Iceland, lesson in banking for the rest of us.

[floridasandy]

roubini has an update on the iceland saga:
Europe's Troubled IMF Borrowers - Forbes.com

will the little countries be bullied by the IMF banksters? i guess we will see what happens in march.

[floridasandy]

well today is the day that iceland votes on whether they are willing to repay bank losses or not, and this should be interesting.

[Philip T]

Then I suppose today could be the day the imaginary thread holding the Emperor's imaginary clothes together begins to unravel.

Could be interesting.

[floridasandy]

what the vote means:

The British say their "best and final offer has been turned down."


Locals largely view the deal both as intimidation by bigger nations and an unfair result of their own government's failure to curtail the excessive spending of a handful of bank executives that led the country into its current malaise.
Because of Iceland's tiny population, around 320,000, the original deal would have required each person to pay around $135 a month for eight years — the equivalent of a quarter of an average four-member family's salary.
That's a step too far for many ordinary Icelanders who resent forking out the money to compensate for losses incurred by potentially wealthier foreign investors who chased the high interest rates offered by Icesave.

[floridasandy]

iceland citizens vote no to the deal.