According to the third annual U.S. Geothermal Energy Market Report issued by Islandsbanki (formerly Glitnir), there are around 144 geothermal energy projects in development in the United States today. Read the full story

The Russian government has decided to approve a loan to the Icelandic government up to 64 billion Icelandic kronur (500 million USD). According to the Russian news source, Vedomosti, Assistant Secretary of Treasury in Russia Dmitry Pankin approved this today. Read the full story

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE KAUPTHING BANK HF. RESOLUTION COMMITTEE:

The High Court of England has consented to Kaupthing Bank’s request for permission to apply for judicial review of the legitimacy of the decision taken by the UK authorities to transfer to a third party, without compensation, deposits from Kaupthing Edge accounts at the bank’s UK subsidiary, Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander, on 8 October 2008. Read the full story

Straumur Burdaras, Iceland’s biggest investment bank, has announced plans for a special fund to support and develop businesses in Iceland during the current kreppa (recession). Read the full story

An interesting side effect of the recent falls in the Icelandic krona may be that foreigners make the trip to Iceland especially to go Christmas shopping, according to Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

According to a Financial Times report, for years Icelanders have flocked to Copenhagen, London and Oslo to do their Christmas shopping, but the depreciation of the krona might turn this on its head. It is said the credit crunch is already having an effect on Reykjavik’s nightlife, where a higher number of tables than usual at the city’s most popular bars and restaurants remained empty last weekend, MBL.is reports.

August experienced a jump in consumer confidence in Iceland, rebounding from a record low of the previous month, reports Reuters referring to a poll by market research firm Gallup this Tuesday.

The consumer confidence gauge rose by 12.7 points to 74.1 points between July and August according to Gallup. The figure for July was the lowest since the indicator was first compiled in 2001.

While consumer confidence rose to its highest since May this year, the index remained well below the average for the past 12 months of 98.3 points.

Consumer confidence in the North Atlantic country has been falling over the past year as global economic prospects have soured while Iceland has battled a slowdown in growth and rising inflation.

Visit the website of Nordic bank Glitnir for daily research news on the Icelandic economy.

Global Finance, the international financial news magazine, has named Glitnir the ‘Best Bank’ in Iceland in its 2007 ‘World’s Best Developed Market Banks’ awards.

The awards were made to ‘banks that attended carefully to their customers’ needs and accomplished enviable results while laying the foundations for future success’.

“We recognise Glitnir for their outstanding accomplishments,” said Joseph D. Giarraputo, publisher of Global Finance. “Conditions in each market may have differed, but the winning banks were all noteworthy in their dedication to satisfying their customer’s needs”.

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Whilst many financial spectators have been advising Icelandic banks to proceed more cautiously this year, the main Icelandic banks have not stopped in their acquisitions on the global market.

Icelandic banks were in financial turmoil in early 2006 but that hasn’t stopped Iceland’s biggest bank, Kaupthing, from buying up Dutch merchant bank NIBC, this summer. The deal cost Kaupthing $4.2 billion dollars but neither that, nor the current credit crisis seems to have slowed the bank down. Kaupthing currently has its eyes on Norwegian insurance company, Storebrand.

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