The Swedish retail business has been characterized by a small number of ruling distributors. These distributors have been affected negatively by the internationalization which has made it possible for international distributors to establish their stores in the Swedish market. These international distributors are focused on low price stores. Their establishment on the Swedish market has led to a decrease in market shares for the Swedish distributors, which has damaged their profitability. Another change that has affected the Swedish distributors is that the behavior and needs of the customers has changed.

This is a study of American Methodist Mission in Sweden and how this mission eventually formed the Methodist Church in Sweden 1876. The mission began as a consequence of returning Swedish emigrants and sailors who had encountered Methodism in America, mainly through the works of Swedish-American missionary Olof Gustaf Hedström on the Bethel ship in New York. During the 1850?s Methodist missionaries were sent to Scandinavia by the American Missions Society. The first to come to Sweden was Johan Peter Larsson, who spent two years in Sweden in 1854 before he was transferred to Norway.

The Swedish retail business has been characterized by a small number of ruling distributors. These distributors have been affected negatively by the internationalization which has made it possible for international distributors to establish their stores in the Swedish market. These international distributors are focused on low price stores. Their establishment on the Swedish market has led to a decrease in market shares for the Swedish distributors, which has damaged their profitability. Another change that has affected the Swedish distributors is that the behavior and needs of the customers has changed.

The Swedish retail business has been characterized by a small number of ruling distributors. These distributors have been affected negatively by the internationalization which has made it possible for international distributors to establish their stores in the Swedish market. These international distributors are focused on low price stores. Their establishment on the Swedish market has led to a decrease in market shares for the Swedish distributors, which has damaged their profitability. Another change that has affected the Swedish distributors is that the behavior and needs of the customers has changed.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether abnormal stock returns could be identified as a result of a layoff announcement during weak economy.Method: An event study methodology.Theory: Efficient market hypothesis, signal theory.Empirical results: Quantitative data from observations of stock prices in thirty two companies listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, in the period 2008 -2012.Conclusion: The results indicate that the market reaction was negative because there were negative abnormal returns on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the period 2008-2012 in connection with the layoff announcements. The market reaction was milder when staff reductions were carried out as a result of a restructuring and stronger when staff reductions were carried out as part of a cost reduction program.The layoff announcements elicited different market reactions depending on the company's industry affiliation. The most negative reaction was in the Healthcare industry. Negative abnormal returns were lower in industries Industrials, Consumer Services and Consumer Goods. There were no abnormal returns for shares of companies in the industry Financials.

Denna uppsats behandlar hur fastighetsbolagens finansiering har utvecklats efter finanskrisen, hur finanskrisen specifikt har påverkat fastighetsbolagens finansieringsverksamhet samt i vilken utsträckning fastighetsbolagen har börjat använda alternativa finansieringssätt i sin verksamhet. Detta ämne är intressant då finanskrisen har haft en stor inverkan på det ekonomiska klimatet världen över vilket också inkluderar de svenska fastighetsbolagen och de svenska bankerna.Uppsatsen kombinerar en kvantitativ undersökning av alla svenska börsnoterade fastighetsbolagskapitalstrukturer med en kvalitativ undersökning bestående av ett antal intervjuer medrepresentanter från flera fasighetsbolag och banker.Den kvantitativa undersökningen visar att det skett stora förändringar i fastighetsbolagensfinansiering. Användningen av alternativa finansieringssätt, såsom preferensaktier, obligationer,MTN- och Certifikatsprogram har blivit vanligare i fastighetsbolagen. En stor anledning till detta är att bankerna i många fall har velat begränsa sin utlåning till fastighetsbolagen samtidigt som kreditmarginalerna har ökat på grund av bland annat högre kapitaltäckningskrav för bankerna.Utvecklingen av fastighetsbolagens finansiering kommer fortsätta framöver och alternativa finansieringssätt kommer i större utsträckning användas som komplement till banklån och stamaktiekapital..

The release of Maja Lundgrens Myggor och tigrar in 2007 caused a large debate that mostly focused on whether the book should be seen as a true reproduction of reality or a work of fiction and if the author had made the right choice in writing about friends, family and famous Swedish persons in her book. About one year later Lars Norén published En dramatikers dagbok in which he also shares details about other people´s lives and, by placing the book in the genre of a diary, claims that it represents reality. The critics were easier on him, and more positive over all in their judgment of En dramatikers dagbok, and many were upset about how different the two authors and their books were received. Tofind out why controversial works are apprehended as controversial I have chosen to analyze Maja Lundgrens Myggor och Tigrar and Lars Noréns En dramatikers dagbok, independent of, as well as compared to, each other. While leaning on reception theory andtheories about different ways of reading as well as the autobiography as a genre I have asked myself the following questions:Which factors have led critics as well as the public opinion to speak about Maja Lundgrens Myggor och tigrar and Lars Noréns En dramatikers dagbok as controversial?What do the two books have in common and what separates them?How does the debate differ regarding the two books and what is the cause for that difference in reception?My essay shows that when reading an autobiography or a diary most people cannot separate the book from the author and the life that the book is a reflection of.

