To torture your customers with exorbitant prices is very Icelandic. A cup of coffee in Reykjavik is getting close to the price of a beer a few years ago. The price of beer is getting close to the price of mojitos a few years ago. A mojito almost requires a second mortgage. It is worse [...]

It used to be that dates when the Central Bank announced its interest rates were earth-shaking news-material in Iceland. Today when the bank lowered the rates down to 7% from a high of 18% in March of 2009, it barely got a mention. The rates are at their lowest since 2004. See here at DataMarket. [...]

Turns out that the currency loans which have rocked Icelandic society for years were illegal after all. Of all the royal mess created and sustained by the Icelandic political elite, the whole affair ranks amongst the absolutely worst. On the ground level amongst the public, lives have been lost, future plans have been destroyed, people [...]

I handed in a paper yesterday where I examined the correlation between self-image and opinion towards the krona. The Icelandic krona has been praised by some as the nation’s saviour in some quarters while chastised as a root of many evils in others. Where you stand on the issue seems to correlate with whether you perceive yourself [...]

“I think what is happening in Iceland proves that our own currency is very beneficial to our needs. You don’t have to go far back to see that the currency developments have increased the competitiveness of Icelandic businesses and industries”. - Steingrimur J. Sigfusson, Finance Minister of Iceland two years after an economic collapse all [...]

The Central Bank of Iceland has decided not to change its interest rates which are currently 12%. Olafur Isleifsson, lektor at the University of Iceland was quoted yesterday as saying that “it is hard to see a constructive reason behind the bank’s high rates”. As the nooze tightens, Icelandic businesses and individuals keep asking themselves [...]

Pity the poor billionaires. Leper-like in public, either shunned or met with aggrivation, since the economic crash there have been several instances of red paint being splattered on the houses of the masters of the disaster. It is a bit crude and not very imaginative so a friend has thought of a better idea. Since [...]

“The rebuilding of the banks must be an absolute priority. For the business sector to work, it must be supported by banks that work. But it will be expensive. I don’t think Icelanders realize how expensive that is going to be, around 85% of gross national product. “ Mats Josefsson to Swedish newspaper Uppsala Nya Tidning [...]

Iceland’s highly indebted banking sector collapsed in October, taking with it the wider economy and the crown currency. – Iceland attempted to introduce a currency peg — which survived less than a day — before imposing stringent capital controls restricting foreign exchange purchases to those for essential items such as food, fuel and medicine. – [...]

For foreigners wishing to understand more about the perils of the Icelandic situation, these four opinion columns that have appeared in Frettabladid in the last few weeks are a must read.  1) The Economics of the Devil Published in Frettabladid on April 15 by Gunnar Tomasson, economist Inflation depreaciates the real value of money and [...]