Rock’s crunch time

The UK looks increasingly likely to get into retail banking. The government is running out of time to find an alternative rescuer for Northern Rock, the ailing bank which owes it £26bn. Delaying a solution far into next month would risk breaking Brussels’ state aid laws. Ron Sandler’s appointment as chairman designate of a nationalised Rock looks like a sign that the government is bracing itself to take on the bank itself. The hedge funds who are trying to tighten their grip on...