Nordic countries agree to $2.5 billion long-term loan for crisis-hit Iceland

September 15th, 2009 Re-elected Norway premier to fight climate changeOSLO — Norway's prime minister on Tuesday said fighting climate change would be a priority in his second term after his left-leaning government beat a splintered opposition to win re-election. Jens Stoltenberg's Labor-led coalition won 86 seats to keep a slim majority in the 169-seat Parliament after using oil money to shield the Nordic welfare state from the global recession.

August 4th, 2009 Iceland court lifts gag order after public outrageREYKJAVIK, Iceland — A court in Iceland lifted a gag order Tuesday that allowed Kaupthing Bank to prevent media coverage of a leaked file that discloses details of the bank's weak position shortly before it collapsed in October. The Reykjavik district magistrate lifted the order only hours after Kaupthing itself yielded to public pressure to stop pushing for the ban.

July 31st, 2009 Iceland says IMF postpones action on $2.1 bln loanREYKJAVIK, Iceland — Iceland's government said Friday that the International Monetary Fund has postponed a decision on releasing additional funds for the nation's economic recovery program. Iceland was hoping for a decision before the IMF executive board begins a two-week vacation on Aug.

July 23rd, 2009 Sweden's Skanska says Q2 net profit up 9 pctSTOCKHOLM — Skanska AB, the Nordic region's biggest construction company, on Wednesday said net profit rose by 9 percent in the second quarter as an improvement in margins offset weaker revenues. The Stockholm-based group said net earnings for the quarter were 1.17 billion kronor ($154 million), up from 1.07 billion kronor in the same period a year ago.

July 21st, 2009 United flight makes emergency stop in IcelandCHICAGO — Authorities say smoke coming out of the cockpit forced a Chicago-bound United Airlines flight to make an emergency landing at Keflavik International Airport in Iceland. United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski says United Flight 949 from London's Heathrow Airport landed safely in Iceland at 2:51 p.m.

July 21st, 2009 Nordea posts 11 pct drop in 2Q net, raises outlookSTOCKHOLM — The Nordic region's biggest financial group, Nordea Bank AB, on Tuesday reported an 11 percent drop in second-quarter net profit, mainly due to higher loan losses and staff costs, but raised its full-year outlook. Net profit in the quarter fell to euro616 million ($874 million), down from euro692 million in the same quarter last year.

June 25th, 2009 China, Turkmenistan seal long-term energy dealASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — China has secured a long-term deal to buy 40 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from energy-rich Turkmenistan. State newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan reported Thursday the two countries have agreed on the binding details of a 30-year contract to increase China's annual gas purchases from the previously agreed amount of 30 billion cubic meters, starting in 2010.

June 19th, 2009 Lawmakers criticize UK government for Iceland spatLONDON — An influential committee of cross-party lawmakers criticized the British government on Friday for its handling of the Icelandic banking crisis, when the Treasury froze assets using anti-terrorist law, prompting a diplomatic spat between the two countries. London infuriated Reyjkavik last year when it used the anti-terrorist legislation to freeze U.K.

June 16th, 2009 Hu: China to loan regional group $10 billionYEKATERINBURG, Russia — Chinese leader Hu Jintao says China will extend a $10 billion loan to a regional group that also includes Russia and four Central Asian states. The move adds muscle to China's role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which it dominates along with Russia.

June 10th, 2009 Watchdog: Swedish banks can handle Baltic crisisSTOCKHOLM — The Swedish financial supervisory authority on Wednesday said the country's four largest banks have enough capital to weather a severe financial collapse in the Baltics, including a devaluation of the Latvian currency. The financial watchdog said Sweden's major banks can cope with credit losses of more than 150 billion kronor ($19.3 billion) in the Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in next three years.

June 6th, 2009 UK gov't secures cash from Iceland over IcesaveLONDON — Iceland will reimburse the British and Dutch governments for compensation paid out to depositors of the failed Icesave Internet bank, the British Treasury said Saturday. In a statement, the Treasury said the British government will be repaid 2.3 billion pounds over the next 15 years with interest.

May 14th, 2009 Finland calls for Nordic membership in G-20HELSINKI — The five Nordic countries should have more say in international affairs, including a joint seat in the Group of 20, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said Thursday. Vanhanen said the Nordic region — Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland — deserves representation in the group of major economies "because our joint economic weight is quite significant on an international scale." Sweden, Finland and Denmark are represented at G-20 summits by the European Union, while Iceland and Norway are not EU members.

April 24th, 2009 Facts and figures about IcelandA look at Iceland, which holds parliamentary elections Saturday: — CAPITAL: Reykjavik. — POPULATION: 320,000.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India has increased its estimate for loans and grants for other countries this fiscal by 51.4 percent, with major loans to Nepal and the Maldives. The total non-plan loans and grants revised estimate is Rs.22.49 billion -- up from Rs.14.85 billion.

January 26th, 2009 REYKJAVIK - Iceland's President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson Tuesday asked centre-left Social Democratic Alliance Party to form an interim government after the collapse of the ruling coalition amid deep economic crisis and political discord. The Social Democratic Alliance were part of the grand coalition formed in 2007 with the conservative Independence Party that collapsed Monday.