TRADE AND FINANCE SHELL GROUP HIT CURRENCY WEAPON BRIGHT BUSINESS LOCAL EXCHANGE RATES. STOCK & SHARE MARKET

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 92, 15 October 1940, Page 12

TRADE AND FINANCE

SHELL GROUP HIT

CURRENCY WEAPON

BRIGHT BUSINESS

LOCAL EXCHANGE RATES.

STOCK & SHARE MARKET

PRODUCE & MARKET REPORTS FROM DAY TO DAY

AS USED BY GERMANY

DESPOILING THE VANQUISHED

"Evening Post," October 15,

German. currency manipulation, although quite dishonest, is ingenious, as applied to conquered countries. Brought within the economic order of the Reich, the peoples of those countries have been exploited shamelessly and to the full for the exclusive benefit of Germans. It was reported by cablegram dated October 4 that Germans had purchased winter food stocks in. Norway for immediate delivery, payment being made in Reich credit certificates. This will be but another example applied to Norway of the system applied to other countries to their acute impoverishment. In occupied France the German mark prior to the war was the equivalent of 11 francs. The Germans subsequently fixed the rate of exchange at 20 to the mark. As a result of this, there was an orgy of spending by the German soldiers in occupation. But severe punishment was imposed by the Germans on all attempts to adjust prices in francs to German marks; in other words, Germans bought French goods at half-price. Germany fixed the official rate of the Czech crown at 12 pfennigs to the crown, or about one-fifth more in reichsmarks than in any other currency. This was the sequel to the Munich discussions. No benefit accrued to the Czechs, for the result was that the greater part of^the Czech note issue passed into German hands in exchange for reichsmarks. These notes were presented at once to the Czech National Bank in demand for gold or foreign exchange. The request was impossible to comply with, but the demand was instrumental in establishing German dominance. When Czechoslovakia was invaded by the Germans the rate of the reichsmark was reduced to 10 pfennigs to the crown. Austrian currency was pegged at a higher value in reichsmarks than the previous market rate. Polish currency was fixed at a rate corresponding to the previous official rate; but the mark was heavily depreciated in the free countries to the manifestly severe disadvantage of the two peoples. In Holland no time was lost by Germany in buying on terms highly favourable to itself guilders at 1.5 reichsmarks which before had been 5 reichsmarks.

In addition, German credit notes were made legal tender. In Belgium the belga was arbitrarily fixed at two to one reichsmark. Thus Germany uses currency manipulation as a potent weapon in warfare, obtaining supplies at any price that her financial dictators may decide, and, further, by insisting under severe penalties on the acceptance of credit notes as legal tender. What, then, is the fate of the Rumanian lei?

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15. 1940,

Rotoiti Timber Company will pay a final dividend of £3 4s per cent, on amount paid up on preference shares (subject to deduction of social security and national security tax) and 2 per cent, on ordinary sha,"<?s.

SYDNEY STOCK EXCHANGE

(By Telegrapb—Press Association—Copyright.)

