I was about to write a description of Norway, but I think that CIA World Factbook pretty much says it all:
cia.gov
Oil means lots of money right now, even though most of it is saved for the future, and it also means that many Swedes and Danes go to Norway to work. However, once oil and gas goes away, that won't be fun, and they know it, and try to find a way to keep some earnings afterwards.
They chose to stay outside EU because they want to control their fishing and their oil themselves.
Norway may be one of the few European countries, with a currency that is not closely related to the Euro. I think the Euro/NOK exchange rate speaks for itself on this one.
In order to give a better explanation, I will give you a short resume of this Danish language article from yesterday:
borsen.dk
"Sweden raised interest rates 0.25 to 3.75 even though ECB delayed their rise of interest rates. Hereby they go against the international CB trend of "see, what happens". Their decision seems to be based on their internal economy, being afraid of overheating and inflation. The raise was expected by analytics, and another raise is expected before the end of the year."
"Norway looks different on the topic. The vice president of the Norwegian CB said: "The international developments are important for how our economy develops. Changes in expectations for growth will influence our judgment." They have previously predicted a rise of interest to 5.25 this year, and 5.75 next year, up from 4.75 now. This prediction is expected to be lowered." |
