Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.05.2019, Side 6

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Kveikur, an investigative news show
from Icelandic public broadcaster
RÚV, recently did an in-depth report
on microloan companies operating
in Iceland. These are companies who
advance quick, small-sum loans in
the tens of thousands, usually with
an exorbitant compound interest rate
attached. If these debts are not paid
off fast, they can quickly balloon to
amounts that the typical microloan
borrower is unlikely to be able to pay
back.
In the course of the investigation,
reporters discovered that these compa-
nies are actually operating illegally;
their terms of service and interest
rates exceed maximums established
by Icelandic law, which is why they are
usually based in Denmark, where the
practice is still legal. However, putting
an end to the business—and the debts
they incur—has been proving to be no
simple matter.
Take me to court,
I dare you
The compound interest rates are
extraordinary. By Kveikur’s calcula-
tions, these rates can quickly inflate the
money owed to a microloan company
by as much as 3,500%. Apart from the
cost, there is also the question of what
it does to a person’s credit rating; being
behind on these payments can put a
person on a credit rating blacklist,
thereby barring one from being able to
take out a loan of any kind, even over-
drafts as low as 5,000 ISK.
Hákon Stefánsson, of Credit-
info, Iceland’s premiere credit rating
company, told reporters that, in his
estimation, the simplest way to stop
these companies would be to contest
the debt in court. As these companies
are operating illegally, he reasoned,
it is highly unlikely that any of them
would attempt to collect on their debts
through the justice system. He also
recommended paying only the prin-
ciple (the size of the initial loan) and
ignoring the rest of the debt.
Paying off an illegal debt
However, Breki Karlsson, the direc-
tor of the consumer advocacy group
Neytendasamtökin, pointed out the
obvious: if these microloans are in fact
illegal, what are they doing on anyone’s
credit rating in the first place? The
group has communicated directly with
Creditinfo on the matter.
For their part, Creditinfo says it
is possible to get these microloans
stricken from your record, even if you
haven't paid off all or even most of the
debt.
Which is a relief, of course. All that
remains is the question of whether the
government will take broader steps to
shut these companies down.
Scared of sharks?
Well, Icelanders eat
them for breakfast,
and what’s more,
we drink Brennivín
to cleanse the pal-
ette afterwards.
Ok, to be fair, most
of us don’t eat
shark for break-
fast—that’s
a delicacy
traditional-
ly reserved
for feasts
during the
m o n t h o f
Þorri—and
the Bren-
nivín is just
t o k e e p
our minds
o f f t h e
bleak and
p o i n t l e s s
existential
repetition
of life.
T h e G r e e n l a n d
shark that Iceland-
ers eat is a nasty
bugger—the big-
gest can measure
around 7 meters
long, and they live
deep in the Atlantic
ocean throughout
the winter (they’re
the only shark spe-
cies in the world to
live so deep). We
really don’t know
that much more
about these emo-
sharks that love
the darkness like a
dramatic teen, oth-
er than that they
can also live to be
around 150-years-
old. That’s why we
drink shark liver oil
to stay young.
Back to eat ing
these mysterious
sea beasts: Sharks
don’t urinate. In-
stead, they break
down ammonia
within their body,
making their meat
incredibly poison-
ous, sure to kill
anybody who dares
to eat it fresh from
the sea.
So what do Ice-
landers do? Well,
we bury the meat
in the ground and
wait one to three
months. Then we
hang up the meat
for it to ferment. Fi-
nally, you have this
bitter, strong taste
akin to a punch in
the face that forc-
es the consumer to
scream in anguish:
“Oh, my f&%ing
god!”
The only way to
force this down
this fermented
piss-bomb—hey,
at least it’s not
poisonous!— is to
drink Brennivín,
which is even more
diabolical then the
shark meat. Go
easy on the Bren-
nivín, though, it’s
known for robbing
people of their
sanity. VG
On The Blacklist
Illegal microloan companies
destroying credit ratings
Words:
Andie Fontaine

Photo:
Wikimedia
First
We went straight to Dr. Helgi Rafn
Hróðmarsson, a.k.a. The Cosmic
Chemist, to find out.
Short answer: “No…Wait! Maybe.”
Long answer: this will depend on
what we call “long-term.” Humanity
might not be around in a couple of
hundred years because we treat our
planet like a malformed baby wipe,
but let’s consider that time period.
Man-made climate change per-
tains to greenhouse gas emissions,
which change our atmosphere’s
chemical composition, but not to the
extent that changes in oxygen and
nitrogen (99% of our atmosphere)
would. These are the principal origi-
nators of the Northern Lights, so we
need not worry about man-made cli-
mate change affecting the Northern
Lights themselves.
Now, there is an established cor-
relation between the Northern Lights
and sunspots on the Sun’s surface.
Sunspot activity follows an 11-year
cycle, where the number fluctuates
from just a few up to as high as 250
per annum. Axiomatically, Northern
Light profusion is wholly dependent
on the Sun cycle.
Sunspot occurrence is tentatively
linked with climate, as there have
been several periods in history where
minima in sunspots were observed
and the average temperatures on
Earth were unquestionably lower.
These minima, however, coincided
with large volcanic eruptions which
spouted out gases that reflected
sunlight and cooled our climate.
In summary, man-made climate
change will not affect the Northern
Lights themselves. However, climate
change in terms of cloud formation
can easily block out the sky and make
Northern Light hunts more scarce.
Less frequent Northern Lights are in-
deed observed during minima in the
solar cycle, but whether that will be
the case when the minima accom-
panies climate change is still up for
debate.
ASK A
Chemist
Q: Will Long-Term
Climate Change Affect
The Northern Lights?
6 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 07— 2019
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