Has the Time Come to Nationalize Struggling Banks? Yes, but Carefully

After a generation of increasingly relaxed regulation of the financial services sector, the very concept seems stunning: Nationalization of banks in Europe and the United States. But with many global banks still teetering on the brink of insolvency — even after rescue efforts that have included multi-billion dollar infusions of capital and other forms of assistance — a different view is emerging. A growing number of economists — including, most recently, Alan Greenspan — now argue that temporary government takeovers of the most deeply troubled institutions may be the only remaining solution.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/2166.cfm

Responsible Investor reports: Fund tenders for global and Asian corporate surveillance mandates.The €250bn ($322bn) Norwegian Government Pension Fund is looking to hire research companies to act as SRI internet detectives and identify if any of the 8,000 companies it invests in could be breaching its ethical guidelines. The fund, one of the world’s most active responsible investors, has put out two market tenders for continuous web-based ‘surveillance’ – one for monitoring global internet sources in English and Spanish on all companies in the fund’s global portfolio, the second to look at Mandarin and English sources specifically regarding companies in the fund’s portfolio with head offices in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. The fund says it wants the surveillance providers to gather evidence on companies in its portfolio that may be involved in activities that contravene its strict ethical guidelines. Earlier this month, Responsible Investor reported that the fund had blacklisted two new companies, Canada’s Barrick Gold Corporation and Textron Inc in the US, for breaching its ethical codes. The fund sold shares worth NOK1,248m (€140m) in Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold producer, because of concerns about environmental damage at the Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea, which is run by Porgera Joint Venture, in which Barrick Gold has a 95% stake.  Textron was excluded for links to the production of cluster bombs.The closing date for the tender is March 3. Link to ethical council site