Country built a huge financial bubble based on a vulnerable currency
(NEWSER) - How did a chilly nation of cod fishermen play a key role in the world's crumbling financial markets? Seeking to avoid the boom-and-bust of fish catch, Iceland started by privatizing banks in the mid-1990s. It built a colossal banking system on a puny currency and attracted international deposits with high returns. Then the country went on a shopping spree. "I didn't really worry about money," said one banker, who is now laid off. More»