Saturday, March 14, 2009

Iceland: Banks & fish

Here's a great article from Vanity Fair's Micheal Lewis about the rise and fall of Iceland's financial industry.

It is a long article, but well worth the read.

2 comments:

  1. Great article (and I think UNCW should certify the absence of elves or hidden people before constructing a new building...haha)! So, what does Iceland do now? Does it adopt the Euro as a currency and if so, what deals will be made to assure its people enjoy their pre-boom standard of living? Does the EU have time to work with Iceland, given the financial crisis on the continent and the UK? Who buys bad Icelandic debts for mortgages whose notes reflect a value three times the actual market value? I wonder what bankruptcy laws are in place to help individuals. And I wonder how widespread the losses are?

    William

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  2. Actually, they're more likely to go along with Russia on this one (as opposed to the EU). Iceland took out a major loan from Russia to save its economy. Plus, with the stipulations on entry into the EU's monetary union, I think that Iceland would still be reluctant to enter because it would mostly likely only prolong their economic downturn.

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