From the monthly archives:

December 2009

Happy New Year!!

December 31, 2009

Many years ago – in 1988 to be precise – I moved to Germany. I arrived there on December 30th and the person I was staying with was very eager to acquaint me with his New Year’s traditions, which basically consisted just of one: sitting down and watching a short 20-minute comedy sketch called Dinner [...]

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Icesave passed in parliament

December 30, 2009

Well, after a marathon session this evening, Iceland’s parliament finally voted to assume a sovereign guarantee for the Icesave debt by a narrow margin – 33-30. Prior to that, a proposal to postpone the vote yet again was rejected, as was a proposal to call a national referendum on the matter. I’m so relieved it’s [...]

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Parliament in chaos as new documents on Icesave appear

December 30, 2009

The vote on the Icesave issue, which was due to start at 10 am this morning, was postponed last night as new documents surfaced that had hitherto been kept secret. The documents are from British law firm Mischon de Reya and apparently they outline an advantage that the Icelandic authorities might have in negotiations with [...]

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Icesave: the hour is nigh

December 29, 2009

Tomorrow at 10 am, Iceland’s parliament will vote on whether to accept a sovereign guarantee for the Icesave debt. For anyone who does not know, Icesave were online savings accounts opened in the UK and Holland, that collected colossal sums in deposits from regular depositors. The Icelandic regulators, including many people who are still in [...]

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New Iceland. Ur doin’ it wrong.

December 29, 2009

One of the fallouts of the meltdown here in Iceland an increase in all sorts of taxes. This was predictable enough and is, obviously, a way for the state to compensate for loss of revenues and the growing national debt. The new tax law was pushed through parliament in a big rush just before Christmas. [...]

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The more things change, the more they stay the same, Vol. 2000-and-something

December 28, 2009

So, Íslandsbanki, nee Glitnir, has appointed a new chairman of the board. He is Jón Sigurðsson, former chairman of the board of the Financial Supervisory Authority. As some of you may remember, the FSA was supposed to regulate the banks and keep them from growing so big that their collapse would spell disaster for the [...]

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What’s the difference between Iceland and Ireland?

December 27, 2009

“One letter and six months!” That joke made the rounds earlier this year when Ireland was deemed to be a few months behind Iceland in their economic meltdown. Alas, the “one letter” difference is turning out to be rather more serious than a one-line joke for a bunch of claimants in the insolvent estate of [...]

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Seasons Greetings!

December 23, 2009

What a crazy day is has been already. YT’s birthday and EPI and I had a long, leisurely brunch all planned. EPI went to the bakery and came back with rolls and flowers; however, no sooner was he back than a call came that he’d forgotten something incredibly important at work, so he had to [...]

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Christmas in the shadow of the kreppa

December 21, 2009

These are busy days here at the Weather Report. The last few days before Christmas and so many little details to take care of. I’m sure most of you can relate. I’ve been rather pleased with myself this year at how well organized I am – when you do the same things every year it [...]

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The Yule Cat meets the kreppa

December 18, 2009

So I’ve blogged about yule cat insurance before. If you’ve just joined us, the Yule Cat [jólakötturinn] is a pretty formidable creature out of Icelandic mythology that eats people who have not received anything new for Christmas. That’s right: EATS those poor little innocents who are forced to go without. In other words, the Yule [...]

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