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Click on the picture to watch an audio slideshow of a hike to Hraunsvatn lake in Öxnadalur valley in north Iceland, which lies at a height of 490 meters, interlocked between two steep mountains and a small glacier with a view of the majestic Hraundrangar peaks.
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Fjallabyggd (“Mountain Settlement”) is a skier’s dream. Its slopes are perfect for slaloming and there are also tracks for telemark skiing. Winter sporting enthusiasts can also go ice skating or rent snowmobiles. In summer, Fjallabyggd turns into a paradise for hikers. Read this special promotion about one of Iceland’s best hidden gems.
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The board of Arion Bank (formerly Kaupthing) announced its decision yesterday to request the listing of the commercial enterprise Hagar on the stock market and sell the bank’s share in the company. The current executives can buy 15 percent of the shares.
Out of this 15 percent, Hagar’s chairman Jóhannes Jónsson—the father of former Baugur CEO Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson and co-founder of the Bónus supermarket chain—is entitled to ten percent, which he can buy at the same price as other investors, visir.is reports.
Director of Arion Bank Finnur Sveinbjörnsson told Morgunbladid that this is the best solution for all. “After having evaluated all pros and cons of different options we concluded that this would be in the best interest of the bank, the company’s employees and the company itself, in addition to further development of the country’s stock market.”
Hagar is the dominant company on the food market in Iceland with a 60 percent market share in the capital region and 50 percent in the entire country. In addition to grocery stores like Bónus and Hagkaup, the company runs various clothing stores.
Kaupthing acquired 95 percent of shares in Hagar with the takeover of the holding company 1998, which owed the bank vast amounts of money.
Sveinbjörnsson said it is unclear how much of 1998’s debts the bank will obtain through the sale of shares in Hagar. “It comes with an open sales process that the conclusion is not clear beforehand.”
Arion Bank is now preparing to register Hagar on the stock market. If everything goes according to plan, it can be listed in the latter part of this year. The price of the shares has not yet been revealed.
A new board of Hagar will be appointed to work on preparations. Jónsson will remain the chairman of the board. He said in a statement that there is no longer any uncertainty about Hagar’s future and requested peace to work on the company.
At first it looked as if Jónsson and his family would remain majority owners of Hagar and that its debts would be written off, which caused a lot of controversy.
Click here to read more about this story.
Attentive commuters in the capital region have noticed strange behavior among some people on roundabouts lately. Police say these people are likely picking psilocybin mushrooms, which is an annual event at this time of year, and not strictly illegal.
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Singer-songwriter Jónsi of Sigur Rós has been nominated for the 2010 World Soundtrack Awards for the best originally composed song in a movie. The nomination is for the song “Sticks & Stones” which is in How to Train Your Dragon.
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Emails between the management team at FL-Group seem to indicate that assets sold to Northern Travel Holding (NTH) at year end 2006 were overvalued on purpose to deceive stakeholders about the real condition of the companies involved in the transactions. Among the assets being transferred were the Danish budget airline Sterling and Iceland Express.
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On Saturday the state prosecutor was informed that the murder case of Hannes Thór Helgason is now considered closed. A 23 year old man, Gunnar Rúnar Sigurthórsson, has confessed that he is the killer. Evidence at the murder scene and blood stains on the shoes of the suspect lead the police to arrest the suspect.
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The second issue of the print edition of Iceland Review 2010 has just been published. Entitled “Under the Volcano” the magazine dedicates 20 pages, words and pictures, to the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull glacier which made headlines all over the word. New subscribers will receive the book 2010 Eruptions as a gift and all subscribers are part of a draw to win a trip to Iceland. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
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REVIEWS
Future of Hope is an aptly named documentary directed by Henry Bateman about what some people are doing to shape the future of Iceland, hoping that above all, the crisis will ultimately strengthen the country.
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There can’t be many novels that are heralded as being “a purification for body and soul” recommended to “those who enjoy experimental cookery” (review of November Rain in DV newspaper) and “as beautiful as a painting from the golden age” (review of The Offspring by Danish newspaper Politiken). However, Reykjavík based writer, Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir, has attracted such attention not to mention literary prizes.
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Have a laugh this week by visiting Hafnarborg, the Hafnarfjördur Centre of Culture and Fine Art, where the exhibition “Humor in Icelandic Art” is currently running. The exhibition consists of works by contemporary Icelandic artists from different generations which deal with humor and irony.
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