Biting the bullet

It has taken the UK government five months to face up to what had seemed obvious to most observers from the start: that once Northern Rock was dependent for its survival on public funding, it should be nationalised. But if that was such a hard choice, the choices that follow are even harder. The government has two more bullets to bite. The first bullet is to make clear that shareholders will not receive a penny in compensation. The bank was clearly unable to survive on its own when it was force...