Sunday, August 24, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Electric cars plummet in value – diesel holds up better than expected

Published 30 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The Kia E-Niro has a 53% depreciation in three years - as much as the Tesla Model Y Long Range. It is the largest depreciation of all car models compared.
2 minute read

Diesel cars have long been identified as losers in the transition to electric vehicles, but a new study shows that they actually retain their value better than electric cars.

Over a three-year period, the value of certain diesel models decreased by as little as €6500, compared to electric cars, where the loss in some cases amounted to as much as €35,000.

The study, conducted by Carup, covers five diesel cars and five electric cars, all around three years old and with a mileage of less than 100,000 km, and the results show clear differences in depreciation between the two drivetrains.

Among the diesel cars, the Audi A6 Avant and Skoda Kodiaq performed best, with a depreciation of less than 20 percent. The Volvo V60 Momentum lost the most among the diesels – 33 percent – but even that was better than most electric cars in the comparison. The original new price for the model was € 37,500.

According to the survey, demand for used diesel cars remains strong, which is partly explained by a limited supply of newer diesel models. Despite higher taxes and environmental charges that have negatively affected diesel cars for several years, there still seems to be considerable interest in them.

Among electric cars, the Tesla Model Y saw the biggest drop. The car, which had a new price of nearly €66,000, has lost more than half of its value in three years. The Kia E-Niro, Volkswagen ID.4, and Volvo XC40 Recharge also recorded a value loss of around 50 percent. The largest monetary loss was seen in the Tesla – a whopping €35,000 – although a previous Swedish climate bonus of €6,400 mitigated the loss somewhat.

Diesel popular – despite higher operating costs

The difference in value growth is believed to be due to diesel cars having a more established second-hand market, while uncertainty surrounding the long-term battery performance and technology of electric cars continues to influence purchasing behavior.

At the same time, owning a diesel car entails higher running costs. Fuel prices and vehicle tax mean that the operating costs of a diesel car often exceed those of an electric car, which is something many buyers take into account when deciding which car to buy.

Our comparison shows that diesel cars are not the losers many people thought they would be. They have withstood the decline in value significantly better than electric cars. On the other hand, drivers have had to pay significantly more for fuel and vehicle tax over three years compared to electric cars. It remains to be seen who will be the winner over the next three years for those buying a used car. Three years ago, not many people believed in diesel cars”, Carup concludes.

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Swedish postal service halts US deliveries amid regulatory uncertainty

Published today 10:47
– By Editorial Staff
Private individuals can still send gifts up to 100 dollars duty-free.
2 minute read

Package shipments from Sweden to the USA have now been stopped. PostNord, Sweden’s postal service, has been waiting for information from US customs authorities for almost two months – but for now deliveries are paused and packages are being returned to senders.

The decision follows the US’s tightened customs rules introduced this summer. The previous $800 limit for duty-free goods has been abolished for commercial shipments, but the exact rules for how packages should be handled remain unclear.

— This is worldwide and affects all countries. For PostNord, a smaller portion of our volumes is affected, but it is of course very important for those customers who previously sent goods duty-free, says Björn Bergman, communications director at the PostNord Group, to Swedish public broadcaster SVT.

According to Bergman, it is primarily small and medium-sized e-commerce companies that are affected by the halt. For private individuals there is an exception – they can still send gifts up to $100 duty-free.

PostNord does not want to specify how many shipments are affected by the decision.

— But every shipment is important for customers and consumers, of course, Bergman continues.

No information

The reason for pausing shipments is to avoid unnecessary transport. Without clear customs procedures, packages risk being sent back across the Atlantic immediately upon arrival.

It remains unclear when deliveries will resume.

PostNord has requested information from US authorities since June 30, but important details about the new customs procedures are still missing.

— We are working very closely with all postal operators in Europe to get all information from the US authorities about how we should clear customs. This is information we have requested since June 30, but we haven’t received the complete picture yet, explains the communications director.

Regular letter shipments without goods are not affected by the decision, nor are packages sent from the USA to Sweden.

Several postal companies follow suit

In addition to PostNord, Bring and DHL have also announced temporary halts for package deliveries to the USA.

According to Matilda Adelborg, press manager for Bring in Sweden and Denmark, no Nordic country is sending packages under the $800 limit to the USA because functioning solutions are lacking.

“Postal companies around the world are waiting for important clarifications from the customs authority in the USA, so that they can develop and implement the solutions required”, she writes in a comment.

DHL states in a press release that the new customs regulations come from the Trump administration and that postal companies from Scandinavia, Austria and Belgium have also paused their deliveries to the USA.

Record high unemployment among university graduates in Sweden

The destruction of the European economy

Published 20 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Unemployment among Swedish university graduates has increased by 55 percent in just two years.
2 minute read

Over 19,000 university graduates were unemployed in July, the highest figure in two decades. Unemployment among highly educated workers has increased by 55 percent in two years, and nothing suggests the trend will be broken, according to new statistics from Akademikernas a-kassa (the Swedish unemployment insurance fund for university graduates).

A total of 19,231 university graduates were unemployed in July, which is 826 more than the previous month. This is the highest figure in 20 years. Compared to July last year, the number of unemployed university graduates has increased by 17 percent.

— We are used to unemployment rising during the summer, so the increase is not really a surprise, but we are not used to having such high total figures, says Alexandra Oljans Ahlin, communications strategist at Akademikernas (the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations).

