Iceland Having A Haarde Time

Things just keep getting worse for poor old Iceland, the country who has buckled under the weight of debts equal to 12 times the size of the economy.

Kaupthing Bank hf, the nation's biggest bank yesterday became the third lender to be seized by the government since the financial crisis escalated.

Financial regulators were already in charge of the second and third largest lenders, Glitnir Bank hf and Landsbanki Islands hf.

Having said Tuesday it was going to fix the rate of its currency, the central bank yesterday abandoned its attempt, indicating it is powerless to halt the slump in the krona.

Prime Minster Geir Haarde announced earlier in the week that he gad secured funding from Russia, only to later admit that it was not yet a done deal.

Yesterday he said that he may be forced to seek aid from the International Monetary Fund after failing to secure loans from European governments and central banks.

Meanwhile Iceland will now re-start talks with Russia next Tuesday in a last-ditch attempt to secure a loan of as much as 4 billion euros ($5.46 billion), Haarde said yesterday.