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Iceland regains investment grade status

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Tequila
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14 Feb 2013, 5:57 pm

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Iceland regains investment grade status
  • Ratings agency Fitch says Iceland has gained renewed access to international markets
Iceland's rehabilitation after several years as a pariah in the global financial markets gathered pace last night after ratings agency Fitch said the island nation's debts had regained investment grade status.

Fitch said Iceland's debts had been upgraded to BBB from junk after a strong recovery from the financial crisis.

Reykjavik's meteoric recovery comes after its 300,000 residents were told they would be locked out of the world's financial markets for decades after they refused to rescue a group of bankrupt banks in 2008.

Good for the Icelanders. They rejected extreme austerity, they told the bankers where to go and they refused to make their people pay for the mistakes of others, they comprehensively rejected joining the EU and they are recovering wonderfully.

Excellent work. Good on the Icelanders.



Tyri0n
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14 Feb 2013, 6:03 pm

Apparently, it pays to throw banksters in jail. Wish the U.S./Europe could learn this.



ModusPonens
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14 Feb 2013, 6:25 pm

I think I want to live in Iceland.



thomas81
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14 Feb 2013, 6:46 pm

Iceland is a vastly different country to the UK. They dont waste their money on silly things like wars, trident submarines, banker's payoffs, millenium domes or world cup bids. In addition to that they only have 100 000 mouths to feed. They probably wouldve done okay, in or out of Europe.


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Tequila
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14 Feb 2013, 6:53 pm

thomas81 wrote:
Iceland is a vastly different country to the UK. They dont waste their money on silly things like wars, trident submarines, banker's payoffs, millenium domes or world cup bids. In addition to that they only have 100 000 mouths to feed. They probably wouldve done okay, in or out of Europe.


They want to stay out of the EU (not "Europe") because of their fishing industry. They want to keep control of their fishing (and because of the anti-democratic nature of the EU). That's why the Independence Party is so popular in Iceland - it is popular with fishermen and middle-class professionals.

Oh, and when the Independence Party realised that they had made a massive cock-up with the Icesave fiasco, do you know what the Icelandic PM (of the Independence Party) did? He resigned and called an immediate general election - which Independence deservedly lost. He didn't beat about the bush or lie and deceive, he simply said that he was entirely responsible and handed in his resignation.



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14 Feb 2013, 7:17 pm

It is great but not great for those that lost their savings to the Icesave fiasco. Not yet anyway. I hope thing recover some more.



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14 Feb 2013, 7:18 pm

0_equals_true wrote:
I hope thing recover some more.


Iceland is doing well. They are sensible enough and they are looking after their own people first. Just like the Swiss are doing, and what we should be doing too.



thomas81
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14 Feb 2013, 7:37 pm

iceland is also the first nation to have an openly homosexual head of state, so kudos to them on that front too.


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Tequila
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14 Feb 2013, 7:42 pm

thomas81 wrote:
iceland is also the first nation to have an openly homosexual head of state, so kudos to them on that front too.


Iceland has never had a gay head of state. It has a gay prime minister, who is Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir of the pro-EU Social Democratic Alliance.

From the looks of the opinion polls, the government parties are trailing behind the anti-EU Independence Party and they will most likely win the next election. Excellent stuff.