One of the most read news today in the online media is Britney Spears’ possible nervous breakdown.
A flashback to 2006 if you like.
The calm before the storm perhaps? February is here and it has been predicted that March, April and May will be crucial months in the recession. Businesses will be going under, people will lose their jobs etc.
When Baugur has lost its political clout within Landsbankinn what chance do smaller customers have.
On the news last night you could see some Grapes of Wrath being sown. A lady who had lost her income because she was self-employed lost her house to Glitnir bank, owing 14+ million ISK. The bank was the highest bidder in the bankrupcy auction and got the house for 1 million ISK. These kinds of houses probably went for 20-25 million last year.
It’s been freezing this week. Minus 9-11 celcius yesterday. I met a friend whose work has been cut 50%. His stance was typical of so many others around the age of 30. “I can get clean water, fresh air and Bjork’s latest CD elsewhere. Why not just move to Canada? Norway? There is little in the way of crime there. There is nothing that makes this country that special except for the torturing effect of never-ending inflation and exorbitant interest-rates. Or I could move somewhere sunny. At least I’d have the sun.”
Economic Disaster Area 
I thought that I saw an article that said 75% of Icelandic businesses are or will be broke/insolvent. If that’s true, the decision to leave or not will be real simple. No job = no money = emigration.
I guess you will be seeing the last phase of capitalism, the “death spiral”. No money, no loans, consumers stop spending, businesses go broke, employees get fired, even less money and loans, assets lose value, more businesses go broke, more unemployment, etc.
At least you have the option of leaving — the British don’t. They will do the Iceland-type crash and the people will have to sit and rot.
1 million, what is that? $80,000? That’s cheap. Americans would move to Iceland if the weather was better. Maybe German pensioners will want to live there. The beer needs to be cheaper, though.