Wall Street on the Tundra -- Iceland’s de facto bankruptcy

vanityfair. | April 2009 | by Michael Lewis

[dennisw]

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/04/iceland200904

Cannot post Vanity Fair material at Free Republic

Iceland was run like a hedge fund. They looked at Wall Street and said "We can do this"

 Iceland was ranked number one in 2008 by the United Nations’ Human Development Index

Icelanders are supposed to be cool and rational so what went wrong?

For smart Icelanders the economics of financial engineering took over the economics of fishing which had served Iceland well

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/04/iceland200904

Protesters in Reykjavik, some holding signs reading Stop The Corruption, are seen outside the parliament building during a demonstration Saturday by several thousand people against Iceland's economic meltdown.

[driftdiver]

Summer in Iceland

[dennisw]

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[bill1952]

Iceland was ranked number one in 2008 by the United Nations’ Human Development Index

and we all know that the UN is always right...

[Lurker]

I'll believe the Icelanders are serious when they take a cue from the Romanians.

Until then, they're just another mob in the streets.

[Thebaddog]

You see any bros in that picture?

[dennisw]

A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, often without any product or service being delivered.

[PGalt]

“For smart Icelanders the economics of financial engineering took over the economics of fishing which had served Iceland well”

The supremacy of finance capital over all other forms of capital means the predominance of the rentier and of the financial oligarchy; it means that a small number of financially “powerful” states stand out among all the rest. The extent to which this process is going on may be judged from the statistics on emissions, i.e., the issue of all kinds of securities. - Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Music to read this post by...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obYPYDhchIc

[mo]

Iceland today.....tomorrow?...

See this report...3rd quarter 2008 investment bank derivative exposure.....you have to go all the way down to table 9 ...page 29..to see..very small, fine print,...that notes JP Morgans total derivative exposure of over 87 TRILLION dollars..the top five American investment banks carry a total over 170 TRILLION dollars of derivative exposure.

http://www.occ.gov/ftp/release/2008-152a.pdf

Now...not all these derivative positions are (or probably should say “were” ) necessarily “bad” positions...but they for sure were probably not taken in anticipation of the volatility and declines we’ve seen. In other words...they may well be almost all “bad” at this point. To continue to tie the US Treasury to this mess will take the US Gov’mt under.

Iceland was a “mini-hedge fund”...the synthesis of Wall Street with the Federal Treasury and our W-2’s/1099’s makes us the largest hedge fund ever.

[GOPJ]

What’s going to happen when they discover marching doesn’t make any difference?

[Wally_Kalbacken]

I suppose thy could go back to being drunk indoors.

[JDoutrider]

That gray headed fella at the forefront of that photo sure portrays one pissed off dude!

Don't blame 'em a bit!

[dennisw]

“For smart Icelanders the economics of financial engineering took over the economics of fishing which had served Iceland well”

The supremacy of finance capital over all other forms of capital means the predominance of the rentier and of the financial oligarchy; it means that a small number of financially “powerful” states stand out among all the rest. The extent to which this process is going on may be judged from the statistics on emissions, i.e., the issue of all kinds of securities. - Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

I'm amazed! That quote is as true today as it was back then. Lenin undoubtedly was referring the financiers when he said

--The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them. --- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Capitalists in manufacturing tend to be more loyal to their nation. Hank Reardon (Atlas Shrugged) was a manufacturer

Music to read this post by...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obYPYDhchIc

Always liked that tune

[dennisw]

You see any bros in that picture?

Iceland is the whitest country on earth. As "Aryan" as you can get

Minorities and affordable housing played zero part in Iceland's downfall and even for the USA I blame Wall Street a lot more than "Community Redevelopment act" and mortgages for poor people who should never have got them

[PGalt]

Thanks for the link. Very interesting.

[PGalt]

Capitalists in manufacturing tend to be more loyal to their nation. Hank Reardon (Atlas Shrugged) was a manufacturer

BUMP!