Had we not agreed to collectively stick our heads in the sand and wait this thing out? But here we go again… On the ratings agencies: To listen to European and US figureheads pour scorn over the credit ratings agencies is quite surreal. The ratings agencies´position in global finance is no coincidence. They are in [...]

Last year was possibly one of the worst in a long time for the Icelandic national church. Beset with accusations of sexual harrasment and fighting to maintain its position within kindergartens and schools, the church suddenly had to justify its existence like probably never before. I don’t think it is a coincidence after an economic [...]

Parents are supposed to have all the answers. That is why their offspring keep asking them “why” if they don’t feel satisfied with what they’ve been told. My father has always spoken wistfully of Vilmundur Gylfason, the charismatic young politician who ruffled a thousand feathers in the seventies and early eighties with eloquent criticism of [...]

I will be following the development of Ugandan banking with interest in the next decade. Four or five years ago a delegation from Uganda came by Iceland to learn the secrets behind the Icelandic economic miracle, including visits to the banks. Good luck guys!

Currently there appears to be an undercurrent of social instability not seen in Iceland in modern times.  To respond, we should examine five dimensions on the security spectrum which can be considered to be especially revelant in Iceland in the present. These dimensions are: -          Traditional Military -          Economic vulnerability and  instability -          Breakdown of [...]

If debt forgiveness benefits both equity and debt holders, why do debt holders not voluntarily agree to it? ·     First of all, there is a coordination problem. Even if each individual debtholder benefits from a reduction in the face value of debt, she will benefit even more if everybody else cuts the face [...]

“In 1929, 1930, and 1931 Britain could not act as a stabilizer, and the United States would not. When every country turned to protect its national private interest, the world public interest went down the drain, and with it the private interests of all” - Charles P. Kindleberger, The World in Depression 1929-1939 So how [...]

I’d be more sanguine about all of this if there were any indications that private, final demand is taking off — consumers, business investment, whatever. But I haven’t seen anything suggesting that sort of thing. The chances of a relapse into recession seem to be rising. I’d be more sanguine about all of this if [...]

The ubiquitous cranes have paused on the skyline, as if stuck in time. There are countless buildings half-finished, seemingly abandoned. In the swankiest new constructions – like the vast Atlantis hotel, a giant pink castle built in 1,000 days for $1.5bn on its own artificial island – where rainwater is leaking from the ceilings and [...]

It is a strange feeling to witness your country falling apart before your eyes. You first start to panic when you realise that there is nothing you can do to stop the crash. When the crisis hit Iceland’s shores last year the rock of the Viking economy proved to be nothing more than clear water. [...]