Iceland Raises Key Interest Rate to 18%

So what? It’s seen as an indication that the nation, the economy of which is in something of a free-fall, has negotiated a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), often accused of making steep demands on client nations.

If the move and IMF loan can arrest Iceland’s decline, that’s good.

My apprehension has been that Iceland would go through with loans for which it was negotiating with Russia.

The last thing we want to see happen right now is for nations to become beholden to either Russia or China. The governments of both of those countries can be expected to attempt leveraging loan agreements for strategic advantage, destructive of the interests of both the international community and of their own peoples.

[This tantalizing smidgen of blogoriciousness was cross-posted at my personal blog.]