The development has been particularly dramatic over the past two years. Since July 2023, unemployment among university graduates has increased by a full 55 percent – and it is expected to continue rising in the coming years as well.

— Right now we see no signs of a decrease. It will continue to be many people who need this financial security, says Oljans Ahlin.

Of the unemployed university graduates, 13,299 people received compensation from the unemployment insurance fund in July, an increase of almost 1,000 people in one month. An additional 5,932 people received compensation from Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency) for participating in labor market policy programs.

More trapped in long-term unemployment

A particularly worrying trend is that more and more university graduates are becoming trapped in long-term unemployment. In July, 5,230 people had been without work for more than a year – an increase of 24 percent compared to July last year. This means that more than every fourth unemployed university graduate is now long-term unemployed.

— Many members we talk to testify that it is difficult and takes a long time to get a new job, and the statistics unfortunately confirm this. Short periods of unemployment are rarely a problem, but when it becomes longer, it gets increasingly tough, she explains.

The rising unemployment is also visible in the unemployment fund’s payouts. In July, Akademikernas a-kassa paid out a total of €26.2 million in compensation, compared to €18.3 million in the same month last year.

The proportion of unemployed among university graduates now stands at 2.4 percent, which is 0.3 percentage points higher than a year ago. Akademikernas a-kassa has nearly 800,000 members in total.

Halted nuclear power sends Swedish electricity prices soaring

The energy crisis in Europe

Published 20 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
One-sixth of the electricity consumed in Sweden comes from the three reactors at Forsmark, a nuclear power plant located north of Stockholm.
3 minute read

Electricity prices in southern Sweden are now approaching winter price levels in the middle of summer. With three of six nuclear reactors out of service and calm weather conditions, August is expected to be the year’s second most expensive month for electricity consumers.

Despite low summer consumption, electricity prices in electricity area 4, which covers southern Sweden, have surged to levels normally only seen during the winter months. The average price so far during August stands at 0.63 SEK (€0.056) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) – the highest level since February, according to the Nord Pool electricity exchange.

Forecasts point to even higher prices ahead. According to Bixia’s electricity market analyst Johan Sigvardsson, dry and calm weather conditions are expected to drive prices toward nearly 1 SEK per kWh in southern Sweden during the rest of the month.

“August looks set to become the second most expensive month of the year (so far) after February”, Sigvardsson states in a written comment to the Swedish news agency TT.

Large regional differences

The price differences between the country’s various electricity areas are remarkably large. While southern Sweden struggles with high prices, northern Sweden (electricity areas 1 and 2) remains at extremely low levels – only 0.06-0.07 SEK per kWh on average during August. Central Sweden and northern Götaland (electricity area 3) fall between these extremes at around 0.34 SEK.

Christian Holtz, electricity analyst at consulting firm Merlin&Metis, explains that the extensive nuclear power shutdown is a main cause of the price differences.

— It affects partly because there is less available capacity. And then it often becomes more difficult to handle large transmission of electricity from north to south when you shut down these reactors, says Holtz.

With limited nuclear power production, southern Sweden ends up at practically the same price levels as Germany and the rest of continental Europe. There, prices have been high at times during the summer when French nuclear power was forced to run at reduced capacity due to cooling water that was too warm.

The high temperatures have also led to increased electricity consumption as air conditioning systems have been running at full capacity, according to Christian Holtz.

Worrying parallels to 2022

Another factor that could drive up prices is the declining water levels in Nordic hydropower dams. After a period with levels above normal during spring and early summer, Norwegian water reservoirs now lie clearly below average.

“It’s starting to resemble 2022 when low Norwegian water reservoirs were a strongly contributing cause to the high prices. If it continues to be dry, we will see higher prices this autumn than we’ve become accustomed to in recent years”, warns Johan Sigvardsson.

For consumers, the high exchange prices represent a significant cost. In addition to the actual electricity price, electricity companies’ markups, electricity tax, VAT and grid fees are added, which together amount to well over 1 SEK per kWh.

Sweden has a total of six nuclear reactors: three at Forsmark, two at Ringhals and one at Oskarshamn. Currently, three reactors are shut down: Oskarshamn 3 is out of service until preliminarily September 17, Ringhals 4 is undergoing annual revision until September 14, and Forsmark 1 is stopped due to damaged piping with preliminary restart on August 24.

Bitcoin hits new record – market value surpasses Google

Alternative economic systems

Published 14 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Bitcoin now represents the fifth largest asset in the world.
1 minute read

The cryptocurrency bitcoin reached a historic peak of over $124,000 during Wednesday evening and now has a market value that exceeds tech giant Google’s. This makes bitcoin the fifth largest asset in the world.

Bitcoin surpassed its previous record level on August 13 when the price rose to $124,025 per unit on the Bitstamp trading platform. The new peak exceeded the previous record of $123,236 that was set just over a month ago, on July 14, writes Bitcoin.com.

The digital currency now has a total market value of $2.458 trillion and traded for nearly $59 billion globally during the past 24 hours. The largest exchanges for bitcoin trading are Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, Upbit and OKX.

Strong technical signals drive the surge

Market indicators point to continued strength for bitcoin. Both strength indices, momentum and key technical indicators signal positive development. The moving averages are also in positive territory.

At Wednesday’s close, bitcoin remained around $124,016 and dominates 58.8 percent of the total cryptocurrency market, which is now valued at $4.16 trillion. Ethereum and other alternative digital currencies have also risen sharply, with ethereum now accounting for 13.7 percent of the market’s total dominance.

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