Here in the UK, a bank called Northern Rock fell foul of the sub-prime mortgage crisis earlier in 2007. In order to plug the holes in its finances, it asked for the Bank of England to bail it out. Did so in public. In September 2007, hundreds of its customers lined up to withdraw their savings, 6-figure sums.
Now, in order to keep the bank afloat, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the Finance Minister) has given it £25bn. It has to find a new partner, which has been hard - but who wants to take on a bank with debts of that magnitude? So, by the end of the month, Northern Rock could stand to be nationalised to the tune of £55bn. That means that every taxpayer in the UK has to cough up £2000 ($3800).
I'm not a financial or economic analyst, but it has been pointed out that this started in February '07, under the stewartship of one Gordon Brown, currently Prime Minister. Sounds like he made a mess of things, and his successor Alistair Darling added to the mayhem. Totally unnecessary, and I'm very disappointed in Gordie.
His halo came clattering to the ground in October, when he dithered and dithered over the question of whether or not to call a General Election. He did not - because the polls said it would be bad for him. The polls? Who cares about the polls? I'm afraid that our Gordon has come out tops in the indecision stakes.
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Jeannette has emailed you ..love Jan xx
ReplyDeleteI was always concerned about Gordon's ability if he became Prime Minister. As much as I wanted it for him too.
ReplyDeleteHe was a better Chancellor than he will ever be as Prime Minister. He always looks as though he is pondering and holding up the woes of the world. More professorial when interviewed than head of our government.
Nations need to hold their heads in pride at their choice of representative. We didn't get to choose him and there lies the sting and his indecisiveness.
£2000 per head is a lot of money to cough up. I'm sure the shareholders will have a few rants and raves about this prospect.
If not Nationalisation....what then the knock on effect? Scary times in the financial world and for the rest of us too.
Jeanie
hi guido, i am watching this very closely, and i am very worried. we have a mortgage with them as does my sister. i am worried they will call in the mortgages to sort out their problem. mrs t x
ReplyDeletehttp://journals.aol.co.uk/mleppard06/eternity/
We are having a mortgage fiasco here in the States as well. It is said Bank of America is purchasing Countrywide Lending - our biggest mortgage lender. It is a mess and many folks are in jeopardy of losing their homes, many of them should NOT have gotten a mortgage in the first place. I was a mortgage underwriter...seems the guidelines we used have fallen by the wayside these days.
ReplyDeleteLisa