Welcome to where negative rates are normal

Washington

IN Copenhagen, bicycles take undisputed priority over cars and even pedestrians. A sizzling restaurant scene has made foodie fetishes of moss, live ants and sea cucumbers. Despite a minimum wage not far below US$20 an hour and some of the world's steepest taxes, unemployment is almost the lowest in Europe. Parents happily leave infants unattended in strollers on the sidewalk while they step into cafes.

Clearly, the usual rules tend not to apply in Denmark. So it's no surprise that the country in recent years has added a major new entry to its sprawling repertoire of eccentricities: since 2012, it's been a place where you can get paid to borrow money and charged to save it.