Frugal Icelanders Prepare For The Holidays
Iceland has been hit by the global financial crisis in a big way. With unemployment surging and the currency collapsing, less expensive traditional staples are coming back into fashion. Frugal Icelanders are avoiding imported beers. They are also buying horse meat, which is half the price of beef. As the country searches for simpler pleasures as the holidays approach, a DVD seller in the capital of Reykjavik reports brisk sales of an uplifting family favorite, The Sound of Music.
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STEVE INSKEEP, host:
And today's last word in business comes from Iceland. That's the tiny country that's been hit hard by the global financial crisis. Unemployment is surging. The currency is collapsing. And cheaper traditional staples are coming back into fashion in Iceland, which is why today's last word in business is horse meat. It's half the price of beef and it is selling well in Iceland.
So is the local beer. Newly frugal Icelanders are avoiding fancy imported beers. Maybe Americans will do the same. Blatz could make a comeback. As Iceland searches for simpler pleasures, a DVD seller in the capital, Reykjavik, reports brisk sales of an uplifting family favorite, "The Sound of Music." And that's the business news on Morning Edition from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
(Soundbite of song "The Sound of Music")
Ms. JULIE ANDREWS (As Maria Von Trapp): (Singing) The hills are alive with the sound of music. With songs they have sung for a thousand years.
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