Experts say that despite increased life expectancies the ability of an average 70-year-old to work is not a given, the financial newspaper Talous Sanomat reports.

"Memory lapses, muscle weakness, heart problems and diabetes... This is how infirm many a 70-year-old worker would be. Employers demanding a rise in the age of retirement would also want them to work. Experts say, however, that only a few per cent of 70-year-olds would be in good enough shape for paid employment. Which jobs could elderly people handle?

The population of only 34 out of 140 countries worldwide would grow if everyone in the world was allowed to live wherever they wished, the daily newspaper Turun Sanomat reports.

"If all the people in the world were able, without any restrictions whatsoever, to decide where to live, where would they choose? Preferably in Singapore, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia, the research institute Gallup's fresh poll says. Moreover, Finland would attract far greater numbers of comers than goers. Sierra Leone, Haiti and Zimbabwe, however, would be left relatively deserted.

The National Coalition’s attempt to humble Russia with reference to the diminished size of its economy backfires, the financial newspaper Kauppalehti reports.

“Minister of Finance and chairman of the National Coalition Jyrki Katainen’s statements on the size of the Russian economy which caused a stir this week were based on outdated information.

The National Coalition’s ministers Katainen, Alexander Stubb and Jyri Häkämies while in Rauma this week, attempted to strip Russia of its status as a major economic power. According to Katainen, Russia’s statements don’t ring true as the country’s economy is the same size as that of Holland.

Aerial photography is increasingly being put to use by Finnish authorities, the daily newspaper Turun Sanomat reports.

“During the summer, the Greek police searched for unlicensed swimming pools using the Google Earth satellite photography service. Over 16,000 pools were found.

The use of aerial photography in the search for unlicensed buildings is also becoming more common in Finland. According to the Turku Building Control Centre, aerial photographs make it possible to identify unlicensed outhouses, illegal construction sites and buildings dissembled without authorisation.

Underhand tactics are being employed by Finland’s estate agents to generate competition in the market, the financial newspaper Talous Sanomat reports.

Real estate agents are now promising exorbitant asking prices for apartments on sale simply to acquire properties to broker. The shortage of apartments for sale has pushed competition between agents to a ferocious level. This is now hiking up property prices even more. An over-the-top price promise is however a disservice, warns one agent.

Finland’s public authorities made a record number of mistakes last year, the national daily Helsingin Sanomat reports.

“Legality controllers discovered more cases of negligence and illegalities in the activities of public authorities last year than ever before.

The Ombudsman resolved 4,538 complaints last year of which 791 led to the authorities being reprimanded. The amount of both complaints and reprimands is greater this year than any previous year. The amount of both grew rapidly in the years 2001-2009.

A well-known columnist says the US will be forced to adopt strenuous measures if it hopes to keep its massive national debt in check, the financial newspaper Kauppalehti reports.

“Financial columnist Laurence Kotlikoff comes out with what many believe to be the case: the United States is bankrupt. Consumption growth and tax cuts are not helping the country to pay its debt, he writes on the website Bloomberg.

The US is in worse shape than Greece. In the future, the US will see a rise in poverty, tightened taxation and a rise in interest rates and consumer prices, the columnist predicts.

While the homicide rate in Finland is in decline, murder convictions are becoming more common, the daily newspaper Turun Sanomat reports.

“Homicides in Finland have become so increasingly brutal that they are more and more often sentenced as murders. According to researcher Matti Lehti of the National Research Institute of Legal Policy, the total amount of homicides has decreased steadily over the past 20 years while the number of murder convictions has, however, clearly increased.

Alcohol still characterises Finnish violence. According to Lehti’s research, in about 70 per cent of the homicides investigated during the years 2002-2008 all involved ...

Opting to work may not pay off as the Social Insurance Institution (Kela) may demand repayment of unemployment benefits, the daily newspaper Aamulehti reports.

“Taina Tast, a mother of two from Rovaniemi with a master’s degree in economics, had sought work in her own field for several months without success. So she opted to work as a personal assistant on a temporary basis.

During the months of May, June and July she has had two clients and has accumulated 157 work hours. The unit of the city’s social services centre that provides services to handicapped people pays 9.23 euros per hour for the work.

Helsinki travel guides include details about the city that can even surprise locals, the national daily Helsingin Sanomat reports.

“Which feature of coastal Helsinki is best suited for some water fun? Certainly not good old Hietaniemi beach, if the Lonely Planet travel guide is anything to go by. The swimming pool built into the bedrock in Itäkeskus is recommended instead.

The Russian guide Afiša, in turn, recommends the swimming pool on Yrjönkatu as Mannerheim’s favourite place to swim.