ICELAND：Dancing on the brink of Bankruptcy（1）

       The days grow ever darkerin Reykjavik.Gone is the almost eternal daylight,which washes across Iceland’scaptital in the height of summer.A darkening gloom arrives earlier each daynow..An icy wind blows in from the east.Darkness will be a constant presencehere soon as winter sets in.

       If ever a nation’schanging climate reflected the mood of its people,it is here.Every morning,itseems,the residents awake to news of fresh problems in their country’s bankingsystem.Last week,the country’s third largest bank was nationalized.Thisweek,the government dismissed the board of directors of Landsbanki,itssecond-largest bank,and put it into receivership.Later,the Prime Ministerwarned its citizens the country faces bankruptcy.

       Iceland is rated by the UN as themost developed society on earth.But it now faces less welcome distinction asthe country worst exposed to the credit crunch.

       Laugavegur,the capital’schic main stretch,is quiet.At one of the main branches of Landsbanki,executivescould be seen yesterday pacing the upper floors,mobile phones held to theirears,hands on foreheads.Galleries,antiques stores and jewellery boutiques,whichsprang up in the boom days of the past decade,were empty. Some are closedaltogether. It is not a day to be in business in Iceland.

       The few Icelanders whoare out and about gather in tight groups,,shielding themselves from the windand discuss the latest disasters to strike its banks.The credit cruch is theonly topic in town.Many head to their banks,where a steadystream of concerned savers enters to inquire just how safe their money is. Thisbleak picture of shattered consumer confidence does not seem out of place in anation famed for its Viking saga.It now has a new epic tale to tell: how itsbanks have brought a whole nation to the brink of bankruptcy.