Last week Norway officially stated that it would not be able to catch enough whales this year to meet its allocated quota. Few nations still allow whaling, and animal activists are jumping on this opportunity to claim that this is proof Norway should abandon the highly controversial act of whaling.

Since the opening of this year’s whaling season on April 1, Norwegian fishermen have only been able to catch half of the number of whales allowed by government authorities. 533 minke whales have been caught out of an allowed quota of 1,052. The whaling season ended on August 31, and local fishermen were already admitting that they would fall far short of the quota weeks in advance, according to The Guardian.

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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.