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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Iceland

Iceland stories: 34 news summaries

1 - 20 of 34 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Iceland Too Poor 
 for McDonald's 

With currency off 80%, golden arches fall

Oct 26, 09 2:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Soon there will be at least one country you can visit without seeing the golden arches. The financial crisis hit Iceland’s currency so hard that McDonald’s, which imports most of its ingredients, can’t afford to operate there anymore. “We would have to raise our prices by... More »

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globalization • McDonald's • Iceland • economy • financial crisis

 UN Names Norway 
 Best Place to Live 

Niger, Afghanistan round out list of 182 nations; China makes big gains

Oct 5, 09 2:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Norway is the best country in the world to live in, according to the UN’s human development index, and Niger is the worst, ranking just below Afghanistan. The index ranks 182 countries based on life expectancy, school enrollment, and GDP per capita. China came in at 92, up seven... More »

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Afghanistan • Australia • Canada • Netherlands • Norway • Ireland • Iceland • Niger

OPINION

 Most Enjoyable Film Clichés 

From the 'big speech' to the winning underdog, these tropes tickle

Sep 5, 09 6:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sometimes clichés can ruin a movie. But for some Onion AV Club writers, a good one can't be beat. A sampling:
  • "The big speech scene": The idea that we can all be "eloquent enough to meet the demands of any moment, like Al Pacino in
... More »

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sports • film • Al Pacino • Lord of the Rings • Iceland • speech • movies • underdog • cliches • Scent of a Woman • montage • D2: The Mighty Ducks

(Newser) - Iceland held fast to its independence as it rocketed to become one of the world's richest nations. But after a spectacular bust that decimated its currency and felled its government, the island nation has voted to join the EU. The accession plans are a victory for the country's new PM,... More »

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European Union • Europe • Iceland • bank failure • financial crisis • Johanna Sigurdardottir

(Newser) - Whale watching generates about $2.1 billion annually, making it far more profitable than hunting the giant mammals, a new report says. Income from whale watching has doubled over the last decade, according to the report, issued by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. "Whale watching is clearly more... More »

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Iceland • whaling • anti-whaling activists • International Whaling Commission • whales • International Fund for Animal Welfare • whale watch

(Newser) - The Institute for Economics and Peace has released its annual list of the world’s most peaceful countries, Bloomberg reports. The index is based on things like "international security" and "tolerant solidarity." New Zealand is No. 1; the US is No. 83. A sampling:
  1. New Zealand:
... More »

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Russia • United States • Norway • New Zealand • Denmark • Iceland • peace • Institute for Economics and Peace • peaceful

Iceland PM Wins Mandate in Crisis Election

Leftist coalition seeks EU membership after economy's collapse

Apr 26, 09 5:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Iceland's interim center-left government, which came to power in February after the spectacular collapse of the nation's economy, has won a resounding victory in a snap election, reports the Times of London. The "great, historic victory" was an endorsement of her plans to have Iceland "start thinking about... More »

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European Union • Iceland • Scandinavia • election • financial crisis • leftist • Johanna Sigurdardottir

glossies

 'Viking Bankers' 
 Pillaged Iceland 

How Iceland went from fishing to finance to ruin

Mar 5, 09 2:48 AM CST
(Newser) - The bankers who ruined Iceland’s economy possessed the mentality of its fishermen—daring, aggressive, and devoted to the “lucky catch," Michael Lewis writes in Vanity Fair. It's no surprise—after all, they were the sons of fishermen whose massive profits helped modernize Iceland in the 1970s.... More »

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insurance • financial markets • fishing • Iceland • foreign currency • speculation • financial meltdown

 Iceland Up for 
 Emergency 
 EU Membership 

Brussels says it will fast-track process for crisis-stricken nation

Jan 30, 09 6:26 AM CST
(Newser) - Iceland will be fast-tracked into the European Union to rescue the tiny Nordic state from financial disaster, senior officials in Brussels tell the Guardian. Depending on the result of the Icelandic election, the country could apply for membership as soon as May. While accession to the EU normally takes years,... More »

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European Union • euro • Iceland • financial crisis

Iceland to Appoint First Openly Gay Woman as PM

Ex-flight attendant to lead until May elections

Jan 28, 09 9:30 AM CST
(AP) - Iceland is set to appoint the world's first openly gay woman as prime minister: a former flight attendant who rose through the political ranks to become a cabinet minister. Johanna Sigurdardottir, the 66-year-old social affairs minister, is the pick of the Social Democratic Alliance Party to lead an interim government.... More »

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lesbians • European Union • Europe • Iceland • prime minister • interim government • bank failure • Bill Maher Grid

