high.
Several news organisations made comparisons of items commonly found in Norwegian shopping baskets and found that Rema and Coop Extra had raised their prices by between five and 10 percent.
In comparison, the other supermarket in the competition for the title of the best budget option, Kiwi, chose to freeze the price on many commonly bought items.
"Despite significantly increased raw material and purchasing costs, we now choose to lower the prices back to the level before February 1st," Tom Kristiansen, managing director of Rema 1000, said in a press release.
Meanwhile, Coop has told the Norwegian newspaper VG that it will roll back prices on around 4,000 products.
Håfjell named one of the top biking destinations in the world
Håfjell, perhaps more widely known in Norway as a ski destination, has been named one of the best biking destinations in the world.
Overall it was ranked 15 out of the 20 best places to cycle in the world. The mountain biking offer in Håfjell has 19 trails, a chair lift and a gondola service to reach its courses.
It has been recognised as one of the world's best mountain biking destinations by MTB magazine.
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