Norway is gearing up for a legal fight, and its sights are set on a troubled automaker from Germany.
The country’s sovereign wealth fund, built from oil and gas revenues and assorted investments, plans to file a class-action lawsuit targeting Volkswagen over its diesel emissions scandal, Reuters reports.
The legal action, one of many against the embattled automaker, will take place on German soil at an unspecified date.
“We have been advised by our lawyers that the company’s conduct gives rise to legal claims under German law,” fund spokesperson Marthe Skaar told Reuters. “As an investor, it is our responsibility to safeguard the fund’s holding in Volkswagen.”
The scandal surrounding Volkswagen’s use of a “defeat device” to cheat on emissions testing led to a plunge in the company’s share value. That, in turn, erased 4.9 billion Norwegian krone ($601.4 million) from the $850 billion sovereign wealth fund, money it now wants back.
Volkswagen recently set aside $18.2 billion and slashed its dividend to deal with the financial fallout of the scandal, half of which will be spent on its U.S. troubles, including the buyback (or fixing) of nearly half a million 2.0-liter TDI models.
The remaining 3.0-liter diesel V6 vehicles should be able to stay on the road after receiving a software fix, and possibly a catalytic converter replacement.
Apparently one of the legitimate functions of the Norweigan government is to invest in foreign companies with the intent of making a PROFIT. Contrast that with the apparent agenda of the American government, and especially the BO administration with the full approval of the Obama Republicans in congress, of losing, wasting, and generally pissing away money like it was a wheelbarrow full of Weimar Republic Deutschmarks going into the furnace to heat an old stone house.
Maybe our government could take a lesson from the modern day Norsemen, and if not try to make a profit, then at least try not to WASTE money as fast as possible.
+10000
It’s a sovereign wealth fund, which invests the returns from the sale of Norway’s oil reserves. It’s run by professional money managers; you don’t want elected representatives picking stocks.
And you don’t want politicians having any easy access to those funds.
Alberta had the “Heritage Fund” and pissed it away. They are now hurting due to the collapse of oil prices and now don’t have the cash to bail themselves out.
Norgies don’t have 100 million head o’ hamster to feed.
….While another “legitimate functions of the Norweigan government” appears to be enriching lawyers who harass those who do something occasionally useful. Not much different from the US government, in other words.
Pissing away $$ has long been the provence of Republicans in fighting the wrong wars and letting Wall St./finance sector time and time again tank the economy with their malfeasance (the proponents of Reaganomics continually fail to take into account the human equation – greed).
I have a question for you:
Under the U.S. Constitution, who has the authority to decide how our tax dollars are spent? I’ll wait while you look it up.
You are not seeing the whole picture if you think it’s just the Congress – top level monies are apportioned there, but once the funds hit the agencies managed (supposedly), by the Executive branch, there is zero Congressional oversight…
“scarey” is mostly right. For the first six years of BO, there was no budget ever submitted and no budget approved. The Pres got his pen out and committed to spending and the Dem controlled Congress wrote the checks. No Constitution considered. He’s also right in his implication that the Republican controlled Congress is run by “Omama Republicans.”
I’ll wait while you look it up.
What’s an “Obama Republican”?
Is it just a Republican who is open to some give-and-take or perhaps even cooperation with the President, rather than opposing anything and everything he proposes as a matter of routine?
Scandalous!
Obama has gotten everything that he wanted with the exception of gun control, which was stopped by both democrats and republicans.
All those continuing resolutions were the product of Congress. You are correct that there is quite a bit of discretionary spending of allocated agency monies (whose allocations come from Congress), but, ultimately, spending authority comes from Congress.
Congress? What a relic.
Next you’ll be telling me you have to be born in the actual borders of this nation to become President or not put classified information on a secret unsecured email server.
Congress is a nearly pointless institution these days, since they refuse to exercise their Constitutionally mandated ability to act as a check and balance via the “power of the purse”, and they defer to the Judiciary to basically legislate from the bench…
“$850 billion sovereign wealth fund”
Can I get a loan Uncle Jørgen?
Sorry, we need these money to survive now that oil prices are dropping through the floor, also with the prices overe here we are hardly exporting anything, so we have to buy everything we need from other countries, since the thing only we do well is sell oil (and weapons) , when we are not busy fighting for peace and the environment offcourse.
Oil has shot back up to what is probably a reasonable range, Norway should probably consider exporting something else lest it befall the future of Saudi Arabia in a few short decades. I think $850 billion is quite a nice nest egg for 5.04 million, I wonder what the whole country is worth by itself.
I think it will be a while before Americans get to lecture Norwegians on how to run an economy.
A one commodity economy is nothing to be proud of, the UAE understands this hence Dubai. Even as fake as the US economy has become, it is a multifaceted farce.
Don’t forget Jarlsberg cheese! So really, a two-commodity economy. Is that diversified enough?
Honestly, managing 5 million people just has to be a lot easier than managing 300 million.
We did (and still partly do) export a lot of other stuff, but pumping oil out of the bottom of the sea was just so much easier…
Since Norway is mostly just a mountain ridge protecting Sweden and Finland from the Atlantic ocean we have some knowhow on boats, but because we could afford to outsource all the hard work for so long we really really wish for the oil prices to go back up where they were…
The Tine coop exports everything from cheese to smoked salmon. There’s a lot of tourism, too. If I had to set up in Europe I’d prefer Norway to the UK and Ireland because everyone speaks better English and drives on the right side of the road.
The 50 MPH national speed limit, on the other hand…
You may already have……
With that much money spread around in small (as in non controlling) investments, some of that money is bound to have reached mortgage lenders and credit card companies in the US :) Where it’s being unceremoniously wasted, for as long as Americans can get away with it.
Poor Norwegians freezing their rear off in the North Sea to pump oil, while in return “we” just sit on our rear and pay for it in empty promises. And fresh printed paper pieces with Washington’s face on them…..
Steph, you’ve got the flag mirrored horizontally. Can you fix that? Tomorrow’s 17th May will be Norway’s national day. That is a mix of christmas, birthdays and a huge sausage party. Can’t mess with the flag now.
Phrasing!
…and just about right.
Can’t you invite some girls?