If you only read one opinion column this year, this is the one you should read. And then you’ll never have to listen to people like Hannes Holmsteinn Gissurarson ever again. It is long but it should be required reading. Paul Krugman in the NY Times So here’s what I think economists have to do. [...]

How did the brothers, Agust and Lydur Gudmundsson score the majority ownership of Bakkavor? Well, with a vendor loan from Exista the company Lydur told the nation was heading for a bankruptcy earlier this evening. Which is where the brothers are also the largest shareholders. A vendor loan is basically a fancy way of saying [...]

Only 1% of Icelanders think Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, president of Iceland can be perceived as a symbol of unification. In a new poll by MMR, 72% cannot name an Icelander who can be. Former president Vigdis Finnbogadottir got the most mentiones with 4,5% and David Oddson received 3,8%. Government leaders Johanna Sigurdardottir and Steingrimur J. [...]

Serious Fraud Office investigators believe crucial evidence in their probe into sports retailers JJB and Sports Direct is to be found in the archives of Icelandic bank Kaupthing and are to send a team to Reykjavik to probe the records of the failed lender. From the Daily Mail

Stefan Snaevarr, an Icelandic professor in philosophy at the University of Lillehammer in Norway would be a strong contender if an award was handed out for the smartest blog in Iceland. Stefan was on the panel at the University of Iceland last week with Joseph Stiglitz. He was also in attendance when Milton Friedman visited [...]

According to Arborg’s website there are currently 7.904 people who live in the municipality. Last year, 129 properties were sold through bankruptcy proceedings. Already this year, 199 properties have gone the same way. That number is expected to rise by 355 before the year’s end, topping at 555. In that number are homes, summer-houses and [...]

GE Capital, a subsidiary of General Electric has reposessed the private jet 101, from Jon Asgeir Johannesson and Ingibjorg Palmadottir. According to Channel 2 news, the Dassault Falcon jet is valued at two and a half billion ISK. So they’ll have to do with Business Class for now.

Special prosecutor Olafur Thor Hauksson and Eva Joly are in London today meeting with Richard Alderman, head of Serious Frauds Office. The purpose of the meeting according to mbl.is is to examine grounds for co-operation. SFO took the initiative last month, as it has Kaupthing, Landsbankinn and Glitnir under investigation.

How is Steingrimur J. Sigfusson going to tackle this one? Glitnir/Islandsbanki is probably about to relieve former CEO Bjarni Armannsson of a debt of 800 million ISK, which is from a loan his own shelf-company Imagine got from the bank to purchase 12% of shares in the Norwegian business Glitnir Property Holding. Bjarni who walked [...]

Olli Rehn, the European Union´s Commissioner for Enlargement, will give a talk Wednesday September 9 at 10:30 am, on the European perspective of Iceland. Össur Skarphéðinsson, Minister for Foreign Affairs, will open the meeting and the moderator is Baldur Þórhallsson, Political Science Professor and Chair of the Institute of International Affairs. The seminar is held [...]