How much is that Mascot Finance in the Bank Deposit Guarantee window? According to Bill English, around $10 million plus. It could have been worse, what with Mascot having 2,558 debenture holders with NZ$70 million invested. According to Bernard Hickey, it won't be the last stuffed toy that gets a bailout, but at least most of the big ones are already dead:
Understandably, the main banks are bolshie at paying the guarantee fees while tin-pot property fronts get a free ride. Who's next? Pick your favourites from the approved list.
And if you haven't read it, have a read of this Vanity Fair piece on Iceland. More NZ parallels than you can shake an icepick at, right down to the elves. Hat Tip Dim Post.
And finally, Tyler Cowen links to some cogent arguments on why grad school is an expensive waste of time right now. Quite relevant to all those Icelandic fishermen with PhDs in economic theory.
