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LONDON (AP) -- Shares in troubled mortgage lender Northern Rock opened higher Tuesday on the London Stock Exchange a day after the government promised to guarantee the savings of all depositors. Northern Rock shares gained 9 percent, a small rebound compared to two previous trading days when shares fell more than 30 percent per session. Mortgage lender Alliance & Leicester, which saw its shares drop 15 percent on Monday, opened 18 percent higher. Bradford & Bingley, another major mortgage lender, opened 9 percent higher after suffering an 11 percent drop a day earlier. Treasury Chief Alistair Darling announced late Monday that the government would guarantee the savings of Northern Rock depositors. Hundreds had ignored earlier pleas for calm and joined long lines outside the branches in Britain and Ireland, seeking to withdraw their funds. "I do recognize that people are concerned, that's why we have put the matter beyond all doubt," Darling told a Downing Street news conference after a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Deposits "are safe and are guaranteed, that's unequivocal," Darling added.
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