Swedish economy contracts for first time in five years

Sweden's economy suffered its first contraction in five years in the last quarter, data published Thursday showed, as tax changes hit consumer spending. The 0.2 percent contraction in seasonally adjusted terms from the second quarter came as a surprise for analysts, who had expected zero growth, according to a survey by SME Direkt.
The drop in consumer spending "...probably largely reflected a sharp drop in new car sales, after an especially strong (second quarter), due to higher taxes on petrol and diesel cars" which kicked in at the start of the third quarter, said analysts at Capital Economics.