Swedes less selfish
The differences in salaries in Sweden are small compared to international standards, the number of children growing up in financially vulnerable circumstances have decreased significantly since the late 1990s, and the open-minded attitude to immigration is increasing. All this according to a report by Framtidskommissionen (the Commission of the Future). The conclusion, according to Charlotta Levay, author of the report, is Swedes are becoming less selfish. But Levay also points out there are contexts in which Swedes are not being treated equally. www.framtidskommissionen.se

Coffee affects unborn child
Drink coffee or tea during pregnancy, and you risk affecting your baby’s growth, according to a new study of 59,000 pregnant women at the Sahlgrenska Academy. The connection could be seen in women who drank as little as two cups of coffee a day—their babies were oftentimes born early and with low birth weight. “To my patients, that is pregnant women, I would really recommend decreasing the intake of caffeine as much as possible,” says Dr. Verena Sengpeil, one of the researchers behind the study.

Get paid to live here
It pays to have a co-op apartment in Uppsala, Örebro and Växjö. A person who owns an apartment here has more or less lived for free since 2007, if you look at the increase in value. The increase in housing prices over the past six years is compared with the housing costs, which are calculated on a full loan, variable rate interest and values for all operating expenses. Among Sweden’s 21 county towns, seven have had a positive net of co-ops. Best were those who live in Uppsala, with a 243 580 SEK ($38,000) on the credit side from 2007, or 4 059 SEK ($632) per month. The survey, which was produced by Värderingsdata on behalf of Fastighetsbyrån, shows that it has been more profitable to own a co-op than a house. Meanwhile, fresh numbers from Statistics Sweden points at a 23 percent decrease in residential constructions during 2012.