This paper includes astudy of the mutual fund market investors during a selected timeperiod. The reader is given a descriptive picture of how people in different age groups have  acted  in  conjunction  with  the  last  major  financial  crisis.  It  has  been  studied whether people in the different age categories have saved,purchased or sold during this time  period  based  on  theories  and  analytic  material  from  one  of  the  largest  fund operators in Sweden. The result enlightens people?s activity and risk appetite in relation to the fund market. The essay results in an explanation of the underlying cause of the behavior        of         the         people         in         the         different         age         categories.The paper assumes that the market is cyclical and that more crises will occur in the future.

A secondary and a pioneer tree species can with advantage be included in a mixed stand to increase the use of sunlight. Nitrogen-fixing plants have been shown to increase the supply of nitrogen in the soil by, for example, litter fall. This deposition acts as a biological fertilization, which may be used by non-fixing plants. Alder is a nitrogen-fixing, pioneer tree species that loses its nitrogen-rich leaves late in the autumn. The aim of this study was to examine the effect on the total volume of production, when different proportions of nitrogen-fixing Alder were part of spruce stands.

By means of group contributions the legislator has made it easier for company groups to transfer profits from a parent company to a subsidiary. A parent company can choose to reconstruct by acquire a company, create a subsidiary or perform a partial fission. The choice can affect the possibility for a parent company to perform a group contribution with deduction right.The parent company has to own more than 90 percent of the subsidiary?s shares for a whole taxation year or since the subsidiary began to carry out any economic activity in order to perform group contributions with deduction right. If a subsidiary is acquired, it has to be owned for a whole taxation year before group contributions with deduction right can be made, unless the acquired company never has carried out any economic activity before.

The demand for district heating is expected to decrease in the future, due to competition from heat pumps and energy efficiency measures in buildings. Development of existing district heating systems is therefore necessary for district heating companies to maintain market shares. This Master?s thesis describes and investigates the heat and electricity production and profitability of a combined Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and heat pump that is integrated with an existing district heating system. The studied district heating system is utilizing heat from waste incineration. In Sweden waste constitute 20 % of the fuel mix used in district heating systems, and this share is expected to increase in the future.

Background: Oil is the most dominating source of energy of today, it constitutes for more than 40 per cent of the worlds total energy consumption. This together with the fact that stock in oil companies has soared on the stock exchanges around the world makes oil a very interesting topic to write within. In order to gain knowledge in how to value oil companies, the authors will collect information from theory and through a questionnaire. By applying the information gathered to three companies listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange the authors will reach an objective picture of valuation of oil companies.Purpose: To investigate how shares of stock are valuated in the oil exploring and producing industry, and what specific measures and metrics that are used in the valuation of stocks in Exploring and Producing (E&P) companies.Method: By using a qualitative approach for this thesis, the authors will investigate how the valuation of oil companies works and what measures that should be applied. The authors will use a part descriptive and part explorative study.

The starting point for this thesis has been the great process of change that Swedish municipalities now arefacing due to the political directive of offering full-time employment to all part-time employees. The aimof the research is to create a decision support model for Swedish municipalities, which simultaneouslyintroduce the offer of full-time employment and an internal personnel pool. The factors that mayinfluence the personnel?s choice of employment level and the quality of the outcome, thus the financial result,are we also aiming at explaining. The empirical observations were found through secondary data as well asobservations from the municipality of Göteborgs Stad.

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to improve the knowledge regarding how entrepreneurial companies act and behave in relation to human capital, by studying their decision-making process for human capital investments. Furthermore this study shall enrich the understandings for how their way of handling human capital investments might change over time along with the development, growth and aging of the company.Methodology:For this case study the authors have chosen a qualitative approach. The authors have collected the empirical data by interviewing the CEO?s of six different entrepreneurial companies. To be able to process and analyze the empirical data the authors have used various theoretical frameworks and also previous studies.Theoretical framework:The theoretical framework brings up human capital and its importance, but also its role in the entrepreneurial company.

Thesis Purpose: The purpose of our thesis is to explore different plausible scenarios concerning the future of the Swedish produce industry with regards to branding. Methodology: In order for us to answer the research question and fulfill its purpose, we have utilized a qualitative approach combined with of both an inductive and deductive theoretical approach. Our study is both explorative and speculative. Theoretical Perspective: The theoretical framework of our research is based upon Porters Five Forces and Competitive Advantage combined with Kapferers Brand Identity Prism and his ideas on Brand Innovation. Additionally, we have utilized the Game Theory.