Pages

Monday, September 17, 2007

Northern Rock - unique or just unlucky

Like many, I've been watching the growing crisis at Northern Rock with great interest and a little awe at the effect a financial problem in America's mortgage industry can have on individuals in Britain. Looking at the shares though, Northern Rock's halved in price over the last few months - it wasn't just since last week that the trouble became clear to the well-informed.
Northern Rock shares
No matter how many calming statements from the Bank, the Treasury and the FSA, you can't really blame savers for being twitchy, even if they know deep down that the government wouldn't dare allow a bank this size to actually collapse. Luckily for Thanet the nearest branch is in Brighton, so it's unlikely to cause too much personal panic on the Isle.

And I'm very impressed at the financial skills of the couple who marched in to the manager's office and demanded their £1 million, in cash, instantly. Haven't they seen It's a Wonderful Life?

2 comments:

Little Weed said...

The shares are at a very tempting price now!

ZumiWeb said...

True, and it's looking like Alliance and Leicester's share price is heading south too - down 30% just today. Still the government has had to cave in and promise to guarantee every last penny to avoid a major problem, so maybe it'll stabilise now. Maybe.