According to a population counter on the web site of Statistics Iceland, the population of Iceland reached the 300 000 mark at around 7:20 am this morning. On average, a child is born every hour in Iceland, and five people die each day in the country.
Icelandic investment bank Straumur-Burdarás sold a 21% share in Íslandsbanki over the weekend, one of the largest share transactions in Icelandic history. The biggest single purchaser was FL Group, owners of Icelandair, which bought a 6.5% share and now owns 16% of Íslandsbanki and are now the second largest shareholders of the bank.
Morgunbladid is reporting that Landsbjörg, the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue, set a new record this year in sales of fireworks for the New Year period. It is estimated that about ISK 500 million (c. 8.3 million USD, or about $27 per inhabitant) worth of fireworks were sold this year.
Icelandic State Radio RÚV is reporting that the benefit concert held at Laugardallshöll concert hall on Saturday evening was a huge success. The sold-out concert featured the biggest names in Icelandic music, including Björk, Sigur Rós, Bubbi, and Hjálmar, as well as international ‘friends of Iceland’ like Damon Albarn and Damien Rice.
