The Icelandic love of specially-made Christmas beers knows no bounds this year…that is until all of it has been sold. Read the full story

A Swedish salesman is warning workers not to be duped, after he was paid just two kronor (EUR 0.20) for a month’s work due to a clause in his contract. Read the full story

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Beginning in April, Finland’s government is going to begin regulating the sales of all tobacco products in a bid to improve the health of its young citizens. According to the news agency YLE, any shop selling tobacco products will need an official licence as of next month or face heavy fines. Read the full story

Baugur Group, a large investment company based in Iceland, has decided to sell off part of its holdings in order to focus on retail investments. As a result, the group’s holdings in the areas of media, technology, and finance have been sold for a total of GBP 430 million (USD 850 million; EUR 533 million), according to the Associated Press.

As a result of the sale, Baugur will also be concentrating its focus more geographically. The majority of the group’s holdings after the sale will be situated in Britain, Scandinavia and the U.S.

Before the sale, 35 per cent of the company’s holdings were located in Iceland. Following the deal, only 13.9 per cent of Baugur’s assets will be in its Nordic homeland.

Stodir Invest purchased the majority of Baugur’s media and telecoms holdings. Styrkur Invest bought up most of the financial investments offered by Baugur, including the group’s stake in FL group, a prominent investment firm.

In a statement released by Baugur, the company also announced that two members of its executive board will leave Baugur. One will take a position as CEO of Stodir Invest and the other as CEO of Stykur Invest.

According to Gunnar Sigurdsson, the chief executive of Baugur, “We will also continue to build on the existing strengths of our brand portfolio which is already valued in excess of GBP 1.5 billion (USD 3 billion; EUR 1.9 billion) and has significant global potential.”