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.

Argentina economy crisis video

This great documentary is formed on the framework of a global crisis of democracy. It takes us across a country stunned by the economic crisis, undergoing a great deal of social changes since the popular strikes of December 2001. Together with the well known philosopher of Argentina, Tomas Abraham, the courageous and enduring Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, the self-employed workers of Zanon, the biggest occupied factory in the country, and many other citizens, observe the expectations they have for Argentina in the years to come.

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...

Argentina economy crisis - part II

Following advice from the IMF, political decisions lead to a law which restored the peso instead of austral, keeping the value fixed at one dollar equaling one peso and both currencies easily convertible. The convertibility law resulted with a sharp drop in inflation, restored price stability and preserved the value of the national currency. During the 1990's Argentina economic boom was considered a great success. But in 2001, the Argentina was no longer able to meet the debt payments. The government declared a default on the larger part of the public debt, in total of more than $132 billion. People began to fear the worst and started withdrawing large amounts of money from their bank accounts, simultaneously turning pesos into dollars. Most of the money was sent abroad, while many more bank runs took place in homeland. Read more about the Argentina economic crisis...