Norway: Pausing the Sovereign Wealth Fund's ethical guidelines to avoid selling $230 billion worth of tech stocks.

Norwegian Finance Minister Jan Staufenberg said that the government has temporarily suspended the ethical guidelines that restrict the country's sovereign wealth fund, after concerns were raised about the possibility of a major sell-off of its $230 billion worth of technology company stocks. In August, the fund's ethical advisor called for the sale of its shares in Caterpillar, as the company's bulldozers were used in the Gaza conflict. Staufenberg, in an interview in Oslo on Monday, said that this move could set a precedent. The regulations in question could have required the fund to sell its most profitable company stocks. Staufenberg's comments further highlight the disruptive impact that recent conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as the Trump administration's attacks on climate and diversity policies, have had on the concept of ethical investing.