Iceland moves closer to bankruptcy

Iceland plunged further into financial turmoil - and muddled into a diplomatic spat with Britain over its handling of the crisis - on Wednesday as the country's third largest bank went into receivership and the Government abandoned attempts to put a floor under its free-falling currency.
Story - wall street journal
Kristjan Davidsson went to sea as a deckhand at 16. At fisheries college he aspired to be a boat captain. For two decades, he sold fish and fish-processing equipment. Like his father, and practically everyone in this remote village, he owed his living to the fish his country pulled from the ocean.
But in 2001 Mr. Davidsson got bored. He joined one of Iceland's newly privatized banks. He got rich. Now, he says, it looks like it's back to fish. That may be true for this nation's fortunes as a whole.
On Tuesday, Iceland's government seized Glitnir Bank hf, Mr. Davidsson's employer, caught up in the unfolding global financial crisis. On Wednesday, he came to the office for an emergency staff meeting. Glitnir's government-appointed receiver addressed the troops. "The basic message I heard was, 'Go find another job,'" says Mr. Davidsson.