Takeover may be Rock's only hope

By Sean Farrell, Financial EditorPublished: 15 September 2007Northern Rock, the once-booming mortgage bank, has a choice between stagnating or being taken over – if anyone will buy it just as the housing market slows down.Adam Applegarth, the bank's chief executive, yesterday accepted that Northern Rock's days of rapid growth were over after it was forced to ask the Bank of England for emergency

I'm going to cash my cheque in and put my savings elsewhere

By Mark HaweyPublished: 15 September 2007The sign in the window of Northern Rock in Golders Green, north London, read: "Come in, let's talk". But yesterday customers wanted to do far more than that; they wanted to empty their savings accounts.Across the country queues of worried customers formed outside Northern Rock branches in response to news that the bank, the UK's fifth largest mortgage

FTSE 100 tumbles but outlook for share prices remains uncertain

By James DaleyPublished: 15 September 2007UK stock markets predictably nose-dived as news of the emergency bail-out sent jitters across the City. As well as banks' shares falling by as much as 32 per cent, shares in some other financial services institutions took a hammering, as investors contemplated the worst case endgame for the credit crunch.However, although fund managers conceded the

Ronit Zilkha, Cherie's designer of choice, sees her business go bust

By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs CorrespondentPublished: 15 September 2007Ronit Zilkha counted Cherie Blair, Cate Blanchett and Julia Roberts among her clients and her boutiques graced some of London's smartest postcodes. But the business that appeared to be booming yesterday fell off the catwalk.Her chain was placed in the hands of the administrators as debts ran into millions of pounds. Ms

Housing-related stocks take a pounding amid correction fears

By Andrew DewsonPublished: 15 September 2007Market panic over the emergency funding for Northern Rock claimed more victims as approximately £5.9bn was wiped off the share value of the UK house building, estate agency and banking sectors, not including the £846m decline in the value of Northern Rock itself.The losses stemming from Northern Rock's woes were magnified by a leaked report from online

Greenspan admits he was slow to pick up on sub-prime dangers

By David Usborne in New YorkPublished: 15 September 2007It is not quite a mea culpa, but Alan Greenspan is now admitting that he was aware that the successive interest cuts under his stewardship of the Federal Reserve were encouraging an explosion in sub-prime lending but that he was slow in realising the dangers that the trend carried for the economy.He makes the confession in an interview with

Credit crisis: Speedy resolution could leave UK unscathed

By James DaleyPublished: 15 September 2007Although Northern Rock's bail-out by the Bank of England has few direct repercussions for the British economy, the event sent out a warning that the credit crunch could last for longer than most had expected.The short-term effects of the credit crisis look to be minimal. However, a prolonged crunch could inflict serious damage on the financial services

King faces accusation that the Old Lady was asleep at the wheel

By Sean O'Grady, Economics EditorPublished: 15 September 2007Was the Bank of England asleep at the wheel?Recently Jon Moulton, the chairman of Alchemy Partners, remarked to reporters that at a recent breakfast meeting with Bank of England officials "none of them knew what a 'CLO' actually was". It's a collateralised loan obligation, in case you were wondering: a debt security – i.e. a financial

The fine distinction between lender of last resort and a bail-out

By David ProsserPublished: 15 September 2007At first sight, the Bank of England's decision to provide emergency funding to Northern Rock directly contradicted its Governor's warning on Wednesday that he would not authorise bail-outs of banks caught up in the sub-prime crisis. Yesterday, the Bank was at pains to explain there had been no change of policy.On Wednesday, the Bank said it would not

US retail sales fall adds to pressure for rates cut

By David Prosser, Deputy Business EditorPublished: 15 September 2007The latest US retail sales data added to the pressure on Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, to cut interest rates yesterday, providing further evidence of a slowdown in the American economy.The US Commerce Department said retail sales rose by just 0.3 per cent during August, down from 0.5 per cent in July. The figure was

Barclays rules out disposals to sweeten ABN bid

By Sean Farrell, Financial EditorPublished: 15 September 2007Barclays yesterday ruled out selling parts of ABN Amro to sweeten its offer for the Dutch bank, which lags behind a rival bid by Royal Bank of Scotland.John Varley, Barclays' chief executive, added that the falling value of his bank's share-based bid reflected ABN's true value in turbulent markets, unlike the largely cash offer from the

AB Foods buys 20 per cent stake in Jordans

By Karen AttwoodPublished: 15 September 2007Associated British Foods, which owns the Primark retail chain and food brands from Twinings to Kingsmill, has snapped up a 20 per cent stake in Jordans cereal company for an estimated £15m.The family-owned company has its roots dating back to 1855, when the Jordans were farmers and then later millers in Biggleswade in Bedfordshire. Brothers Bill and

Segro shakes up management team

By Karen AttwoodPublished: 15 September 2007The industrial park developer Segro unveiled a shake-up ofits management structureyesterday.The office parks owner, formerly known as Slough Estates, is to halve the number of its UK units to three. They will consist of its flagship park – the £1.4bn Slough Trading Estate – London and the regions.John Heawood, the current head of UK property, will leave

John Lewis turns rain into strong first-half results

By Karen AttwoodPublished: 14 September 2007John Lewis, the owner of 26 department stores and the Waitrose supermarket chain, has delivered a stellar half-year performance, bucking the overall trend on the high street, where retailers have been hit by the combination of dismal summer weather and fears of a consumer slowdown.However, its chairman, Charlie Mayfield, added his voice yesterday to a

Greenspan attempts to shore up legacy at Fed, but some blame him for credit crisis

By Stephen Foley in New YorkPublished: 14 September 2007Alan Greenspan is preparing to hit the publicity trail to promote his eagerly awaited memoirs, just as the feted former chairman's tenure at the US Federal Reserve is facing a revisionist onslaught. Economists and commentators blame him for the current turmoil in the credit markets – and for the ominous signs of an economic slowdown to

Northern Rock given emergency bail out by Bank

By Sean O'Grady, Economics EditorPublished: 14 September 2007Northern Rock became the first high profile British victim last night of the crisis that has swept credit markets, after admitting that it has received a financial bail out from the Bank of England.This is believed to be the first such rescue since the secondary banking crisis of the mid-Seventies. It is the largest banking debacle

Sports Direct lifts Umbro stake to 9 per cent

By Karen AttwoodPublished: 15 September 2007Mike Ashley's Sports Direct has built up a 9 per cent stake in Umbro, triggering speculation that the football kit maker could be heading for a takeover bid.Umbro told the Stock Exchange yesterday that Sports Direct, which owns Lillywhites and the Sports World chain, holds 13.2 million shares in the company, after it had built its stake up to 5 per cent

Customers scramble to withdraw savings from stricken bank

By Martin Hickman and Sean FarrellPublished: 15 September 2007Shockwaves were felt throughout the country yesterday as Northern Rock customers queued to withdraw their savings from the stricken bank after news of emergency funding from the Bank of England threatened to cause a crisis of confidence in British banking.There were frantic scenes at some of the bank's 70 branches nationwide as