Unpreferred bidder

The chairman joins in the fun of the bidding war for Northern Rock, revealing SmallBlue as a massive shareholder

"So tell me," I said to the chairman of the insignificantly sized investment company SmallBlue Planet as we enjoyed a pint or two of Headlock Threat at The Suggestion Last Week Devlin Could Ever Have Been Spotted Drinking Shandy. "Is SmallBlue one of that so-called significant minority of financial firms currently operating a misleading website?" "Maybe," replied the chairman, trying to smile enigmatically. "And then again, maybe not. That's the wonderful thing about the FSA's approach to naming and shaming - or, more accurately, not naming, let alone shaming. Their procedures are so ...