 Finance Crisis 
 Topples Iceland's Gov't 

Leftist party likely to replace coalition; protests growing

Jan 26, 09 11:55 AM CST
(Newser) - Iceland’s coalition government collapsed today amid financial upheaval, with PM Geir Haarde planning to resign. “I really regret that we could not continue with this coalition. I believe that that would have been the best result,” he said. The coalition had been in turmoil since October, when... More »

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government • collapse • Iceland • coalition government • financial crisis • Geir Haarde

Bjork Banks on Girl Power
to Save Iceland

Singer promotes venture-capital fund run by women

Jan 22, 09 1:45 PM CST
(Newser) - Quirky Icelandic singer Bjork is promoting a venture-capital fund run by women that will invest in socially and environmentally sustainable companies and, she hopes, help rebuild her economically stricken country. "Instead of talking about the problems we have, she is on a mission to build a sustainable Iceland that's... More »

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venture capital • Iceland • green business • Bjork • sustainability • financial crisis • financial meltdown

ANALYSIS

How Iceland Went From Codfish to Meltdown

Country built a huge financial bubble based on a vulnerable currency

Dec 27, 08 11:18 AM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iceland • credit crisis • banking • bank failure • krona • financial crisis • financial meltdown

OPINION

 Big '09 Trends: Ice Cream, Cuba 

Goats, yogurt, and ecologically friendly travel also expected to surge

Dec 21, 08 8:00 PM CST
(Newser) - Closing the wallet and opening the palate are set to be big in 2009, says Gourmet, which has served up its predictions of next year's hottest food and travel trends:
  • With the economic slump, home cooking is hot, hot, hot. Learn to cook a casserole and take mom’s
... More »

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China • Chicago • Cuba • chef • train • hotel • Iceland • goats • ice cream • gourmet

 Youths Flee Struggling Iceland 

Ailing economy forcing mass exodus

Dec 2, 08 3:49 PM CST
(Newser) - Iceland faces its largest exodus in a century as job seekers flee the ailing nation, which is steeped in its worst financial crisis since independence. One survey estimates about half of Icelanders between 18 and 24 plan are thinking about leaving the country for Norway and other relatively strong economies.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
inflation • world economy • unemployment • Iceland • banking • weakening economy • financial crisis

Crisis Makes Former Skeptics Rethink Euro

From Poland to Iceland, once-resistant nations want to join up

Dec 2, 08 8:07 AM CST
(Newser) - When the euro was first proposed, skeptics cautioned of the dangers of an integrated system during a time of crisis. Now that the crisis is here, the euro has performed relatively well while smaller currencies have plunged in an investor "flight to quality." As the New York ... More »

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Poland • Hungary • euro • Iceland • zloty • eurozone • krona • financial crisis • Hungarian forint

OPINION

 Björk: Iceland Must Heal Itself 

Singer rails against more aluminum smelters on island, pushes self-reliance

Oct 28, 08 4:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Given Iceland’s economic crisis, it would be madness to add to the country’s dependence on aluminum smelters, native singer Björk writes in the Times of London. In addition to environmental damage, lessons learned from the collapse of Iceland’s fishing industry should warn against putting “all... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • environment • sustainable development • Iceland • Bjork • financial crisis

 Young Island Is 
 Scientists' Playground 

Surtsey, formed off Iceland in 1963 eruption, is no-tourists-allowed model of evolution

Oct 27, 08 2:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - On Surtsey, off Iceland's coast, scientists take life one species at a time, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Since the island erupted from the ocean in 1963, only researchers have been permitted to visit and catalog its colonization by external species. With 2½ acres of land eroding each year, they’... More »

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evolution • science • Iceland • volcanoes • volcanic activity • surtsey island

Amid Scandal, IMF Exec Wins Praise for Nimble Work

Strauss-Kahn's 'activist' economics suit crisis

Oct 20, 08 1:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Even as he faces a probe for misconduct, the head of the International Monetary Fund is being praised for a decisive response to the world financial crisis, Bloomberg reports. Europe’s chief banker says he’s “convinced the investigation will prove that Dominique Strauss-Kahn didn’t abuse power.”... More »

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investigation • Paul Wolfowitz • International Monetary Fund • IMF • Iceland • probe • Dominique Strauss Kahn • scandal • financial crisis • Bretton Woods • Piroska Nagy

Banking Meltdown Driving Icelanders Back to Fishing

Financial system collapse leaves nation adrift

Oct 10, 08 5:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - The collapse of its financial system has left Iceland with little left to rely on but the sea that surrounds it, writes the Wall Street Journal. With few natural resources on land, fishing was the mainstay of Icelandic life for centuries until the nation's global banking industry rapidly expanded a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
fishing • Iceland • banking • Reykjavik • fishery • financial crisis

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