Word: estonians
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Even by the heady standards of one of Europe's fastest growing economies, the Estonian housing firm Nova Haus was on a roll. Launched in 2004, with initial funding of just $13,000, it grew so fast that by 2006 it boasted 120 workers and a $2.5 million profit. In 2007 Nova Haus even took home the Estonian government's award for Developer of the Year. "It was crazy how easy it was," recalls Hegert Lepik, 28, a lanky economics graduate and father of two who helped found the company. "I kept asking myself: How is this possible? It almost...
...former Soviet Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had the highest growth rates in Europe until recently. But, hit by the global credit crunch and economic downturn, the Baltics are now leading Europe into recession. By some estimates, Estonia's economy may already be shrinking. "There's an Estonian saying: Every party ends in tears," says Maris Lauri, an economist at Hansabank, a subsidiary of Sweden's Swedbank...
...getting approval in less than a week. Private debt across the Baltics rose from nearly zero to Western levels as consumers became hooked on credit. Home buyers and businesses took out mortgages in foreign currencies, which had the effect of worsening already severe current-account deficits. In a peculiarly Estonian twist, companies in the tech-savvy country began offering high-interest short-term loans by mobile phone. Borrowers could text the company their requests and have money transferred into their bank accounts almost instantly, albeit at usurious interest rates of up to 800% a month...
...reputation for being practical, down-to-earth, and forward-looking. The country boasts one of the world's highest rates of mobile phone and computer use. The coding for Skype was written here. But allow the conversation to turn to the supernatural and the stereotypical, and the sober-minded Estonian disappears in an instant. "Of course we have a ghost! This is Tallinn!" Anne Orro, a gray-haired receptionist in the medieval capital, exclaimed one rainy October evening recently. "It's not normal not to have a ghost...
...when Russian planes dropped cluster bombs on the town of Gori, the Presidents of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine took the stage in front of the Georgian parliament building beside Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. "Everyone who believes in democracy says today, 'I am Georgian!' " said Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. His Polish counterpart, Lech Kaczynski, railed against Russia: "Today Georgia, tomorrow Ukraine, the next day perhaps my country...