Swedish News:

Less unemployed in Sweden. Bjorn Borg launched in China. Tired pastor in pajama. Max von Sydow - no longer a Swede. 

• Less unemployed in Sweden
  In November there were 374,000 unemployed people in Sweden-that's 7.4 percent of the entire manpower, according to Statistiska Centralbyrån (Statistics Sweden). Compare that to last year’s statistics from November: 388,000 (7.8 percent) were openly unemployed. The number of employed people was 4,629,000 in November this year, compared to 4,567,000 the same month last year.

• Björn Borg launched in China
  The brand name Björn Borg is being launched in China, and sales will start in Shanghai during the fall of 2012. Establishing the brand in China is an important step in order to secure future growth, according to the managing director of the brand, Arthur Engel: “We believe that Björn Borg attracts a growing middle class that want strong, personal brands. With a knowledgeable partner and an established net of contacts we see great possibilities in creating good sales on one of the world’s most important consumer’s market.” The launch will take place with the help of a local partner, the two parties will create the company for the Chinese enterprise where Björn Borg will be the majority owner with 75% and the local partner with 25. The launch is expected to weigh down the company’s results during a few years before a break-even can be reached. “Of course we work to get profitable as soon as possible, but it will take a few years. It’s hard to know when a break-even can be reached, but it can’t be too far after 2013,” Engel says.

• Tired pastor in pajama
  Stefan Widman, pastor at Luleå Cathedral, overslept last year for the early service on Christmas Day. This year he made up for the damage by showing up on time… but in his pajamas. Widman explains: “I felt I had to do it this way,” he told daily Norrländska Socialdemokraten online. After service, Pastor Widman received hugs from the visitors. “I think they enjoyed it,” he said.

• Max von Sydow – no longer a Swede
  One of the best and most famous Swedish actors, Max von Sydow, isn’t even Swedish anymore. The actor, who was born in Lund in 1929 and was a favorite of Ingmar Bergman’s, had to give up his Swedish citizenship when he received his French citizenship in 2002. Von Sydow moved to France when he unexpectedly fell in love with a French woman. “I was offered a role in a film that was to be shot in the south of France. It was a nice production and a good story. I met a woman and fell in love so now I’m here!” He states that giving up his Swedish citizenship was not an act of aggression on his part: “I love Sweden. It’s an amazing country. People don’t know what Sweden is, but it is a wonderful, peaceful country.” In an interview with Aftonbladet, von Sydow continues to talk about how he feels that the development in the beginning to the 20th century that led to the Swedish Social Democracy was a positive one: “It wasn’t only about politics, it was about education, too. It was important to educate those who otherwise couldn’t afford an education. The goal was simply to teach Swedes to become good citizens together. “I don’t know what it is like today (Sweden),” he says. “Because in the past years I haven’t been to Sweden much, but up until the end of the 20th century I felt Swedes were good citizens in a country that tried to give them a good existence.” But now he’s all French: “It is in France I want to live,” he says. “And it is in France I want to die.” You can enjoy Max von Sydow on the silver screen right now, as he stars in the American drama “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.