Dive Brief:

• Finnish prime minister Alexander Stubb told CNBC Monday that Apple’s iPad is helping cut into its paper industry and its phones are hurting Finnish mobile company Nokia, leading to job losses that have wounded the country’s economy.

• Credit rating Standard and Poor downgraded Finland to AA+ from AAA last week.

• Stubb blamed Apple for Finland’s woes earlier this summer, even before the downgrade, and says that while the key industries will recover (perhaps with the help of Nokia's new owner, Microsoft) it could take four years to get the country’s AAA rating back.

Dive Insight:

It’s rare for the prime minister of a European country to articulate that its economic woes stem from the success of one company, but Finland’s Alexander Stubb is going there. American retailers may feel the same way, as Apple captures dollars from many consumers who are otherwise fairly reluctant to spend much money on other things, even for the holidays.