Iceland set March 6 as the date for a referendum on passing a law seen key to restoring its financial health after the Dutch government squashed hopes of a new deal to repay the island's creditors, Reuters reported. Iceland owes Britain and the Netherlands more than $5 billion for losses related to the collapse of the North Atlantic island's banks in late 2008. But earlier this month, its president refused to sign a law setting out repayment terms, forcing a referendum on the issue and putting on hold continued international aid for Iceland's stricken economy.

Icelandic pleas for further aid met with a cool response on Thursday as the IMF suggested its hands may be tied by an Anglo-Dutch debt impasse and Sweden signalled no immediate funds were on the way, Reuters reported. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said a solution for the so-called Icesave issue was not a condition for aid but the Fund still had to listen if members raised issues. "If a lot of members think we have to hold on, we have to hold on," Strauss-Kahn told journalists in Washington.

he Dutch Finance Ministry is not involved in renegotiation talks with the government of Iceland over its debts related to the collapse of online bank Icesave, a spokeswoman for the ministry said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Iceland plans to hold a referendum in the next two months on terms for paying back Britain and the Netherlands more than $5 billion for money lost in high-interest Icesave bank accounts during a financial meltdown in 2008. The two countries compensated savers in full and want their money back.

Iceland's efforts to join the European Union could be delayed by a referendum on terms for repaying Britain and the Netherlands following a banking collapse, the Spanish EU presidency said on Friday, Reuters reported. British and Dutch depositors in high-interest "Icesave" bank accounts lost their money when Iceland's entire financial system imploded in late 2008 under a heavy weight of debt. The government plans to hold a referendum on the issue late in February or early in March.

Iceland was warned on Tuesday that it risked international isolation after the country’s president blocked a deal to repay Britain and the Netherlands almost €4 billion ($5.7 billion, £3.6 billion) lost in a failed Icelandic bank, the Financial Times reported. The British and Dutch governments condemned the decision by president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and hinted at repercussions for Iceland’s bid to join the European Union and for its $10 billion international economic rescue programme.

Van der Moolen Holding NV, the 117- year-old bankrupt Dutch stockbroker, will sell cars, champagne buckets and bronze statuettes of Mercury, the Roman god of trade, in an online auction to repay debt, BusinessWeek reported on a Bloomberg story. Receivers, appointed by an Amsterdam court to settle about €28.3 million ($40.8 million) of debt, have hired a company to sell items including office furniture, flat-panel televisions and dish washers, according to the auctioneer’s Web site.

Iceland’s parliament approved an amended bill on Wednesday to repay more than $5 billion lost by savers in Britain and the Netherlands when the island’s banks collapsed during the financial crisis, the Financial Times reported. The passage of the legislation, backed by a 33-30 margin by members of parliament, boosts Iceland’s hopes of swift entry to the European Union and of getting its shattered economy back on track.

The Netherlands, Germany and Austria have all relied heavily on so-called short-work programs to keep people in their jobs in the wake of the financial crisis. All three have managed to keep unemployment from soaring, but the Dutch have been particularly effective, The Wall Street Journal reported. At 3.7% in October, according to the European Union statistics office, the country's jobless rate is one of the lowest among the world's wealthy nations. After the crisis hit, the Dutch government, labor unions and employers quickly reached an agreement to begin payroll subsidies.

Dutch shareholders association VEB and Dutch insurer ASR Nederland said on Friday they had requested a Dutch court to order an inquiry into company policy at bankrupt Dutch brokerage Van der Moolen Holding, Reuters reported. Van der Moolen, one of the most prominent names on Wall Street in the 1980s and 1990s, sought creditor protection in August due to a "very weak" liquidity position and was declared bankrupt in September.

DSB Bank NV's Chief Executive Dirk Scheringa on Monday called for a parliamentary investigation into the role played in its collapse by the Dutch finance ministry and Dutch central bank, Dow Jones reported. Scheringa said he may appeal the Amsterdam court's decision to declare DSB Bank bankrupt following a run on deposits. He claimed that the finance ministry and central bank disregarded a new business model DSB Bank wanted to launch, funded by a one-time government loan of €100 million.