"When did fishing become less dignified than banking?"

Imagine a country where you have to certify an area `free of elves` before you can build there.
Imagine that place suddenly becoming a global cornerstone of financial services. You've just imagined Iceland. According to Vanity Fair, Iceland is now the land of the exploding Landrover:

Now many Icelanders—especially young Icelanders—own $500,000 houses with $1.5 million mortgages, and $35,000 Range Rovers with $100,000 in loans against them. To the Range Rover problem there are two immediate solutions. One is to put it on a boat, ship it to Europe, and try to sell it for a currency that still has value. The other is set it on fire and collect the insurance: Boom!

Tip of the cod to Arctic Economics.