Racing towards the iceberg
In a world of online one-upmanship, Robert Jackson has an enviable suffix: is. That's right; he is in Iceland, which means he is to be found at http://www.jackson.is/. Iceland, home of Nordic myth and sturdy fisher folk has been propelled onto our front pages because of its financial folly, which Robert Jackson unwittingly flagged three years ago in a travel article that appeared in The Telegraph: "Iceland has become a virtually cashless society," he wrote, "everything down to a stick of gum is bought on debit cards. So bring your plastic, but make sure you have a robust limit." That was then. Here's Robert Jackson ten days ago in the Financial Times:
"Think of Ireland. Rotate it 90 degrees clockwise, make it a third bigger and hang it like a pendant from the Arctic Circle. Crack open the earth's crust below to release limitless supplies of geothermal steam, then fill its territorial waters, all 200 miles of them, with an abundance of cod...Now allow this country's banks — virtually unregulated — to borrow more than 10 times their country's gross domestic product from the international wholesale money markets. Watch as a Graf Zeppelin of debt propels its self-styled 'Viking Raiders' across the world's financial stage, accumulating companies like gamblers hoarding chips. Then sit on the sidelines as the airship flies home and explodes, showering its blazing wreckage over this once proud, yet tiny, nation."
Iceland is becoming a virtually cashless society, alright, but in a way never imagined by its technocrats. The really uncanny thing in the superbly-written passage above, however, is the first sentence: "Think of Ireland." You see, that other small, windswept Atlantic island is working hard to catch up with "The Icetanic". Consider this: Two years ago, Bank of Ireland shares were worth €16.49. Last week, they hit €1.20. That €100,000 some retiree-to-be invested in this "blue chip" in 2006 was suddenly worth just €7,278. As a result, Bank of Ireland confirmed on Friday that it had received "unsolicited approaches from a number of parties" willing to make an investment in the group. The race towards the iceberg continues.
