Nobel literature laureate Krasznahorkai delivers rare lecture in Stockholm

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Hungarian László Krasznahorkai, who won the Nobel Prize in literature for his surreal and anarchic novels that combine a bleak world view with mordant humor, gave a lecture in Stockholm on Sunday in one of his rare public appearances.

The lecture was part of the Nobel week that is underway in Stockholm and Oslo with laureates holding news conferences and giving speeches before they are awarded the prestigious prizes.

Krasznahorkai's lecture, which he gave in Hungarian, ranged across topics such as old and new angels, human dignity, hope or the lack thereof, rebellion and his observations of a clochard — or tramp — on the Berlin subway.

He introduced his lecture, according to the English translation, by saying that “on receiving the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature, I originally wished to share my thought with you on the subject of hope, but as my stores of hope have definitely come to an end, I will now speak about angels.”

As opposed to “the angels of old,” the new angels, Krasznahorkai said, “have no wings, but they also have no message, none whatsoever. They are merely here among us in their simple street clothes, unrecognizable if they so wish.

“They just stand there and look at us, they are searching for our gaze, and in this search there is a plea for us, to look into their eyes, so that we ourselves can transmit a message to them, only that unfortunately, we have no message to give,” the author writes in sad, yet poetic prose.

Expressing himself in his long, winding trademark sentences full of apocalypse but without full stops, he says it comes as a shock when he “detects the horrific story of these new angels that stand before me, the story that they are sacrifices, sacrifices: and not for us, but because of us, for every single one of us, because of every single one of us, angels without wings and angels without a message, and all the while knowing that there is war, war and only war, war in nature, war in society, and this war is being waged not only with weapons, not only with torture, not only with destruction: of course, this is one end of the scale, but this war proceeds at the opposite of the scale as well, because one single bad word is enough.”

When the Nobel judges announced the award for Krasznahorkai in October, they described the 71-year-old as “a great epic writer” whose work “is characterized by absurdism and grotesque excess.”

“Krasznahorkai’s work can be seen as part of a Central European tradition," the Nobel Prize organization said. ”Important features are pessimism and apocalypse, but also humor and unpredictability."

His novels include “Satantango,” “The Melancholy of Resistance,” “War and War,” “Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming” and “Herscht 07769.”

Last year’s winner was South Korean author Han Kang. The 2023 winner was Norwegian writer Jon Fosse, whose work includes a seven-book epic made up of a single sentence.

Meanwhile, the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Kristian Harpviken, said Saturday that Venezuelan Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader María Corina Machado will come to Oslo this week to receive her award in person.

The 58-year-old, who won for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, has been in hiding and has not been seen in public since January.

Harpviken told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that Machado was expected to personally pick up the prize on Wednesday.

“I spoke with the Peace Prize winner last night, and she will come to Oslo,” Harpviken said, according to NRK.

The Nobel Prize award ceremonies will be held Wednesday on the Dec. 10 anniversary of founder Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896. The award ceremony for peace is in Oslo and the other ceremonies are in Stockholm.

Laszlo Krasznahorkai, Nobel Prize laureate in Literature, delivers his Nobel Prize lecture in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday Dec. 7, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)

Laszlo Krasznahorkai, Nobel Prize laureate in Literature, delivers his Nobel Prize lecture in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday Dec. 7, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)

Laszlo Krasznahorkai, Nobel Prize laureate in Literature, is greeted by Mats Malm, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, after his Nobel Prize lecture in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday Dec. 7, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)

Laszlo Krasznahorkai, Nobel Prize laureate in Literature, delivers his Nobel Prize lecture in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday Dec. 7, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)

FILE - The Nobel medal in physiology or medicine presented to Charles M. Rice is displayed, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, during a ceremony in New York. (Angela Weiss/Pool Photo via AP, File)

László Krasznahorkai, laureate in literature, speaks during the signing of the Nobel chair at the Nobel Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Target is investing another $2 billion in its business this year to spruce up and remodel stores among other projects as it tries to turn around a persistent sales malaise and reclaim its authority on style.

The investment, announced Tuesday at its annual investor meeting in at its headquarters in Minneapolis, comes as the discounter reported another quarter of declining sales and profits amid its struggles to regain its footing with customers who are going elsewhere for fashion, home and other needs.

Tuesday's report offered some hope for the business. The company delivered a solid annual profit outlook that was better than Wall Street had been projecting. It also said it believes net sales will grow every quarter this year.

Target said comparable-store sales rose to start the current quarter.

