Posts Tagged ‘Private Business’
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
Through elaborate twists and turns Catharine Zeta-Jones had to risk her life in a break in to get her hands on the jewels she coveted in Entrapment.
But if you happen to own or control a business which has been bankrupted in Iceland in the last couple of years, the way back to 2007 is made easy by the country’s banks, accountants and business laws. Through those channels, twisting and turning is made strikingly less hazardous.
DV reports that the owner of Leonard, one of Iceland’s most prestigious stores handling jewellery and fine watches transferred the operations onto a new social security number and signed an agreement with his wife that she would assume control of the new company. Last week he was declared bankrupt himself. But through this manoeuvre the couple has managed to get rid of the old debts but still keep the store.
This is not an exceptional case, but a blueprint for why so many of the most reckless business people of the last decade are still heading the companies they’ve run into the ground.
This is why Geir Haarde and David Oddson used to say their aim was for Iceland to become a “business friendly” country.
I for one don’t understand why business schools bother with explaining basic rules in finance and economics to their students anymore. Why are they still teaching that “those who assume the greatest risks also should reap the greatest rewards because they can also incur the greatest losses”?
Why don’t they just teach students how to create two business entities and shove debts into one and assets into the other? You keep your assets and the debts fly off to “money heaven”.
Wasn’t that also how IceSave was supposed to work for Landsbankinn’s owners and management team?
Related posts:
- The Icelandic Discourse in A Nutshell
- Just Some Private Business Downtown
- Why The Fuzz About A Man Getting A Job?
Tags: Blueprint, Business Entities, Business Laws, Business Schools, Entrapment, Fine Watches, Fuzz, Geir Haarde, Getting A Job, Last Decade, Manoeuvre, New Social Security, New Social Security Number, Nutshell, One Don, Prestigious Stores, Private Business, Social Security Number, Twists And Turns, Zeta Jones
Posted in Iceland, Market | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
The word is about, there’s something evolving,
whatever may come, the world keeps revolving
They say the next big thing is here,
that the revolution’s near,
but to me it seems quite clear
that it’s all just a little bit of history repeating
- Shirley Bassey /
An Independence Party MP being caught in dirty business? For Arni Johnsen, substitute Asbjorn Ottarsson.
The year? For 2001, substitute 2010.
Independence Party leader who stood by his man despite him having broken the law? Substitute David Oddson for Bjarni Benediktsson.
Morgunbladid’s response? For travelling to Vestmannaeyjar to photograph false evidence and publish as the truth, substitute a story about Asbjorn having made a mistake and quickly returned the money when he realised.
For returning fabric taken illegally, substitute returning money taken illegally?
Next move? Arni got re-elected, don’t bet against Asbjorn winning over the souls who’ve lost themselves to the party line.
It must be hard to lead a political party where one of the MP’s has publicly admitted having broken the law by paying himself dividends from a business run on heavy losses. Especially when the leader himself is emboiled in serious fraud involving the wiping out of the country’s largest insurance fund. It would have been nice to be able to call upon a vice-chairman for a PR whitewash if she herself hadn’t benefitted from a 900 million ISK bullet loan which still has to be seen whether she’ll have to pay or if it will be written off.
It should be disturbing enough that Asbjorn who appeared on TV last night to say that he broke the law but that is alright because he has returned the money, is in the parliamentary committee which is supposed to review the investigation committee’s report before it is published.
Related posts:
- Independence Party Tragedy
- Iceland’s Big Problem = Asbjorn Ottarsson Millionaire MP
- Just Some Private Business Downtown
Tags: Bet, Bjarni, Bullet Loan, Dirty Business, Dividends, False Evidence, Heavy Losses, Independence Party, Insurance Fund, Investigation Committee, Largest Insurance, Millionaire, Morgunbladid, Oddson, Parliamentary Committee, Party Leader, Private Business, Shirley Bassey, Vice Chairman, Whitewash
Posted in Iceland, Market | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Of course nobody in Iceland WANTS to pay the IceSave debt accumulated by Landsbankinn. Neither do we WANT to pay the cost of the Central Bank bankrupted by the Independence Party.
But those organizing “national votes” or petitions denying responsibility appear utterly silly.
