interestrateripoff Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/iceland/6440191/McDonalds-frozen-out-of-Iceland.html Iceland's two McDonald's restaurants will close next month, the operator said, blaming rising costs for pushing up the price of its normally "good value" burgers to prohibitive levels. "The reason for this decision is the difficult economy and the collapse of the Icelandic krona," Jon Gardar Ogmundsson, the owner of Lyst which runs the restaurants, told AFP. McDonald's required all packaging, meat, vegetables and cheese for the restaurants to be imported from Germany, as the Icelandic market was too small to produce the necessary products. However, while the two McDonald's restaurants have "never been this busy before, profits had "never been lower", an 80pc rise in the euro against krona in the past 19 months has seen costs near double. To get the margin needed, Mr Ogmundsson told Bloomberg that prices would have to rise 20pc taking the price of a Big Mac to 780 kronur or $6.36, up from 650 kronur at present. This would be more expensive than the $5.75 it costs in Switzerland and Norway, the current leaders in Economist 2009 BigMac index. What will Icelanders do now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imminent_plunge Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/iceland/6440191/McDonalds-frozen-out-of-Iceland.html What will Icelanders do now? Eat fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest happy? Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 http://www.telegraph...of-Iceland.html What will Icelanders do now? They could open a toy-shop that offers free burgers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 Eat fish? http://www.gadling.com/2008/01/02/iceland-s-putrid-fish-delicacy/ And then, of course, there's putrefied skate – a fish related to shark.This Icelandic delicacy, known as skata, apparently smells so bad that Icelandic apartment dwellers battle each other in search of the offending cook when the stink permeates their building. This was one case when I listened to Mother Nature and stayed far away from this decomposing fish. However, had I read Strange-Smelling Delicacy (Iceland Review) before visiting Iceland, I might have ended up trying the nasty thing. For example, the article points out that the fish isn't necessarily decomposing, but rather it's fermenting, like cheese. Hmm... that makes it sound a little better. In addition, Icelanders claim it cures all sorts of things from hangovers to seasickness. You mean like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saving For a Space Ship Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Eat fish? As Mac D Antionette said: 'Let them eat cac' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1929crash Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I just saw this story on bloomberg. I guess it shows every cloud has a silver lining! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 They could just only sell the Fillet of Fish burgers, using locally caught Cod, instead of the cheaper pollock or Hoki that we probably get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
right_freds_dead Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Eat fish? Underneath the bridge The tarp has sprung a leak And the animals Ive trapped Have all become my pets And Im living off of grass And the drippings from the ceiling Its okay to eat fish cause they dont have any feelings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diskobox Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Something in the Way ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellerkat Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 So now even the IsChavs get to eat decent food! Oh the horror! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pindar Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I just saw this story on bloomberg. I guess it shows every cloud has a silver lining! You took the McFilet right out of my mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Authoritarian Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 However, while the two McDonald's restaurants have "never been this busy before, profits had "never been lower", an 80pc rise in the euro against krona in the past 19 months has seen costs near double. Must be worth having a punt on the Krona, about the only thing thats looking cheap at the mo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live Peasant Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Looks like CGNAO will be thwarted in his prediction for $10k burgers. They'll shut the branches just to spite him. Still, having seen the hash Brown made of our relations with Iceland, they should be thankfull for small mercies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehead Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 I just saw this story on bloomberg. I guess it shows every cloud has a silver lining! I dare say many here would agree, however, some Icelandic folk take a very different view, and maybe for a very good reason. In the UK you'd probably be rigt in thinking deprival of McDonald's ranks somehwere up there with banning footie and East Enders as a catalyst for revolution, such is our chav culture. However, revolution might be the least of any country's worries that loses its McDonald's outlets. Why? Well, believe it or not, there is a strong correlation between McDonald's outlets and a population's well being (honest, I don't work under the golden arches). Take a look at the attached chart I rustled up for your delectation. It shows how countries with high infant survival rates generally have McDonald's outlets, whilst those whose infants die in the