Am I the only one who seems to be concerned, or am I just being paranoid and old fashioned about the fact that Britain doesn’t seem to own anything anymore except our rapidly de-valuing houses, failing banks and a pile of Olympic gold medals?  writes blogger Charlie Cashdan.

It has just been announced that failing bank Bradford and Bingley will be nationalised except for its savings business which is being sold to Spanish bank Santander who already own Abbey and have also agreed to purchase the Alliance and Leicester.

Now, I admit my business knowledge is a bit patchy but as I understand it the nationalised part of the business is the part most in trouble. It’s the mortgage portfolio and because the B&B have a history of lending mortgages to self-employed, buy-to-let investors and low credit score people it is the most problematic branch of the company.  The savings business is quite healthy and profitable.  So it seems like we are selling off the good bit to Spain, and making British taxpayers bail out the bit that’s in difficulties!

British Energy is now being sold to the French company EDF, lots of once British-owned manufacturing companies like Rover are in foreign ownership, oil comes from God knows where and Manchester City football team has just been sold to some rich business group based in the United Arab Emirates, the Abu Dhabi group.

Now, I know bog all about football, but it doesn’t seem that long ago when American Malcolm Glazier bought Manchester United and fans were so outraged by the foreign ownership that they were burning effigies of Mr Glazier and threatening to boycott matches.  Once things started to go well on the pitch however, everyone just seemed to pipe down and enjoy the benefits – success 1, principals 0.  I haven’t heard any protest about this latest take-over by an overseas company.

Is it simply the Abramovich effect?  Now that everyone has seen what money can do to a club everyone wants a piece of it.  Gone are the days when a wealthy local businessman would buy the club he had loved since boyhood.  Money talks louder than principals perhaps, or is football just becoming an increasingly global business?  Is this a bad thing?  It all seems a bit wrong to me and rather sad really, but I’m certainly not an expert on sporting matters.

Perhaps I’m just being too old fashioned, gosh I even sound like my father bleating on about the terrible decline in British manufacturing and mourning our lost empire.  Perhaps I just need to get with the programme and realise that we now live in a global economy with no place for out-of-date sentiments of national loyalties and pride.  But isn’t it that the very same global economy which has been the main factor causing our own current economic woes, a problem which started in the American financial markets that has spread through to our own?

Old fashioned and cynical? Or right to be concerned?  I guess only time will tell.

Agree with Charlie? Post your comments below.