Iceland is all but officially bankrupt

International Herald Tribune ^ | October 9, 2008 | Eric Pfanner

[george76]

People go bankrupt all the time. Companies do, too. But countries?

Iceland was on the verge of doing exactly that on Thursday as the government shut down the stock market and seized control of its last major independent bank. That brought trading in the country's currency to a halt, with foreign banks no longer willing to take Icelandic krona, even at fire-sale rates.

As the meltdown in the Icelandic financial system quickened, with the government seemingly powerless to do anything about it, analysts said there was probably only one realistic option left: for Iceland to be bailed out by the International Monetary Fund.

"Iceland is bankrupt," said Arsaell Valfells, a professor at the University of Iceland. "The Icelandic krona is history. The IMF has to come and rescue us."

Iceland has approached Russia about a loan of €4 billion, or $5.5 billion, to help see it through the crisis, but Haarde said no agreement had been reached.

[Lazamataz]

Iceland has cute women.

[Perdogg]

They do.

[george76]

A possible source of revenue ?

[perfect_rovian_storm]

And now you can pick one up for a song! lol

[MIchaelTArchangel]

Maybe Bjork or whatever her name is can cut a few more records.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

Let’s buy them out and make them a state.

[Go Gordon]

And now you can pick one up for a song! lol

Not with my voice. Not even the ugly ones.

[Aquinasfan]

I will never forgive Iceland for Bjork. Never.

[george76]

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ...August 25, 2008

” Today, Iceland is 100 percent energy independent, and according to the International Monetary Fund is now the fourth most affluent nation on Earth.”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2100988/posts

[silverleaf]

So what now? Everyone eats codfish?

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

And Icelandic folks on this thread? I’ve been searching high and low on the internet for a supposed cabbage soup. It is supposed to be great for raising testosterone levels for athletes.

[COBOL2Java]

[wideawake]

More people live in Staten Island than live in Iceland.

As countries go, it is miniscule.

For comparison - Lehman Brothers had a market cap three times the size of Iceland's GDP.

Vallejo, CA - the town that went bankrupt - has a population about half of Iceland's/

[Mark was here]

China might. Would be a good place for them to move all their Muslims.

[ari-freedom]

that’s what happens when your currency is based on nothing.

[Natural Law]

How can that be? [sarc]. Iceland is nearly energy independent, getting over 70% of its energy from renewable sources like hydroelectric and geothermal. It ranks 63rd in the world in terms of carbon emissions per capita.

[silverleaf]

interesting timing reveals the depth of RFK Jr’s intellectual prowess

Maybe the Kennedy’s should just buy Iceland and use it as a giant windmill site and a place to park yachts

[Travis T. OJustice]

HELL YEAH!

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Can I buy Iceland cheap? I might just move there is Obama wins in November.