Franky on Finance

The government decided to nationalise Northern Rock today, abandoning a five-month attempt to find a private sector buyer for the ailing bank.  “In the current market conditions we do not believe the two proposals deliver sufficient value for money for the taxpayer,” Finance minister Alistair Darling told a news conference. “So the government has decided to bring forward legislation to bring Northern Rock into a temporary period of public ownership.”  The government will put forward legislation on tomorrow to take the bank into public hands — the first major nationalisation in Britain since the 1970s — and trading in Northern Rock shares was suspended.