“This is a new chapter, and it's all about growth,” said CEO Michael Fiddelke, a 20-year company veteran who succeeded longtime CEO Brian Cornell last month.

Fiddelke and other executives detailed plans to turn around Target as investors have been hungry for a return to Target’s former dominance in affordable chic for which it earned it the nickname “Tarzhay” in years past.

Target said that its stores will get the biggest refresh this year than they have had in roughly a decade. The company will invest hundreds of millions of dollars for additional store labor and training. And it plans to open 30 new stores and aims to remodel 130 of its existing stores.

In particular, Target is launching a new beauty area called Target Beauty Studio in 600 stores this fall, which will offer upscale beauty products and beauty services. The new area will partly replace its shops with Ulta, which is ending its partnership in August, the company said.

Fiddelke takes over with Target’s hometown of Minneapolis a front line of sorts in President Donald Trump’s campaign to curb illegal immigration. Some of the company’s stores have become a flashpoint in a pushback against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The company has faced pressure to take a public stand against the immigration crackdown.

Even before the immigration clashes, Target had been facing protests and boycotts over the company’s decision to roll back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Critics believe it's a betrayal of Target’s philanthropic commitment to fighting racial disparities and promoting progressive values in liberal Minneapolis and beyond.

That is outside of a volatile economic and political environment that has been intensified by an aggressive trade campaign under Trump. The White House is now seeking a global tariff of 15%, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down many of the far-reaching taxes on imports that he had imposed over the last year.

While the pace of inflation has cooled, consumer prices have soared about 25% over the past five years. U.S. companies are facing a hazy outlook with American households hurting, and the Trump administration is trying to work around the Supreme Court ruling to keep his duties in place.

And Target customers have soured on what they see as untended and messy stores with lackluster merchandise.

As the company’s nearly 2,000 store locations have become shipping hubs for online operations, customers say the in-store shopping experience has suffered with staff fulfilling digital orders rather than tending to store aisles.

Target is also facing stiffer competition from Walmart, which has stepped up its focus on fashion and other goods. As many Americans trade down because of inflation, Walmart has gained market share, particularly among households with annual income above $100,000.

Fiddelke has already reshuffled the leadership team at Target, boosted spending on in-store store staffing and made cuts at distribution facilities and regional offices, according to a memo sent to employees in February.

Target said it's focusing merchandise category by category and infusing its assortment with new differentiated items to set itself from its competitors. For example, in the home area, 75% of the company's home decorative assortment will be new.

The company is also reworking its store label brands such as its home goods brand called Threshold. It announced a merchandise collaboration with Roller Rabbit, a brand known for its 1960s-inspired silhouettes and colorful playful prints. The collection of clothing, pajamas and accessories is expected to make its debut at Target this month for a limited time.

The company said it's adding more fashion drops this year and using an artificial intelligence tool to better spot trends. In some examples, it's cutting the time frame from a design concept to store shelves to a matter of weeks from over a year, according to Cara Sylvester, Target’s chief merchandising officer.

And in food, the company is hoping to drive more trips by expanding its fresh produce while also offering innovative items. This year, it plans to increase the amount of newness across the assortment by nearly 50%, it said.

The company earned $2.30 per share, or $1.05 billion, for the three-month period ended Jan. 31. That compares with $2.41 per share, or $1.10 billion, during the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share for the most recent quarter was $2.44.

Sales fell 1.5% to $30.45 billion during the latest period. For the full year, sales fell nearly 2% to $104.78 billion.

Analysts were expecting $2.16 per share on sales of $30.46 billion, according to a survey by FactSet.

Comparable sales — sales at established stores and online channels — fell 2.5%, followed by a 2.7% dip in the fiscal third quarter. The latest figure marks 11 quarters out of the past 13 that Target has posted either declines or flattish growth for this measure.

Tuesday’s report offered some hopeful signs for the business. Target said that sales and customer traffic accelerated in the final two months of the quarter. And it saw sales growth in food and beverage, beauty and toys for the latest quarter.

Target said that it expects net sales for the year to increase by 2%, which would mean it expects sales to reach $106.88 billion. That’s a bit above analysts’ expectations of $106.7 billion. Target also anticipates earnings per share to be in the range of $7.50 to $8.50. Analysts are expecting $7.30 per share for the year, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Products sit on display at a Target store, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Edina, Minn. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)

Products sit on display at a Target store, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Edina, Minn. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)

FILE - The Target logo displayed on a sign outside a store, Nov. 18, 2025, in Salem, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Products sit on display at a Target store, Monday, March 2, 2026, in Edina, Minn. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)