Northern Rock

[mr_e]

I think that £57 billion figure is the actual public exposure if it all goes tits up, not what the government have lent/given to them. God knows how you actually price a bank for sale. The £2k per tax-payer figure was eyebrow-raising, but it looks like Northern Rock will stay afloat for now.

[Mike]

Well it seems that virgin are more in the running again! It is the preferred bid (they really don't want to nationalise the bank I am sure because it will probably breed massive inefficiencies!) They have been asked to improve their offer though - I suspect Northern Rock management are not keen on the take over but lets be honest, they would not be in this position if they had not screwed up so badly!

[Mike]

Northern Rock. NATIONALISED. Thats right, you lovely tax payers now own my mortgage. Don't do anything silly with it will you? I sort of want to move now but I am tied into it for another 4 years. I suppose the up side is you can't mess with my terms and conditions, only mismanage the whole bank. Thank god for small mercies.

[mr_e]

Does this mean I can come and stay at your house rent-free, Mike? I feel sorry for the shareholders, especially if they try to give them under market rate compensation for their shares. Expect a lawsuit sometime soon. This should only be a temporary measure, but I don't think anyone quite knows just how temporary.

[Mike]

It is temporary until the bank starts making a profit then they will sell it to a private client for a rediculously low sum of money to get out of the administration nightmare. No you can't stay at my house rent free - you only have the £3500 exposure as a tax payer that is spread across 800,000 borrowers - thus meaning you have about £0.004p of the debt personally, I think you will agree that does not equate to much rent. On the down side the government will now know exactly how much you make on your house sales and how much savings you have in the bank (for me none thank goodness!).

What a fiasco.

BBC Statistics

[johnriley1uk]

They should have let Lloyds TSB had it when they had the chance.

[Andy]

thus meaning you have about £0.004p of the debt personally, I think you will agree that does not equate to much rent.

I claim that gleaming piece of gravel stone on the left-hand side underneath the Clematis as mine....

In all seriousness, it is not a laughing matter.

[Mike]

Of course you can discuss the matter of ownership with Northern Rock board - I am sure that they would be very happy for you to take that piece of gravel. Make sure that the 0.004p is removed from my mortgage though.

[Mike]

The Bill has been passed to allow nationalisation of the bank.

[Mike]

US Federal Reserve has presented $200 billion up for auction for the banks and financial institutions to try and weather the credit crunch we keep hearing so much about.

Since the US of A is so powerful in a military sense I wonder if the next major world war will be a financial one. ie. who can bring down the economy of their enemy fastest?

[mr_e]

That's pretty much what the BoE did (the loan auction), but the interest rates were above market rates. Naturally, most of the banks were too greedy to take the loans and pay the extra interest, if I've got the right idea from the reporting.

If someone tries to bring down the US financially, then surely they could just invade them? Unless it's Russia or China, of course. The best way to financialy screw everyone would probably be to attack oil installations and gas pipelines, limiting supplies to the US and Europe, and watch the runaway inflation that ensues. That or something that would shut down financial institutions.

[Mike]

Bear Stearns has been aquired by JP morgan for about $250 million dollars - much lower than its market value of £18bn so it just goes to show a shaky credit crunch could mean some organisations can profit massively from the uncertainty.

[Mike]

Someone has lost $1.1billion in the Bear Stearns take over. It is becoming more and more like a panic herd instinct here isn't it. I am tempted to wait for a while longer then pick up some shares really cheaply. . . .

[BarcelonAl]

There was a report last night saying that people are panicking over their pension schemes and are trying to bail out.

However, as one analyst said...a pension is a long-term investment and unless you are close to retirement should just stay with it...or indeed start putting more money in for a short-term period as you'll be able to buy more shares for less cash. So you might just be onto a winner there!

[Mike]

Oh well, I am sure that the Architectural world will have a financial hang over in about 6 months now too. Wunnerful.