Icelandic bankruptcy saga has channel implications

Bad joke alert: Be on the watch for headlines with "meltdown" puns. I was just barely able to restrain myself.

But the jokes will probably not go over too well in Reykjavik, where the possibility exists that the whole country may declare Chapter 11, where the currency has lost half its value, and:

"The country's top four banks now hold foreign liabilities in excess of $100 billion, debts that dwarf Iceland's gross domestic product of $14 billion.

I've only commented a few times on the stockmarket and banking situation recently, mostly because I'm utterly ignorant on the subject, but this aspect of it has a direct application for channel marketers, since Icelandic investors have gone in heavily for retail ventures, especially in the UK.

Investment group Baugur, baed in Iceland, owns outright or has stakes in a number of UK high street companies, including Woolworths, Debenhams, frozen food retailer Iceland and Whistles.

Hamley, House of Fraser and other large retailers also have Icelandic ties.