IMF approves $160m loan to Iceland

The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved a much-contested 160-million-dollar loan to Iceland, ending months of political bickering.
The IMF agreed in November 2008 to lend Iceland up to 2.1 billion dollars in an effort to stave off the collapse of the local economy, which was decimated by the financial crisis.
Wrangling with creditors -- chiefly the Netherlands and Britain -- had delayed the latest instalment by three months.
The Washington-based fund said Friday's decision would take lending to the Atlantic island to around 1.2 billion dollars.
"I am confident that the policies and financing now in place will ease the burden of adjustment and help Iceland's economy stage a recovery in the second half of 2010," said IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Iceland is still reeling from a deep and punishing recession that submerged the country's banking sector, sent the Icelandic krona plunging and forced the collapse of the Icelandic government.