Mr Osborne will also say the sale's valuation of Northern Rock's "price-to-book value ratio" - that is, its assets minus its liabilities - is higher than peers Barclays, Lloyds TSB or the Royal Bank of Scotland.

BBC: Northern Rock: Osborne to reveal EU deal over 2013 sale

Liquidity for major non-financial corporations has never been better as measured by the high ratio of liquid assets to current liabilities.

FORBES: Three Horsemen Of The Shopping Apocalypse: Apple, Google And Amazon

The June funded ratio, which measures assets to liabilities. is only 74% for CalPERS even using a high-rate of return assumption for its investments.

FORBES: New Study: With Giant Pension Debts, California Is Screwed