Iceland teeters on the brink of bankruptcy

Wednesday 08th October, 05:02 AM JST

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14 Comments

adaydream at 07:24 AM JST - 8th October

This is one hell of a finacial situation world wide. < :-)
SuperLib at 08:24 AM JST - 8th October

Great, now we're going to have endless posts from people condemning the Europeans for their shaky economic model built on greed and screwing the poor.
Scrote at 09:10 AM JST - 8th October

I was tempted by the savings rates on offer from those Icelandic banks, more than 7% p.a. on sterling deposits in some cases. I'm lucky that in my case nagging doubts about Icelandic banks outweighed greed, and I invested elsewhere.
smithinjapan at 09:10 AM JST - 8th October

Maybe China can still afford to buy it.
Helter_Skelter at 09:43 AM JST - 8th October

The country’s top four banks now hold foreign liabilities in excess of $100 billion, debts that dwarf Iceland’s gross domestic product of $14 billion.

That doesn't sound good. I don't even think Bjork can get them out of this.
neverknow2 at 10:08 AM JST - 8th October

Its America's fault. Their greed caused the problem. Now so many people are suffering. No onder the wrold hates them.
smithinjapan at 10:59 AM JST - 8th October

Helter: "I don't even think Bjork can get them out of this."

Good one! haha. Maybe if she rejoined with what's-his-name and started up a Sugar Cubes tour (was that their name?).
WilliB at 11:29 AM JST - 8th October

neverknow:

" Its America's fault. Their greed caused the problem. Now so many people are suffering. No onder the wrold hates them. "

LOL! Yes, that is the typical leftist reaction to anything. The Icelandic banking bubble pops, and somehow GWB must be to blame.
smithinjapan at 11:59 AM JST - 8th October

WilliB: "LOL! Yes, that is the typical leftist reaction to anything. The Icelandic banking bubble pops, and somehow GWB must be to blame."

Funny, I haven't seen a person on here blaming the US for this, except sarcastic remarks from some very defensive posters. Subconscious guilt, perhaps?
CavemanLawyer at 12:10 PM JST - 8th October

They should start selling pieces of Bobby Fischer, like people did the saints of old. That should replenish the coffers! --Cirroc
coulrophobic at 12:56 PM JST - 8th October

What did people really expect:

Back home, the average family’s wealth soared 45% in half a decade and gross domestic product rose at around 5% a year.

But the whole system was built on a shaky foundation of foreign debt.

The country’s top four banks now hold foreign liabilities in excess of $100 billion, debts that dwarf Iceland’s gross domestic product of $14 billion.
Xennon at 01:24 PM JST - 8th October

smithinjapan,

neverknow2 said "Its America's fault" at 10:08.

At any rate this really is scary news.

“canary in the coal mine” of the global credit squeeze.

Eek!
WilliB at 05:58 PM JST - 8th October

smithinjapan:

" Funny, I haven't seen a person on here blaming the US for this, "

If you had bothered to look one single line above, you would have seen the quote. Sheesh.
sdmsec at 06:53 AM JST - 9th October

Its America's fault. Their greed caused the problem. Now so many people are suffering. No onder the wrold hates them.

I just love it when someone claims that one side of a business transaction, freely entered into, is "greedy". Don't both borrowers and lenders hope to gain something through their transaction? Aren't both equally greedy?