Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Swedish food giant Axfood reports strong operating profit

Published 13 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

The Swedish food retail market continues to grow despite economic uncertainty. Axfood, one of the country’s largest players, reports profit growth of just over eleven percent for the second quarter and continues to gain market share from competitors.

Swedish consumers are spending increasingly larger amounts on food, and grocery chains are benefiting from this development. Axfood, which operates Willys, Hemköp and since November last year also City Gross, reports operating profit that rose 11.7 percent during the year’s second quarter compared to the same period in 2024.

The result exceeded financial analysts’ forecasts, while revenue growth of 9.3 percent fell slightly below market expectations. In total, the group had revenue of nearly €2.1 billion during the quarter.

Automation delivers lower costs

Behind the strong profitability development lie extensive investments in modern logistics solutions and automation. According to the company, the investments have led to improved efficiency and strengthened competitiveness.

Going forward, the efficiency measures are expected to generate cost savings of €7.3 million annually. Axfood simultaneously confirms its investment plans of €146-155 million during 2025 as well as the goal of opening 10-15 new stores.

Facts: Axfood

Axfood is controlled by the family company Axel Johnson AB, which owns 50.1 percent of the shares. Behind Axel Johnson AB stands the Ax:son Johnson family with Antonia Ax:son Johnson as the main owner, and since January this year the group has been led by Caroline Berg, who is Antonia's daughter.

The Axel Johnson Group, which has 150 years of history, owns in addition to Axfood also the IT company Dustin, restaurant wholesaler Martin & Servera, investment company Novax and industrial group Axel Johnson International. In total, the wholly and partially owned companies in the group have a turnover of around €13.8 billion and have approximately 27,000 employees.

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Gold prices at record levels

Published 29 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Experts worry about the soaring price of gold.
1 minute read

During the summer and fall of this year, gold prices have risen by over 40 percent, leading to trading near $3,800 per ounce. The sharp increase has raised concerns among economists and investors.

One of the primary factors behind the price increase is US President Donald Trump’s policy, which aims to reduce America’s national debt. As part of this strategy, Trump hopes to weaken the dollar, making gold more attractive as a safe haven asset.

A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for investors in other currencies, further driving up demand. Currently, one US dollar costs approximately €0.85, which represents a notable depreciation in just a few months.

Several major banks have raised their forecasts for gold prices. Goldman Sachs predicts that prices could rise to over $4,000 per ounce within a year, provided that central banks continue buying gold and investors increase their gold positions.

Despite the positive development, there are also warnings. Experts point out that gold prices can become volatile and that a sudden interest rate hike or improved global economic stability could lead to a rapid price decline.

Investors are therefore advised to be cautious and not put all their assets in gold.

The rapid price increase in gold reflects a world in economic uncertainty, where pressure on US finances and its currency policy could have far-reaching consequences worldwide.

China plans fully AI-controlled economy by 2035

The modern China

Published 26 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
By 2035, AI is planned to have "completely reworked Chinese society" and implemented a new phase of economic and social production.
2 minute read

The Chinese government has presented an ambitious ten-year plan where artificial intelligence will permeate all sectors of society by 2035 and become the “main engine for economic growth”.

China’s State Council has published a comprehensive plan aimed at making the country the world’s first fully AI-driven economy within eleven years. According to the government document presented at the end of August, artificial intelligence will have transformed Chinese society by 2035 and become the foundation for what is described as “a new phase of development in intelligent economy and intelligent society”.

The plan, which spans ten years, encompasses six central societal sectors that will be permeated by AI technology by 2027. These include science and technology, citizen welfare, industrial development, consumer goods, governance, and international relations.

The goal: 90 percent usage by 2030

According to the timeline, AI technology should reach a 90 percent usage rate by 2030 and practically become a new type of infrastructure. At this point, the technology is expected to have developed into a “significant growth engine for China’s economy”.

The strategy resembles the country’s previous “internet plus” initiative, which successfully integrated the internet as a central component in the Chinese economy.

By 2035, AI should according to the plan have “completely reworked Chinese society” and implemented a new phase of economic and social production. This is an ambitious goal with significant consequences, not only for the People’s Republic but for the entire world.

International cooperation in focus

The State Council emphasizes that AI should be treated as an “international public good that benefits humanity”. The plan highlights the importance of developing open source AI, supporting developing countries in building their own technology sectors, and the UN’s role as a leader in AI regulation.

Although China’s AI industry is growing rapidly, as exemplified by the open AI platform DeepSeek’s successes earlier this year, Chinese models still lag several months behind their American counterparts in terms of average performance. This is largely due to restrictions and barriers that Western countries have imposed.

However, the gap is steadily narrowing. At the end of 2023, American AI models performed better than Chinese ones in 13 percent of general reasoning tests. By the same time in 2024, this figure had dropped to 8.1 percent. In certain AI applications, China is already a world leader and has invested heavily in offering its services at low prices and in many cases completely free as open source.

The State Council’s ten-year plan aims to further reduce the lead by strengthening key areas such as fundamental model performance, security measures, data access, and energy management.

Whether Beijing can deliver on its massive goals with the help of sometimes unreliable technology remains to be seen. However, if other nationally coordinated plans are any indication, the country may face a comprehensive transformation.

Chinese EVs outsell Tesla

Published 26 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
From unchallenged market leader to pressured giant – Tesla faces intensifying competition from China.
1 minute read

Chinese electric vehicle company BYD has increased its sales in Europe by over 200 percent. Meanwhile, Tesla’s electric vehicle sales in Europe decreased compared to last year.

For the eighth consecutive month, sales are declining for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla in Europe, according to industry organization ACEA. In July, Tesla sold a total of 8,220 electric vehicles, which is 36 percent less than the same month last year.

Meanwhile, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, sold 9,130 electric vehicles in July, representing an increase of 201 percent compared to July last year.

Looking at this year’s figures, Tesla has lost 43 percent in the European market, while BYD has increased by 244 percent.

Arms industry surges on stock market after Trump’s statements

The war in Ukraine

Published 24 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
M109 howitzer, manufactured by British defense contractor BAE Systems – Europe's largest arms manufacturer.
2 minute read

Arms companies’ shares are soaring following Donald Trump’s latest statements about Russia and NATO.

The president urged NATO countries to shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspace, while promising to continue delivering weapons to NATO and claiming that Ukraine can defeat Russia and reclaim its entire territory.

I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form”, wrote Trump.

He also emphasized that Ukraine “might even be able to go further than that” and conquer Russian territory, promising to continue delivering weapons to NATO member countries.

“We will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them. Good luck to all!”

Saab and European defense companies lead gains

Trump’s statements had an immediate effect on the stock market.

A basket of European arms and military companies rose by a full 2.8 percent following the president’s comments. German Rheinmetall increased 1.4 percent, British BAE Systems 1.6 percent – and Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB jumped nearly five percent to a new record level.

In Asia, the gains were even more pronounced. South Korean Hanwha Aerospace, the country’s largest weapons producer, rose 5.9 percent. The company has recently held talks with several Western European countries about contributing to expanded weapons production. Korea Aerospace Industries and Hyundai Rotem increased over four percent each, while Japanese IHI surged nearly ten percent.

The defense industry has already enjoyed strong momentum on stock exchanges for some time, where continued geopolitical tensions and conflicts, Trump’s war rhetoric and expectations of growing military budgets are driving up interest further and providing new price rallies worldwide.

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