A view of the Forsmark nuclear power plant in Forsmark, Sweden, on June 14, 2010. Sweden's domestic security agency said Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, it has taken over the preliminary investigation into drones that last week were seen hovering over or near the country's three nuclear power plants. (Bertil Ericson/TT via AP)
The O1 and O2 nuclear power plants in Oscarshamn, Sweden, on Oct. 14, 2015. Sweden's domestic security agency said Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, it has taken over the preliminary investigation into drones that last week were seen hovering over or near the country's three nuclear power plants. (Adam Ihse /TT via AP)
A view of the Ringhals nuclear power plant in Varberg, Sweden, Dec. 30 2018. Sweden's domestic security agency said Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, it has taken over the preliminary investigation into drones that last week were seen hovering over or near the country's three nuclear power plants. (Björn Larsson Rosvall/TT via AP)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden's domestic security agency said Monday it has taken over the preliminary investigation into drones that last week were seen hovering over or near the country's three nuclear power plants.
At first police said there had been drones over two nuclear plants — Forsmark, north of Stockholm, and Oscarshamn in the southeast. The intelligence service, known by its Swedish acronym SAPO, said a drone also was reported over a third nuclear power facility, Ringhals, which is the largest of them and sits on the country’s western coast.
Police have no suspects.
“With regard to the cases of drone overflights at three nuclear power plants, the assessment is made that they are of such a nature that preliminary investigations have been taken over from the police authority in order to be able to investigate the incidents in more detail,” SAPO said in a statement.
Late Friday, police were alerted about the drones but lost track of the unmanned aircraft. Swedish media said the drones were large enough to withstand the wind that was blowing over the area.
Hans Liwang, an associate professor with the Swedish National Defense College, told Swedish broadcaster SVT that Sweden is not sufficiently prepared for this type of event.
“We have not really adapted our way of looking at this type of event to today’s reality,” he said. “ We still think of the world as either at peace or at war.”
In 2019, the Ringhals 2 reactor in southwestern Sweden was permanently shut down with operators citing a lack of profitability and rising maintenance costs.
On top of that, there are two decommissioned nuclear power facilities in Sweden — Barseback, which sits on the narrow waterway between Sweden and Denmark, and Agesta, south of the Swedish capital of Stockholm.
7 Manufacturing Stocks That Will Overcome Current DifficultiesThe manufacturing industry was one of the hardest hits in 2020. In the initial months of the coronavirus pandemic, many companies were forced to shutter operations. However, opportunistic investors kept their eye on several of these companies as recovery stocks. And at the beginning of 2021, the emergence of several vaccines allowed businesses to reopen. Not surprisingly, manufacturing stocks were among the biggest winners.
But where are these stocks headed in 2022? In December, American manufacturers reported their slowest pace of growth in 11 months. A closely followed index of U.S.-based manufacturers dropped to 58.7% in the final month of 2021. This was slightly lower than the 61.1% in November according to the Institute for Supply Management.
Still, any number of above 50% signals expansion. And the number is only slightly below the 60% level that signifies exceptional growth.
Ironically, it’s the virus that continues to provide a headwind. Supply chains are unwinding but not nearly fast enough to prevent material shortages. The controversy surrounding vaccine mandates is causing labor shortages.
However, there’s a strong likelihood that manufacturing stocks will have a strong year in 2022. And even if they don’t, many of these stocks pay a reliable dividend. That’s why we’ve put together this special presentation on the manufacturing stocks that will overcome current difficulties.
View the "7 Manufacturing Stocks That Will Overcome Current Difficulties".
