MSN Money UK – Northern Rock was the darling of the UK mortgage sector, but fuelled its rapid growth by borrowing in money markets and selling on its mortgage debts rather than customer deposits.

The eruption of the credit crunch in August 2007 as banks clamped down on risks shattered its business model and forced it to seek emergency aid from the Bank of England.

Full coverage of Northern Rock

January 2007 - Northern Rock reports a 16.5% increase in annual profits to £587.7 million for 2006, beating City forecasts.

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Tags: bank-of-england, banks, business-model, city forecasts, credit crunch, customer deposits, darling, emergency aid, full coverage, money uk, money-markets, mortgage debts, profits, rapid growth, uk mortgage

Seeking Alpha – The one group of investors that’s been vilified more than any other by the business press and government officials alike in 2008? Hedge fund managers.

After years of rapid growth in terms of both assets and numbers of funds in operation, the hedge fund industry has taken a PR black eye this year. Media reports would have you believe that the industry is about to collapse in size, see its revenue drop dramatically through fee reductions and become heavily regulated to protect unsuspecting investors from another Bernie Madoff scam.

Hedge funds certainly make an easy target. They’ve had a bad year, along with every other retail and institutional investor. But the industry is about to grow dramatically over the next five years. This coming year will mark the beginning of the next wave of this industry’s growth.

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Tags: assets, bernie madoff, black eye, business press, easy target, fee reductions, government officials, hedge-fund-managers, institutional investor, next five years, next wave, rapid growth, seeking alpha, unsuspecting investors