The debt won’t go away just by saying no, we don’t WANT to pay the debts. It still needs to be resolved. And those opposed have not been able to show the availability of a better deal.
Besides, it is silly to claim that Landsbankinn was just some private business downtown which did not have anything to do with the state.
Landsbankinn under the governance of Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, Sigurjon Th. Arnason and Kjartan Gunnarsson was the ivory tower of Independence Party sanctimoniusness and nepotist corruption. The bank was a model example of politics merging with big business to the point of no distinction.
For that we all bear responsibility. Some of us for voting for these people who made things that way, and all of us for allowing them to get away with it for so long.
Besides, the whole shitstorm is being kicked up by the Independence Party and Progressive Party to transfer the IceSave issue onto the government in the voters minds.
There might be a technical clause in some law somewhere which might possibly relief Iceland of the IceSave debt. The moral issue of whether that is right or wrong towards individuals abroad does not speak well of the nation.
Besides, what should we say about a state which demands write offs and fairness when dealing with its own creditors, but does not grant its own citizens the same courtesy?
Related posts:
- Complexity Of IceSave Too Much For Althingi?
- Just Some Private Business Downtown
- Ogmundur Resigns Amid IceSave Chaos
Tags: Althingi, Arnason, Complexity, Corruption, Creditors, Debts, Distinction, Fairness, Gudmundsson, Gunnarsson, Icesave, Independence Party, Ivory Tower, Landsbankinn, Model Example, Moral Issue, Petitions, Private Business, Progressive Party, Shitstorm
Posted in Iceland, Market | No Comments »
Friday, December 4th, 2009
When Jon Gerald Sullenberger came forward as the main witness against Baugur in the largest court case of the decade, he was assisted and urged on by Styrmir Gunnarsson, then editor in chief of Morgunbladid and Jonina Benediktsdottir, Johannes Jonsson’s (Baugur founder) former lady-friend and rabid supporter of David Oddson.
Their connections to David Oddson and the part of the Independence Party which wanted to see Baugur demolished even if it was a major contributor to the party were apparent.
It appears Jon Gerald who now has opened Kostur, a grocery store which is supposed to gain market share from Baugur’s stores as the place where conservatives can shop with good conscience, approached the Independence Party’s very own favourite bank Landsbankinn in 2006 and tried to get 30 billion ISK worth of Venezuelan bonds into asset management without sufficient disclosure of ownership or origins. The bank, which now says it suspected money laundering and did not accept the money, was obliged to let the Fincancial Crimes Unit of the police know. DV has been covering this story in the last few days.
The police says they didn’t report anything at the time. Did some people get the protection they needed in David Oddson’s Iceland?
Related posts:
- The Icelandic Discourse in A Nutshell
- Sullenberger On The Right Side?
- Just Some Private Business Downtown
Tags: Asset Management, Baugur, Conscience, Conservatives, Contributor, Court Case, Crimes Unit, Discourse, Grocery Store, Gunnarsson, Independence Party, Johannes Jonsson, Jonina Benediktsdottir, Lady Friend, Landsbankinn, Market Share, Money Laundering, Morgunbladid, Nutshell, Private Business
Posted in Iceland, Market | No Comments »
Saturday, October 10th, 2009
Gisli Marteinn Baldursson, Independence Party city council member doesn’t want the state to be responsible for the debts of “some private business downtown”, i.e. IceSave.
Except Landsbankinn is not just a private business downtown. It was privatized by David Oddson from the Independence Party, into the hands of Independence Party favorites Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson and Bjorgolfur Thor. The chairman of the board of Landsbankinn was simultaneously the CEO of the party. Independence Party hopefuls rose quickly to prominence within the bank. The CEO, Sigurjon Arnason was a youth party member and so was MP candidate Thorlindur Kjartansson, whose responsibilities included marketing IceSave.
The connection with Geir Haarde’s government and David Oddson’s Central Bank was wide and varied. Landsbankinn was anything but a private business downtown.
Tags: Arnason, Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, Ceo, Chairman Of The Board, City Council Member, Debts, Geir Haarde, Independence Party, Landsbankinn, Mp, Oddson, Party City, Party Favorites, Party Hopefuls, Party Member, Private Business, Prominence, S Central, Thor
Posted in Iceland, Market | No Comments »