FT Alphaville » iceland

Icesaved?

Joseph Cotterill — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 17:05:33 +0000

Whatever it is that Iceland gains from winning this EFTA court case on the Icesave deposits…

A glimpse of an economy post this crisis

Paul Murphy — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 09:38:52 +0000

Iceland, of course. Kitchen-sinked and cleaned-up, the Icelandic central bank has just decided to push up rates by 25 basis points to combat signs of inflation amidst “robust” domestic demand.

Statement:

Continue reading: A glimpse of an economy post this crisis

A game of krónur

Joseph Cotterill — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:03:30 +0000

Some intriguing thoughts from Sebastien Galy, Societe Generale FX strategist, on Icelandic politicians’ interest in the Canadian dollar:

An independent currency for a country with the population of the size of a decently sized Canadian city was always going to be a problem. Having that country run a financial bubble while offering very high yield was a recipe for a very rapid rise of a financial empire followed by a catastrophic collapse with the currency ceasing to have a market at one point. The past few years have been of picking up the broken pieces and a move to a new currency would help to bring credibility while forcing adjustments in internal prices.

Continue reading: A game of krónur

Chinese tycoon revives Iceland land bid

John McDermott — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:24:16 +0000

Chinese tycoon Huang Nubo has revived his controversial bid to buy a vast tract of land in Iceland, just weeks after the deal was rejected by the government. The deal, in which Mr Huang sought to buy 300 sq km of wild heathland to build a resort, has sparked a heated debate within the Icelandic government over the role of foreign investment. In China it has come to be seen as epitomising the prejudice that Chinese investors face abroad, as Chinese companies step up overseas investments. Representatives of Zhongkun, Mr Huang’s company, met on Thursday Iceland’s Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism to discuss the possibility of pushing through a restructured deal. “We are looking for a new way to take this forward,” Mr Huang told the FT on Thursday. “I am somewhat optimistic.”

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Sovereigns of fortune (a debtor’s prison break)

Joseph Cotterill — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:34:15 +0000

In 2008-2009, a sovereign crack commando unit was sent to debtor’s prison by a bond vigilante court for a crime they didn’t commit.

(Well, actually, private-sector balance sheet losses, exchange rate collapse, all sorts of dubious government decisions, that kind of thing — still hard to say who committed what, bit of a mess really.)

Continue reading: Sovereigns of fortune (a debtor’s prison break)

Iceland prepares $1bn bond issue

Cardiff Garcia — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 04:16:05 +0000

Iceland is poised to raise up to $1bn in its first bond issue since the country’s banking sector collapsed in 2008, marking a step towards normalisation of its relations with international capital markets, the FT reports. The dollar-denominated five-year notes are expected to price this week at around 325 basis points over mid-swaps, Europe’s reference rate, according to people familiar with the sale. The sale is managed by Barclays Capital, Citigroup and UBS. A successful issuance would highlight Iceland’s gradual recovery from crisis and strengthen its public finances as the country nears the end of its International Monetary Fund bail-out this summer. Iceland was one of the first European countries hit by the financial crisis but investors now view its debt as less risky than that of several more recently crisis-hit nations.

Continue reading: Iceland prepares $1bn bond issue

Airline shares fall on volcanic ash fears

Izabella Kaminska — Mon, 23 May 2011 09:25:59 +0000

A volcanic eruption in Iceland sparked a selloff in airline shares on Monday as investors worried about the extent of the possible impact of flight bans on European carriers, Marketwatch reports. Air-traffic control authorities said ash from the Grimsvotn volcano was due to reach parts of the UK by Tuesday raising concerns that the plume of ash and smoke could close some air space. The eruption of another Icelandic volcano last year caused weeks of severe disruption to the European air space and cost airlines millions of dollars. European airline shares were all trading lower at the open. Easyjet shares were down 4.14 per cent, Ryanair was off 4.9 per cent, while Air France-KLM was quoted down -3.92 per cent. For more on the story see FT Alphaville.

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Legal action looms as Icelanders vote No

Izabella Kaminska — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:17:00 +0000

Britain and the Netherlands have vowed to take Iceland to court over €4bn ($5.8bn) lost in the failed Icesave bank after a deal to repay the money was rejected for a second time by Icelandic voters in a referendum, the FT reports. The result represented an act of defiance by Iceland’s crisis-hit electorate, with nearly 60 per cent voting against the deal in spite of warnings that a No vote could disrupt the country’s economic recovery and scupper its bid to join the European Union. The British and Dutch governments made clear there was no room for further negotiation with Reykjavik, setting the stage for an international court to decide who is responsible for foreign deposits lost when Iceland’s banking sector collapsed in 2008. The dispute involves money deposited by British and Dutch customers in the Icesave unit of bankrupt Landsbanki. They were reimbursed by domestic deposit insurance schemes, leaving the UK and Dutch treasuries out of pocket.

Continue reading: Legal action looms as Icelanders vote No

UK, Iceland raid Kaupthing premises

Gwen Robinson — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 01:50:26 +0000

Police in Luxembourg have raided premises related to Iceland’s failed Kaupthing Bank in a joint operation with the UK Serious Fraud Office and Icelandic authorities, reports the FT. More than 70 investigators took part in searches of three business premises and two residential addresses in Luxembourg, a key offshore base for Kaupthing before its collapse in 2008. The operation signalled a widening of the international probe into Kaupthing, less than a month after the arrest of Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz, the UK property entrepreneurs, and several others in London. The Tchenguiz brothers were later released without charge. Among premises searched in Luxembourg on Tuesday were the offices of Banque Havilland, owned by Britain’s Rowland family, known for its investments in property, banking and internet ventures as well as for its ties to the UK Conservative party.

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The Kaupthing share support operation

Neil Hume — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:07:32 +0000

You’ve read the story in the FT…

Lawyers acting for the UK arm of the collapsed Icelandic bank Kaupthing, which is at the centre of a fraud probe, have withdrawn a request to retail entrepreneur Kevin Stanford to repay nearly $2m (£1.2m) as part of efforts to recover funds owed to the bank….

Continue reading: The Kaupthing share support operation