Finland's largest circulation daily, Helsingin Sanomat, reports on Thursday morning that many of the country’s property managers have been involved in a large-scale price-fixing arrangement.
In February, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV) imposed penalty payments of 22 million euros to six housing companies for being part of a nationwide price-fixing cartel, in which the companies agreed on prices between 2014 and 2017.
According to KKV, the companies had agreed on price rises and had exchanged information on previous and upcoming price rises. The cases are currently being processed by The Market Court.
Approximately 2.6 million people live in housing co-operatives in Finland. This means nearly every second person in the country is at least indirectly affected by the issue.
"Many people say they have a bad property manager or housing board chair. I always reply that the property manager or board chair is as good as you deserve. You shouldn’t try to save money or time when choosing a housing manager," said Jyrki Jauhiainen, Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Justice.
Record number of Nordic walking sticks, baking ingredients bought
One year of living with the coronavirus pandemic has left its mark on us, Helsingin Sanomat also reports. Finns were already among the most active outdoor walking enthusiasts in the European Union before the epidemic, but last year, the popularity of hiking exploded.
A record-number of Nordic walking sticks, skis and in-soles were purchased, and especially walking, jogging, trail running, mountain biking and skiing gained in popularity.
A nationwide baking boom was also visible, as people in Finland consumed around four million kilograms of flour more than in the previous year. Sales of margarine, sugar and eggs also saw an increase of up to a quarter compared to previous years.
While most people said they got more sleep than usual in the past year, waiting times for operations and mental health issues also increased. A national crisis helpline recorded over 282,000 calls in the last year, which is a third more than in the previous year.
Meanwhile business magazine Talouselämä writes that 70 percent of public healthcare workers find their job mentally difficult, according to a survey by municipal pensions agency Keva. Of the respondents, 47 percent said they found their job physically exhausting.
In particular, those in the social and care sectors found their jobs emotionally and physically taxing.
Biogas-powered milk vans
The farmers' union daily Maaseudun Tulevaisuus reports on Finland’s first manure-powered milk van.
The 180 cows from a farm in the town of Haapavesi, Northern Ostrobothnia, create around 1,900 megawatt-hours of biogas in a year. If all the gas was used to power milk vans, they could drive over 350,000 kilometres in one year.
"The use of biogas can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85 percent compared to the diesel used by milk lorries and vans. At the same time, the dairy farm's own carbon footprint is reduced by up to a quarter," said Petteri Tahvanainen, Development Manager at dairy firm Valio.