Alas, poor Niceland...

Quote :

REYKJAVIK, Iceland - This volcanic island near the Arctic Circle is on the brink of becoming the first "national bankruptcy" of the global financial meltdown.

Home to just 320,000 people on a territory the size of Kentucky, Iceland has formidable international reach because of an outsized banking sector that set out with Viking confidence to conquer swaths of the British economy — from fashion retailers to top soccer teams.

The strategy gave Icelanders one of the world's highest per capita incomes. But now they are watching helplessly as their economy implodes — their currency losing almost half its value, and their heavily exposed banks collapsing under the weight of debts incurred by lending in the boom times.

"Everything is closed. We couldn't sell our stock or take money from the bank," said Johann Sigurdsson as he left a branch of Landsbanki in downtown Reykjavik.

The government had earlier announced it had nationalized the bank under emergency laws enacted to deal with the crisis.

"We have been forced to take decisive action to save the country," Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde said of those sweeping new powers that allow the government to take over companies, limit the authority of boards, and call shareholder meetings.

A full-blown collapse of Iceland's financial system would send shock waves across Europe, given the heavy investment by Icelandic banks and companies across the continent.

Source

Yup there pretty much F'd.

iceland takes a 4Billion $ credit from russia to save his bank's

Russia won't do well either. Unlike in 1929 when USSR was isolated from world capitalis economy, Russia now heavily relies on Europeans being able to giver her jobs and buy her gas just to mention a few issues.

Well, the illusion bubble is popping.

*cackles*

Iceland households have been rellying heavily on loans and living heavily indebted. Some people told me, that people in Iceland like to spend, similiar to the consumer mentality in USA.

RedSoviet wrote:

iceland takes a 4Billion $ credit from russia to save his bank's

lol no, turns out you don't have that money.

Kenzu wrote:

Iceland households have been rellying heavily on loans and living heavily indebted. Some people told me, that people in Iceland like to spend, similiar to the consumer mentality in USA.

the explosion in cosumerisim in iceland has been a littel fake and a littel not so fake.

medium income housholds could get bigger houses and good cars, circa 2,5% of the economic growth went to the UPPER middel class, but about 90% to the ricest 200ppls wich could buy 9 privet jets( lic my neighbour)