Iceland is getting pretty close to a worst case scenario, economically speaking. We’ve heard about Iceland turning to Russia for a bailout. We’ve heard about the shutting down of the Icelandic Stock Exchange.

Today, however, I heard about food shortages in Iceland (found here). Bloomberg reports Icelandic Shoppers Splurge as Currency Woes Reduce Food Imports:

After a four-year spending spree, Icelanders are flooding the supermarkets one last time, stocking up on food as the collapse of the banking system threatens to cut the island off from imports.

This made me search for other stories. I found another one on Bloomberg, Icelanders Sink Under Foreign-Currency Loans as Krona Plunges:

Karl Karlsson, a Reykjavik taxi driver, has canceled his winter vacation. The money he saved is being eaten up by his car loan payment, which has jumped more than 20 percent since June.

Like thousands of Icelanders, Karlsson borrowed in foreign currencies to get a cheaper loan as the benchmark domestic interest rate soared to 15.5 percent this year. With trading in the krona virtually suspended after it plunged against the euro, dollar and yen, debtors now face skyrocketing bills.

I don’t think there’s much that’s scarier than a food shortage.