Stockholm  - Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk discussed broader cooperation in the Baltic region during talks Wednesday.

Both countries border the Baltic Sea, and Reinfeldt noted that eight countries in the region are members of the European Union.

Stockholm - Globalization, labour, women's rights and curtailing corporate power were among issues being discussed at a meeting of civil society groups that opens Wednesday in the southern Swedish city of Malmo.

Organizers anticipated some 20,000 would take part in the gathering organized by the European Social Forum under the slogan "Making another Europe possible! East and West together."

"Economic alternatives to neoliberalism," blocking foreign military bases as well as how to tackle global food price hikes and climate change will be covered at the five-day conference, along with cultural activities, including films, concerts and poetry readings.

Stockholm/Oslo  - The Oslo bourse on Tuesday afternoon hit an annual low before rebounding on the news that US Federal Reserve had injected 50 billion dollars of reserves into the banking system.

The Oslo index was down almost 9 per cent before clawing back, and with less than a half hour of the trading session was down 4.3 per cent.

Shares in oil companies including state-controlled Statoil Hydro were impacted as crude prices declined.

Stockholm - Swedish group Husqvarna, a leading maker of chainsaws, lawnmowers and other garden equipment, issued a profit warning Tuesday and announced it would cut 850 jobs.

The move was due to a drop in demand in North America and Europe, the group said.

"The third quarter marks the end of the gardening season, and the effect of a weak season has a strong impact on this quarter," chief executive Bengt Andersson said in a statement.

Andersson added that "we have also noted greater caution on the part of our professional customers, especially in the construction industry."

Stockholm/Oslo  - Nordic bourses dipped Tuesday, the day after US investment banker Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, triggering a global decline on stock markets.

Stockholm  - Swedish Crown Princess Victoria is still "hoping for the day" when she can announce her engagement, she said in an interview published Monday.

Royalists and gossip magazine editors alike have been waiting for the day, noting that the princess has been dating Daniel Westling for some six years.

Westling, who operates several fitness centres, turns 35 on Tuesday.

Victoria, 31, told the Stockhom tabloid Expressen she "understood" the interest, adding that she believed "it was good that matters are discussed. But I hope people will trust my judgement concerning the day."