Word: northerner
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...Sunday, Brown was forced to nationalize Northern Rock, after months of searching for a private sector buyer for the stricken lender. The move - the first nationalization of a British business since the 1970s - triggered the suspension of the bank's shares Monday. (Price? Less than $2.) And it's left the Brown government's own stock much more vulnerable...
...defense, the Prime Minister had little option but to take on Northern Rock, which was caught short of cash after the money markets it depended on for funds froze over last fall. There were two private bids - one from Richard Branson's Virgin Group, another from the bank's own management. But the Treasury's statements indicated that they fell short of offering enough in return for the $100 billion in loans and guarantees made to Northern Rock by taxpayers. Goldman Sachs, the investment bank advising the government on its handling of the company, didn't disagree...
There'll be a lot more developments to follow. It'll be years before Northern Rock can think about returning to the private sector. And though it'll be managed by Sandler "at arms length," as Brown insisted to reporters Monday, the potential for further government embarrassment remains high. Shareholders of Northern Rock - unlikely to get much in return for their investment - are threatening legal action. Robin Ashby, founder of the Northern Rock Small Shareholders' Group, said the bank had been "stolen away from them." Worse still, the dirty business of trimming the bank's 6,000 strong staff - something...
Guessing the fate of Northern Rock is no less popular right now than guessing that of Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling. When Brown picked him as his successor as finance minister last June, Darling's closeness to Brown was his strength. Dependable, gaffe-free (and, like the Prime Minister, a Scot), Darling was a safe bet at the Treasury. Much less so now. Recent controversies over changes to Britain's capital gains tax, and plans to tax non-domiciled foreigners living in the U.K., have heaped criticism on Darling. And the strung-out - and fruitless - search for a buyer...
...remaining 21 seats are held by the 17 members from Northern Ireland and by fringe parties from Wales and Scotland...