Iceland economic crisis - part II

Icesave was an online savings account brand owned and operated by the Landsbanki bank from 2006–2008 that offered savings accounts in two countries, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. They managed to attract over 300,000 customers in the United Kingdom, with deposits of more than €5 billion and 125,000 customers who deposited €1.7 billion in the Netherlands. When the banks collapsed in 2008, depositors were unable to access their money creating an international diplomatic incident. Iceland managed to survive the financial crisis by taking over the domestic units of its banks and leaving the foreign creditors with losses of the bad investment decisions. An slump in the krona against the euro offshore pushed the trade deficit into surplus within months. The transformation of economy came at a high cost, the banking system defaulted, but slow recovery signs are present. Read more about the economy of Iceland here. You can also watch a short documentary on the economic crisis and the events that followed.

Iceland economic crisis

The biggest banks in Iceland were considered a wonder few years ago because of their incredible growth rates. In 2008 they owed six times the country's total GDP. The global financial crisis disrupted the plans of further expansion and the banks found themselves unable to refinance the huge loans. It reflected on the Iceland economy greatly, making a national default a reality. The government took over the same heavily indebted banks, causing Icelandic interest rates to spike at 15.5% while national currency krona started losing value at a high rate. Protests in Iceland's capital Reykjavik, clashes with police, calls for the resignation of government officials became everyday occurance. New elections were eventually held and newly elect Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir set out a government's plan to rescue Iceland from the financial ruin. Read more on the Iceland economic crisis here. You can also watch a short documentary on the economic crisis and the events that followed.

Iceland economic crisis documentary

Iceland has been ranked high among the best places in the world to live for several years in a row, according to the UN Human Development Index. In 2008 the national economy was devastated with a crisis that arose from the global financial crisis. National banks transformed into huge financial subjects, controlling amounts of money far greater than the country’s own wealth. Iceland faced riots, the resignation of the government and elections as a result. Learn more in this interesting short documentary.

Dot-com bubble documentary

Business began using internet for marketing after graphical web design became popular in the 1990s. As the world wide web developed, a number of Internet-based businesses accompanied the growth. Most famous companies of the period are eBay, Amazon and Google. Online sales surged with the ability to encrypt credit card data through SSL protocols developed by Netscape. In the late 1990s online businesses started receiving huge capital investments via Initial Public Offerings on the Wall Street. The stocks were selling at prices far above the real value of companies, many of which had good ideas and poor business plans. This documentary covers in great detail the events of dot-com era.

Greek financial crisis

The Greek economy grew strongly over the last 15 years, until it entered into recession in 2009. The budget deficit hit 15.4 percent of GDP, while later revisions of the government actions revealed the national economy was in far worse shape than it was previously admitted. Because all the major European economies are linked through the euro zone, Greek problems are also problem of the European Union. A debt crisis in Europe's single currency zone has entered a critical phase with fears Greece could default and spark a global financial catastrophe through chain reaction. Austerity plans caused big street protests in Athens. Frequent violent protests mostly revolve on issues concerning widespread early retirement, tax rises and cuts in benefits and wages. Read more on the Greek financial crisis here...