“Iceland’s shift to the left on Tuesday marks the end of a 17-year experiment in free market economics. This promised – for a time – to transform a volcanic island on the mid-Atlantic ridge into a booming tiger economy. Such dreams have been replaced by a vicious rise in anti-capitalist sentiment and disgust at brash and aggressive young businessmen dubbed the “Viking raiders”. Whichever direction the new leftist government may take the country, Straumur is unlikely to hang around to find out.”
27th January, 2009
Straumur-Burdaras, the last Icelandic bank left standing, is seeking to move its primary listing to London or Stockholm, conditions permitting. On the face of it, Straumur’s decision to redomicile is the final insult for a country slipping fast into severe recession. But the bank, which has 85 per cent of its assets outside Iceland, has little choice but to adopt a sauve qui peut approach. De-icing or defrosting itself is its best hope of survival.
In These New Times 