UK

Icelanders Revolt over paying foreigners while they foot the bill

The Iceland Parliament passed legislation to pay back the U.K. and the Netherlands money lost in the Icesave high interest deposits.

Icelanders think differently. Not surprising since they will foot the bill for $5 billion dollars. For some background, see Iceland Freezes Over on some details of their economic implosion.

Earlier this week parliament approved the amended bill to reimburse Britain and the Netherlands for the amount, which was lost by savers in both countries in 2008 who deposited funds in high-interest "Icesave" online savings accounts.

But the president has yet to sign the bill into law and 56,089 people, who represent 23 percent of the island nation's electorate, have signed the petition, the organizers said.

S&P Downgrades.....the United Kingdom - Yes, the entire country

In Britian downgraded:

Britain may lose its top-level credit rating at Standard & Poor’s for the first time as the government’s finances deteriorate amid the worst recession since World War II.

The outlook was lowered to “negative” from “stable” because of the nation’s increasing “debt burden,” S&P said in a statement today. The pound fell the most in almost a month against the dollar. Stocks and bonds slid, and the cost of insuring debt against default rose.

Britain would become the fifth western European Union nation to lose its rating because of the economic slump, following Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Spain. The U.K. plans to sell a record 220 billion pounds ($343 billion) of bonds in the fiscal year through March 2010 as the recession cuts revenue and forces the government to raise spending.

UK Considering Ban on Foreign Guest Workers Due to Labor Market Conditions

The United States seems to be the only country left which ignores labor economics and labor market realities.

The UK may shut its doors on foreign professionals:

Britain is planning to ban advertising jobs overseas due to economic meltdown, a process which could hit Indian professionals aspiring for employment opportunities in the UK.

The government is mulling an idea to ensure that existing jobs go to British workers. The employers are being forced to notify vacancies in employment agencies within Britain to prioritise local candidates.

Indians are among the largest foreign professionals working in Britain. Every day, thousands of jobs are being cut across the sectors in Britain. Official figures suggest that unemployment figure is reaching the 2 million mark, for the first time since the mid-1990s.

UK May Sue Iceland

UK May Sue Iceland.

This whole story is just bizarre. Iceland nationalized the banks but now the UK wants their money that is in them.

Iceland debts are 12 times their total GDP. They Nationalized the banks because they are trying to stop bank runs.

It seems Iceland had high inflation as well as interest rates and all of Europe decided to go banking there as a result.

It's not quite clear how Iceland managed to end up with a host of bad debt but we certainly know the bad asset ponzi scheme was shuffled around the globe. I doubt the fishing shacks of Iceland were subprime.

RGE Monitor gives us the details on how such a situation arose:

UK Central Bank warns of Great Depression - Yes "D" word!

Wow, either something is really awry or ....maybe our sky is falling event really is coming:

The Royal Bank of Scotland is warning of a global market crash.

Really from 2007, bit a fear mongering here:

Bankiing Times reports:

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the organisation that fosters cooperation between central banks, has warned that the credit crisis could lead world economies into a crash on a scale not seen since the 1930s.

In its latest quarterly report, the body points out that the Great Depression of the 1930s was not foreseen and that commentators on the financial turmoil, instigated by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis, may not have grasped the level of exposure that lies at its heart.