The Central Bank of Iceland’s surprise six percent interest rate raise this morning to 18 percent is part of the deal agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to chairman of the Central Bank, David Oddsson in a press conference this morning, raising interest rates is a sensible action to take at this time.

A POTENTIALLY serious crisis which could have halted fish supplies between Iceland and the Humber markets appears to have been averted.

The problem blew up last week when cash payments from fish selling agents and merchants to suppliers in Iceland were being held up by British clearing banks who wrongly assumed that they could not trade with that country.

He added: ‘We have been working hard to ensure funds can be transferred. Grimsby handles 27,000 tonnes of Icelandic chilled fish a year for our members and had not there was a real danger jobs could have been lost.’ Austin Mitchell said: ‘It would have been disastrous for Grimsby – the market would have come to a halt and fish and chip shops throughout the north would not have got any fish.’

FMA chief executive Steve Norton told BBC-1′s Politics Show yesterday that the problem was being sorted out thanks to the efforts of the local MP and the Bank of England.

But the Humber fish trade suddenly found itself innocently caught up in the dispute when payments were not getting through to suppliers in Iceland. The Grimsby Fish Merchants Association immediately stepped in and following a series of communications with Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell and the Bank of England, the clearing banks were given authorisation to unblock the financial arteries.

“The Icelandic government, believe it or not, have told me yesterday they have no intention of honouring their obligations here.”

No where in the converstation Mr. Mathiesen stated that Iceland would Iceland would not honour its obligations.

In stead of offering help, Mr. Darling decided to very harmful action against the Icelandic people and harm both Icelandic companies and the people of UK, limiting the changes of Icelandic companies to get back there money in order to repay to the British public.

Now the weater is getting back to normal, and plains are coming back to the Keflavik airport.

The Manchester schoolchildren, along with other passengers from the airplanes from London and Dublin, were supplied with blankets and pillows and overnighted at Akureyri Airport. They will be flown to Reykjavik this morning, where the planned part of their Iceland adventure can commence.
Two jets from Copenhagen had to land at Egilsstadir in the eastern part of Iceland where similar provisions were made

Iceland, Luxembourg and Norway jointly top the list of 173 countries, which takes into account different factors including freedom of speech, treatment of journalists and media ownership.

Britain’s use of anti-terror laws to freeze the assets of failing Icelandic banks shows how such legislation can be abused for purposes other than originally intended, according to a UN independent expert.

“It is indicative of the risks that measures that are originally inserted into legislation in the name of fighting terrorism may have a spillover effect into matters which have nothing to do with terrorism,” said Martin Scheinin, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on the protection of human rights in the fight against terrorism.

This action alone has caused the financial crises to be much worse in Iceland than they needed to be.  Kaupthing bank went under after this hostile act of the British government, transactions of money has stopped of products Icelandic companies that have nothing to do with the banks and the reputation damage for Icelandic nation.

Iceland has been friendly neighbor nation with UK, they have many things alike.  When Iceland had problems this is what British government did.  There are 60 million people in Britain and 0,3 million in Iceland ie. Britain has 200 times more people than Iceland.  Mr. Brown used this situation to move the focus from his own problems from domestic problems towards small nation, that he knew in power of Britain’s size he could get away with.

Now it is clear that the Icelandic government will pay all their part of the deposit guarantee like it has always said it would!

I hope that Mr. Brown will now focus on his own problems at home rather than attacking Iceland.

Iceland could get on the fast track to EU membership if it so desires, EU Enlargment Commissioner Olli Rehn said Monday. Iceland is considering joining the bloc to shore up its battered economy.

As of Tuesday, Kaupthing had not paid investors the coupon on its 50 billion yen ($491 million) Samurai bond issued in 2006, according to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, the fiscal agent for the samurai bond.

Asked whether Brown’s response to the crisis makes them more or less likely to vote Labour, only 13% say more, against 27% who say less. Most, 60%, say it has made little difference.