LONDON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee said the bank was aware the previous housing bubble was unsustainable.

LONDON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Several British banks Thursday contradicted the government's claim that they had endorsed Prime Minister Gordon Brown's mortgage rescue plan.

LONDON, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The British government says it is preparing to nationalize Bradford & Bingley Bank as the search for a private sector buyer is proving fruitless.

It takes more than a globally competitive economy to have a sound banking system.

For the third straight year, the United States finds itself at the top of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), published by the World Economic Forum (WEF)…

Filed under: Newspapers, Magazines, Yahoo! (YHOO), Anheuser-Busch Cos (BUD)

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc (NYSE: BUD) and InBev may be one possible coupling in the fast-consolidating brewery industry; the people familiar said the two have already held talks.
• HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE: HBC) yesterday launched its first two retail branches in Japan, according to the Financial Times. The bank also kicked off its "HSBC Premier" services, which aim to tap into Japan's budding market for wealth management.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Despite rumors that none of those interested in struggling bank Northern Rock Plc (OTC: NHRKF), the UK Guardian reported that Sir Richard Branson will submit a bid by Monday's government deadline. Investment group Olivant is also expected to submit a bid for Northern Rock.

WEB SITES:

• TechCrunch has "gotten word" that Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) will acquire Maven Networks for $150M.

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Filed under: Countrywide Financial (CFC), Housing

In afternoon trading in London, shares of mortgage bank Northern Rock (NHRKF) are down another 30%. Over $4 billion has been withdrawn from the bank in the last two days.

Late last week, The Bank of England stepped in to help the mortgage company, but the assistance seems to have done little to calm investor fears.

The sell-off is likely to extend to mortgage banking shock in the US where shares in company's like Countrywide Financial (NYSE:CFC) have already lost almost two-thirds of value.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

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