It was an odd episode, and highlights the other, deeper problem at the heart of Iceland’s banking system. How did the prime minister’s office know that a junior journalist in London was writing a story about Iceland? Presumably because someone from one of the banks told them. If so, why are they in such close [...]

Yesterday the number of weekly protestants outside the Parliament doubled to around 8.000. So 2% of the nation gathered in freezing cold to protest against the government, the central bank and the financialy authorities. Then a small group threw skyr (similar to yogurth) and eggs at the building. Many have condemned the few who do [...]

Today the government announced it plans to help families and homes in Iceland to deal with unemployment, rising inflation and disappearing value of their assets. It did not include a solution to the worst problem. Price indexation of home loans. Graphically it makes the most sense. A short while ago you owned a home worth [...]

There are only two problems in Iceland. The businessmen and the politicians.

A woman in Akureyri was appalled by the way the bank had depreaciated her savings so she took one of the chairs from their branch and left. It was returned to the bank.

Owe somebody $50.000 and fail to pay, you will be bankrupted. Owe somebody $5 billion and fail to pay, the taxpayers will pay it for you. Ergo, it is better to owe as much as possible.

So many people contributed to Iceland facing financial ruin. In some ways or others we all played our part, working for the man, buying flat-screens and taking on currency loans. But Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson and Bjorgolfur Thor, along with Sigurjon Arnason and Halldor J. Kristjansson of Landsbankinn could reasonably be accused of not only buying and [...]

Before David Oddson became Central Bank Governor and after he had been prime minister, he served couple of years as foreign minister. In the US, those who work for the government or military talk about serving their country. David served his friends, appointing several of them as ambassadors around the globe. One of his harshest [...]

It is the safe bet of every politician. To woo potential voters where there is democracy, or oppressed citizens where there is not with sound-bites about their uniqueness in the world. That their nation for some reasons is special. But trouble is that the world just doesn’t work that way anymore. If your eyes have [...]

According to one of Jon Asgeir Johannesson’s former CEO’s, businesses connected to the Baugur spearhead owe around 1.000 billion ISK. That’s a lot of money and unlikely that you can run up such debts unless you own a bank yourself.