Iceland, Ireland? ...... Ireland, Iceland?

[marmar]

:scared:



from MarketWatch:



Spreads highlight Ireland fears
By William L. Watts, MarketWatch


LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Fears that Ireland's banking woes will send the Emerald Isle the way of Iceland has sent the cost of insuring sovereign Irish debt against default to record levels.

Spreads on Ireland's five-year credit default swaps rose to a record 377 basis points on Friday, analysts said. That means it would cost $377,000 a year to insure a notional $10 million of debt against default. That's up from around just $24,000 a year ago.

Ireland's fiscal position has eroded sharply due to a steep economic slump. On top of that, add in the effective nationalization of the country's three largest banks and expectations for further outlays.

Iceland was left virtually bankrupt after its outsized financial sector collapsed under the weight of massive foreign-denominated debt.

But Ireland differs from Iceland in one important respect, said Nick Stamenkovic, fixed-income economist at RIA Capital in Edinburgh.

"Ireland has recourse to the European Central Bank and a lot of funds," Stamenkovic said.
Iceland didn't. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Ireland-default-fears-rise/story.aspx?guid=%7B56269F08%2DB818%2D4D69%2DA704%2DD73D2E8DE43E%7D

[brentspeak]

1. Not coincidentally, both nations had been following Friedman-ite neoliberalism

Guess the neoliberal crowd who have been trumpeting the "amazing success" of these two economies will be burning the midnight oil scrubbing their web pages.

[marmar]

2. "will be burning the midnight oil scrubbing their web pages."

Kinda like the PNAC crowd.

[nxylas]

3. What does it actually mean for a country to go bankrupt?

I mean in practical terms, for the man or woman on the street in Dublin or Rekjavik? I've been wondering this ever since the news about Iceland going bankrupt first broke. All the news items about it dealt with economic theory and big bankers rather than ordinary people (no surprise there).

[dysfunctional press]

6. just wait- you may get your answer in the form of first-hand experience...

let the dominoes fall where they may.

[grassfed]

4. Irish Economy wealthy enough to weather recession

Irish Economy http://www.irisheconomy.ie (one of The Sunday Times of London's ‘top 100 blogs’) reports that the Irish economy is well removed from a full-blown financial crisis upon entering the recession with a dramatically expanded budget balance sheet after years of strong growth. Even so, it is useful to review, with the Irish situation in mind, the list of crisis-prevention actions that received broad assent after the Asian crisis. A reasonable overall assessment is that Ireland is still in a relatively strong position, but it is worthwhile to concentrate on minimising the remaining tail risk. more: http://www.irisheconomy.ie/

[JDPriestly]

5. David Rockefeller's dream is about to come true:

He and his beloved IMF are about to take total control of the world's economy.