Swedes' love for Springsteen is an expensive affair
American musician Bruce Springsteen, aka "The Boss," is certainly popular in Sweden. He is currently touring Europe and is coming to Ullevi (a stadium in Göteborg) for two concerts this summer. Tickets to these concerts are sought after, and are selling online at biljett.nu for three times the original price. “That’s our business idea,” says Robert Jakobsson, managing director at biljett.nu. “To offer a service that we get paid for.” Tickets for Springsteen’s concerts in Sweden are already sold out, and the organizers, Live Nation, have no plans to let out more tickets. “Not the way it looks right now, no. We’ve made the estimation that they are all sold out,” says Kristofer Åkesson, officer of press at Live Nation. The two concerts at Ullevi will be on July 27 and 28, and the tickets sold out in a matter of hours. Before they did, Ticnet’s homepage crashed as many of the tickets were bought by people and businesses with the aim to re-sell them at a much higher price. Biljett.nu offers tickets that originally cost 625 SEK ($89) for 1995 SEK ($284). “We are a business just like any other. We put prices that the fans are willing to pay,” Jakobsson says.

Facebook makes job hunting more fun
Strangers who hook up to inspire and pep each other in the hunt for employment - doesn't that sound like a good idea? Well, in Malmö that’s a reality with the Facebook group “Jobbsällskap Malmö” (Employment community Malmö). Not knowing the other members doesn’t really matter, the members still pep up each other. Jonathan Sundqvist and Ingrid Guillermo are two of those members, and metro.se was there when the two met for the first time over coffee. They each brought their laptops along. “It feels good. It’s not very motivating sitting all alone, writing personal letters,” says Ingrid, who has a background as an art director, illustrator and web master, and who is now looking for employment at a PR agency. Jonathan is looking for work as a communications officer. “It’s no fun being unemployed,” he says. “But being in the same situation as others can be inspiring, they read your CV and it makes you feel better. It often helps to have someone to exchange ideas with.” Ingrid agrees, and adds that she thinks it’s healthy to network in all kinds of ways, whether you are employed or not. The brain behind Jobbsällskap Malmö is Frida Nelhans. She started the group at the end of March, after having started similar groups in Stockholm and Göteborg. “I didn’t feel very productive sitting at home looking for a job, confined within four walls,” she says. “I work better when I’m around others, and I think many others are the same way.” Today the group in Malmö consists of some 30 people and is consistently growing. “There’s a culture that tells us to keep things to ourselves, and to not share any information. But I think in the long run it pays off to share with others,” Frida says. www.fridanelhans.com

Mikaela's invention
When Mikaela Taraldsson got tired of never getting the last of the yogurt out of the carton, she came up with a brilliant idea: perforate the mid section of the package, making it possible to take it apart and scrape out the last of the yogurt. “I realized how much yogurt was wasted, and there were mornings when I simply didn’t have the time to cut the yogurt carton apart to get it out. That’s how I got the idea,” says Mikaela, who’s 13 years old. She says sometimes there’s as much as 1 deciliter (1/3 cup). Thanks to her invention, Mikaela’s now one of 21 prize winners in the competition Finn up (Invent), a pedagogical method for teachers of sixth through ninth graders, who want to awaken a desire for knowledge in students. Finn upp uses inventing as a way to learn. “My teacher Leila Zaier has been a great support for me,” Mikaela says. During the award ceremony at Berns on May 28, several prizes will be handed out within areas like design, presentation and environmental inventions. The winners are awarded with scholarships and will also be offered professional help should they want to develop their ideas. For more information: www.finnupp.se

Dead lynx found in hunting tower
A dead lynx was recently found in a hunting tower in Botkyrka municipality (in Stockholm county). It is unclear if the lynx died a natural death, or if this is a hunting offense. “It’s puzzling that the animal was in the hunting tower, but right now we don’t know how it died or why it happened at that place,” says Hanna Dittrich Söderman, administrative predator expert at the County Administrative Board in Stockholm. Police have launched a preliminary investigation and the National Veterinary Institute will determine the cause of death.