greatest numbers are altogether void of Big Macs. By losing its McDonald's, Iceland shares the uneviable company of countries like Angola, Sierra_Leone, Afghanistan, Liberia, Niger, Somalia, Mozambique, Mali, Zambia and Guinea-Bissau, where the infant mortality rate is a full 10%, despite itself having one of the world's best infant survival rates. "Nice statistical quirk" I hear you say. But ask yourself, if McDonald's can leave because it can't make a profit, who might also leave? Drug companies? Medical equipment suppliers? Doctors and healthcare operators? When you start asking those questions you can see why some Icelandic folk see McDonald's departure as an alarming development that could resign it to the fate of an "economic back-water", as one Icelander put it. Moreover, if that did happen, Iceland's current status as a McDonald's-less baby-haven might see it become the exception that proved the rule. So next time somebody tells you external debt is not an issue, that a sovereign nation can underwrite private black-holes with printed money, that currency weakness is not a problem, buy them a Big Mac and ask them to think of Iceland.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huw Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 http://www.telegraph...of-Iceland.html What will Icelanders do now? Something non-globalised that doesn't involve this: all packaging, meat, vegetables and cheese for the restaurants to be imported from Germany, as the Icelandic market was too small to produce the necessary products. Dispense with costly/superfluous packaging. Use Icelandic meat, fish and veg. Good news for Icelanders and local entrepreneurs/suppliers. Bad news for global corporations and foreign suppliers. By losing its McDonald's, Iceland shares the uneviable company of countries like Angola, Sierra_Leone, Afghanistan, Liberia, Niger, Somalia, Mozambique, Mali, Zambia and Guinea-Bissau, where the infant mortality rate is a full 10%, despite itself having one of the world's best infant survival rates. "Nice statistical quirk" I hear you say. But ask yourself, if McDonald's can leave because it can't make a profit, who might also leave? Drug companies? Medical equipment suppliers? Doctors and healthcare operators? When you start asking those questions you can see why some Icelandic folk see McDonald's departure as an alarming development that could resign it to the fate of an "economic back-water", as one Icelander put it. Moreover, if that did happen, Iceland's current status as a McDonald's-less baby-haven might see it become the exception that proved the rule. So next time somebody tells you external debt is not an issue, that a sovereign nation can underwrite private black-holes with printed money, that currency weakness is not a problem, buy them a Big Mac and ask them to think of Iceland.... "Nice statistical quirk" I hear you say. But ask yourself, if McDonald's can leave because it can't make a profit, who might also leave? Drug companies? Medical equipment suppliers? Doctors and healthcare operators? When you start asking those questions you can see why some Icelandic folk see McDonald's departure as an alarming development that could resign it to the fate of an "economic back-water", as one Icelander put it. Moreover, if that did happen, Iceland's current status as a McDonald's-less baby-haven might see it become the exception that proved the rule. So next time somebody tells you external debt is not an issue, that a sovereign nation can underwrite private black-holes with printed money, that currency weakness is not a problem, buy them a Big Mac and ask them to think of Iceland.... They need to (1) earn the foreign exchange they need to live and (2) avoid using it all servicing debt. If they can do that, they'll be able to afford things like medicines. The question is, will they prioritise medicine, or debt-service? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Democorruptcy Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Icelanders like Jon Ogmundsson have endured many hardships in the last year, including soaring inflation, rising unemployment and a banking crisis so serious the country nearly declared bankruptcy. Now Iceland's battered economy is claiming one more victim – McDonald's. Mr. Ogmundsson owns the country's three McDonald's restaurants and he plans to close them all this week. He says Iceland's troubled currency, the krona, is to blame. It has lost almost 70 per cent of its value against the euro in the last 18 months, driving up the cost of imports including the beef, cheese and special sauces Mr. Ogmundsson brings in from Germany. “With the collapse of the Icelandic krona, our food costs have doubled,” he said Monday from Reykjavik. “Business is good, but the bottom line is not sexy.” Mr. Ogmundsson charges about 650 kronur for a Big Mac, roughly $5.50 (U.S.). He said he would have to increase the burger's price by 30 per cent just to cover the added input costs. “We have not been able to increase prices as we would need,” he said. “Customers are not willing to pay more.” Most economists don't expect Iceland's economy, or its currency, to recover any time soon. Inflation stands at about 10 per cent, interest rates are 12 per cent and the International Monetary Fund expects the country's economy to shrink by 8.5 per cent this year, the worst among 33 developed nations. The IMF and other lenders have put together a $10-billion rescue package for Iceland. http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/GI.20091026.escenic_1338705/GIStory/ Are tracker mortgages a bit expensive over there then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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