any comments, thoughts, on this stock.

rumour swirling around Redrow in particular, and also Barratt rather less so

Monday will see these reeling.

Cynic,

What do you use to short these, CFD, S/Bet ?

CFD

Tomorrow will be a profitable day, cynic. Good luck!

at least short NRK and FTSE should offset some of the losses on other stocks

Great...RDW and SGRO have dropped further.

Programme about banking on R4 now.

CNE looks like one to short cynic.

Shorting an oil producer with prices this high? Don't think so explosive.

Just for info........
It aint over yet. Merrill Lynch have just announced that their UK sub prime offering is to be further reduced due to "ongoing instability in the financial markets".
In essence, they withdrew their "unlimited" & "Heavy" adverse rabge of product a few weeks ago. Now they have withdrawn their "Medium" adverse offerings, leaving only products for minor adverse cases, at a reduced loan to value.
Feeling the pinch or ultra cautious? No idea. You lot work that out.
Alan

I think NRK would drop badly tomorrow.

Alan - it'll get worse re mortgage offers. In a year or so here all those 2-3 year deals will end and the UK homeowners will suddenly find themselves out in the street .......... I hope! ;-))

Merrill 3Q roiled by mortgage crisis
AFX


NEW YORK (AP) - Merrill Lynch & Co. on Wednesday took a $7.9 billion writedown because of the summer's credit crisis, a bigger-than-expected amount that raised the specter of more trouble ahead from risky home loans.

The world's largest brokerage was caught off guard by its bad bets, leading to its first loss in six years. Merrill Lynch's quarterly performance was the worst by far of the Wall Street firms.

The shortfall calls into question how one of the biggest names in finance could be so off the mark, just three weeks after telling Wall Street its losses would be significantly less.

am happy to stay sitting short even though Dow recovered sharply to break even

It recovered only on rumour that Fed will meet next week in the hope of reducing interest rates. They can't reduce interest rates indefinitely. Inflation rate will soon rear its ugly head if interest rate goes down imo.

You are right to fear inflation but if consumers are affected by the credit crunch then the risk might become deflation.

UK financial system still at risk - BoE
AFX


LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The Bank of England has warned that the UK's financial system, still in shock from the run on the Northern Rock PLC bank, is not out of the woods yet despite the uneasy calm in financial markets at the moment.

In its half-yearly report on financial stability, the central bank conceded that the risks to the financial system have increased in the wake of this summer's turmoil in world markets and added that urgent reform of the country's crisis management arrangement is needed.

'There have been signs of recovery in recent weeks but some markets are still illiquid and the financial system remains vulnerable to further shocks,' said BoE deputy governor John Gieve, who has been accused, not least by members of the Treasury Select Committee, of being asleep at the wheel.

The BoE, which has come under fire for its handling of the liquidity crisis and its failure to provide early funding to credit markets, noted a number of risks that could end the current calm in some financial markets.

It noted that the structure of institutions' balance sheets and their funding in particular are more fragile that before, while ongoing uncertainties about the valuation and location of exposures mean that financial market expectations are vulnerable to further shocks.

Key ongoing risks identified include the US housing market, the US asset-backed commercial paper markets, the impact of the summer turmoil on the balance sheets of financial institutions and higher funding costs in wholesale markets at a time of substantially greater funding needs.

The latter, the BoE said, 'could expose fragilities among a small, but growing, cohort of more vulnerable non-financial borrowers, such as UK subprime borrowers and highly leveraged companies, including those that have been the subject of recent buyouts'.

Other downside risks, which have not surfaced in recent months, could come from the commercial real estate sector, equity markets across the world as well as a sustained slide in the dollar, it added.

The impact of all these vulnerabilities, were they to crystallise in the near term, is judged now to be greater than in the past, given the current fragility of confidence and continued tightness in wholesale funding markets.

The BoE added that vulnerabilities in the household sector, particularly from recent first-time buyers and buy-to-let investors, and in the corporate sector, particularly for leveraged firms taken private and commercial property companies, could be exposed by tighter credit conditions.

Ultimately, the BoE said the financial system could emerge stronger from the repricing of risk especially as the economic outlook remains 'robust'.

It said identifying and promptly addressing weaknesses that have emerged are critical to rebuilding and strengthening the system.

Though it is too early to make a full assessment of this summer's disruption in the markets, the BoE said some lessons need to be learnt including the need for improved management of liquidity, more transparency in the composition and valuation of structured products and banks' exposures to off balance sheet vehicles, and better stress testing and contingency planning.

Specifically for the UK, the BoE conceded that the authorities need to strengthen their crisis management arrangements.

It noted that tools used by authorities in other countries, such as a special insolvency regime for banks, are not available in the UK and that the existing deposit insurance system is not good enough.

In addition, the BoE said the run at Northern Rock 'brought home the danger' that support from the central bank may 'stigmatise' a bank and 'reinforce a loss of confidence, rather than allay it'.

pan.pylas@thomson.com

Al. getting pummelled

RAB Capital says now holds 6.66 pct of Northern Rock UPDATE




(Recast lead, adds detail)
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - RAB Capital PLC, the UK hedge fund, said it now
holds a 6.66 pct stake in beleaguered mortgage lender Northern Rock, compared
with its previously disclosed holding of 6.05 pct.
In a statement, RAB said it sold a net 100,000 Northern Rock shares in two
separate contracts for difference trades on Wednesday, leaving it with a 6.66
pct stake.
The hedge fund had earlier built up its original holding to 6.90 pct through
derivative transactions that were not disclosed, market sources said.
RAB's initial purchase of a 6.05 pct stake, announced on Sept 20, marked a
rare show of confidence in Northern Rock's prospects just one week after the
lender revealed that it had been forced to seek emergency funding from the Bank
of England.
By 3.50 pm today, Northern Rock shares were up 7.14 pct at 194 pence,
fuelled by continued hopes of an early rescue bid for the group.
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, Northern Rock has opened its
books to US private equity firms JC Flowers and Cerberus, while Spanish
newspaper El Mundo said Nueva Rumasa, the investment vehicle of businessman Jose
Maria Ruiz-Mateos, is interested in acquiring a 10 pct stake in the bank.
Northern Rock declined to comment.