Young businessman
Meet 13-year old Andreas Kidelius. When he is not in school, he’s busy making chocolate in the basement and it’s a family business. His younger brother takes care of the sales and his grandfather tests the products. Right now, just before Christmas, business is better than ever. “Last weekend I made 1 280 pralines and now I already have new orders,” Andreas says. The key to make great pralines, he adds, is to take care that the batter cools correctly. Andreas received a book about chocolate when he was eleven, and says he wanted to make pralines right away. When the orders grew and grew, his mother helped him start his own business. His peanut-, glögg-, and orange praline recipes have come about through trial and error, with grandfather and other family members as testers. Andreas’ younger brother Alexander is the salesman of the products, and has even gotten Bonniers (the publishing company) to buy the pralines for their employees. “He will get a white chocolate rabbit for that,” says Andreas. “My friends at school want me to bring pralines for them, but they have to pay. I have to make people pay or I won’t be able to afford to buy the stuff I need to make more chocolate.”

Dolph Lundgren: Loved and hated
“I’ve become popular in Sweden again,” says Dolph Lundgren, the 52-year old action hero from some 50 movies. “I was hated for 20 years, so this is a lot of fun.” Lundgren will host the extremely popular TV show Melodifestivalen next year, a sign that he has definitely become one with the Swedish people again. He also has a part in Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming film “The Expendables”, which Lundgren describes as “a bit of a comedy”. Although he works in Los Angeles and is a frequent visitor to Sweden, Lundgren lives with his family (wife Anette, and daughters Ida, 13, and Greta, 8) in Marbella and London. “It’s hard on the family (to live like that),” he admits. “It’s a constant traveling, but I don’t think it’s healthy for children to live in Los Angeles, where I do most of my work.” About his ex Grace Jones, Lundgren says: “I haven’t seen her in five years, and that was in Cannes. We were together four years, I suppose I was her boy toy back then. I hear she’s still going strong, her music is very modern, she was ahead of her time.” And about Hollywood’s other tough guys, Lundgren says: “Arnold Schwarzenegger was never really a fighter, so I could probably take him on, I know him a little bit. Steven Seagal, I think was dangerous when he was younger, now he’s gained weight, which is never good for fighting. And Jean Claude van Damme better stop partying if he is going to stand a chance! Mickey Rourke and I had a club, “Black and Blue” in Hollywood in the 1980’s. He used to be a real fighter. He’s cool.” Dolph Lundgren was one of last summer’s “sommarpratare” (hosting the popular radio program “Sommar”) and his DVD “Command performance” will soon be out on the market.

Chinese BAIC buys Saab parts?
Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. (BAIC) of China has signed a preliminary deal for the purchase of parts of Saab Automobile, according to reports. A source tells the Wall Street Journal that BAIC will purchase the intellectual property for two sedan models – the Saab 9-3 and Saab 9-5 – and the equipment related to the production of the vehicles. Reportedly signed at the weekend in Sweden, the deal also allows BAIC to integrate Saab technology into its own vehicles and will be partially financed by loans from state banks in China. BAIC already has a 20 billion yuan ($2.93 billion) line of credit from Bank of China, the sources told the Wall Street Journal. The exact financial terms of the deal weren’t available, however. GM spokesperson Michael Albano refused to comment directly on discussions between the US automaker and BAIC over the possible acquisition of Saab assets. "We have discussions in process with many organizations about Saab," GM Albano told the Wall Street Journal. The source added that BAIC is continuing its weekend negotiations with Saab officials in Trollhättan in western Sweden and “exploring ways to reach further deals for cooperation”. BAIC is China’s fifth largest carmaker and has previously indicated it’s not interested in purchasing Saab’s Trollhättan factory. By selling Saab technology, GM is paving the way to close down Saab’s head offices and other parts of the Swedish automaker. Last weekend it was revealed that GM, which is negotiating with several buyers, is prepared to have Saab split into several companies as the Riksdag has requested. Throughout the autumn, a number of new companies have been registered, opening up the possibility that each one could be sold as a separate entity. Saab spokesperson Eric Geers refused to confirm the Wall Street Journal report. “That’s nothings that’s been confirmed, either from Saab or BAIC. I have no idea where it’s coming from,” he told the TT news agency on Sunday.

Schmunka, röding and tugga.
Oh dear! Are you in the know? Do you know what a “Håkan” is (besides a man’s name)? And if someone asks to “schmunka” some of your potato chips, what are they up to really? Hard to know if you’re not under 22. Metro.se took a closer look at the new slang in Sweden’s bigger cities. In Stockholm: Osman: A box on the ears. Röding: 500 SEK (approx. $70). Tugga: To hang out with. Håkan: Policeman. In Göteborg: Flens: Boring. Ostress: Nice and calm. Popo: Police. Mäka: To pick up girls/boys. Brors: Friend. Bomba or krydda: To lie. In Malmö: Pula: To eat. Schmunka: To mooch. Tast: To keep quiet. Raket: A lie.