1 Buyers. Sellers. & •• d. & s. d. N.Z. Govt. Stocks— 8 p.C., 15/7/1939-41 .... 99 15 0 v 3% p.c, 15/1/1953-57 , 101 0 0 $ 4 p.C, 15/3/1940-43 100 17 6 & 4 p.C, 30/11/1948 .... 105 0 0 JL . Govt. Bonds— 3 p.C, 15/7/1939-41 .. 99 15 0 — 3% p.c, 15/1/1953-57 . 101 0 0 — - 4 p.c, 15/6/1952-55 107 0 0 — ZVi P-c, State Adv's., 1/6/1944 99 5 0 — Other Debentures— Amalg. Brick, Wgtn., 31/3/44, 6 p.e 89 0 0 — Banks— Coram. of Aust. (ord.) . 0 14 11 Eng., Scot., and Aust. . — 4 10 0 National of N.Z — 8 0 9 New South Wales .... • 27 17 . f Union of Aust _. — f 4 0 Financial— Equitable Bdg. Co — 0 12 6 Equitable Bdg. Co., 5 p.c. Deb. Stk _ 0 15 6 National Mortgage — 2 0 0 N.Z. Guarantee Corp. ,.f 0 2 T Wgtn. Invest. T. & A. — 0 9 3 Wright, Stephenson .. — 10 6 Wright, Stephenson (pref.) 0 19 6 — Gas— Chrletchurch — 15 0 Wellington (pref.) .. 1 1 ll — InsuranceNew Zealand ......... 8 0 9 South British ...... t 293 Meat Preserving— Gear Meat .,.. — 0 15 0 N.Z. Refrig. (£1) ... — 10 6 Transport— Huddart Parker (ord.) — 2 14 0 Huddart Parker (pref.) 16 6 WoollenFelt Textiles (rights) (cum pref.) 0 9 10 0 10 3 Kaiapoi — 0 15 0 Wellington (pr<jf.) ... 6 18 6 — Timber— Leyland-O'Brien .... 0 14 0 — Taupo Totara (ord.) .. — 0 5 0 Taupo Totara (pref.) .. 0 10 0 Breweries— N.Z. Breweries 1 12 0 113 3 Miscellaneous— Aust. Consol. Industries 1 18 3 Brit. Tobacco (Aust.) . 2 9 3 2 10 0 Broken Hill Pty — 2 6 9 Claude Neon Lights (N.Z.) 110 — Consol. Brick and Pipe — 0 7 11 Dominion Fertiliser .... 169 D.I.C. (ord.) 0 12 0 — Electro. Zinc (ord.) .. — 2 16 0 G. J. Coles 3 9 6 — Howard Smith (ord.) ... 10 0 — MacDuffs (ord.) 0 10 3 — MacDuffs (pref.) — 0 18 6 McKenzie's 2 4 9 — Moturoa Oil — 0 4 3 Moturoa Oil (pref.) .. — 0 4 3 National Electric — 0 18 0 N.Z. Drug — 3 15 0 N.Z. Farmers' Fertiliser 116 — N.Z. Newspapers 1 9 9 — B. & E. Tingey (pref.) 116 — Taranaki Oil Fields .. — 0 6 6 Taranaki Oil Development (4s paid) — 0 3 9 Wilson's (N.Z.) Cement 0 18 6 — Woolworths, Ltd. (ord.)t — 0 18 5 Woolworths (N.Z.) (ord.) 0 15 6 0 15 11 N.Z. Drug (rights) 17 0 17 6 Berlei (N.Z.) 32 0 — Selfridges (A'asia.) 0 13 0 — Mason, Struthers ...... — 0 13 6 Mining— Big River *.... 0 0 6% — Australian— Mount Morgan , 0 9 0 0 9 9 Placer Development .... — 3100 BUSINESS TRANSACTED. First Call, this day—No sales. Sales made after going to press yesterday :— No. of Shares. £ s- d. S300 3 p.c. Govt. Stock (1941) 99 15 0 20 B«nk of A'asia (odd lot) 8 10 0 200 Commercial Bank (ord.) .. 0 15 0 45 N.Z. Guarantee Corp 0 2 9 100 Wellington Gas (ord.) .... 1 12 9 700 South Brit. Insurance (2 sales) 2 8 10 100 Standard Insurance 2 19 0 150 Gear Meat 0 14 9 50 Felt & Textiles Rights .. 0 10 0 30 Wellington Woollen (ord.) . 6 15 0 200 Westport Coal 1 2 7 5 Colonial Sugar 52 15 0 •Cum dlv. tEx div. There were no quotations in the unofficial list.

SYDNEY, October 14. President Roosevelt's speech acted as a tonic on the Stock Exchange today, which was the brightest for some weeks. Sales were as follows: — £ s. d. Bank of New South Wales ...... 27 14 0 Comm. Bank of Sydney 19 10 0 Aust. Consol. Indust 1 16 6 Aust. Consol. Indust. (contrib.) . 13 7i£ Colonial Sugar 50 0 0 Fairymead Sugar ....; 1 14 6 Aust. Paper 1 10 6 Broken Hill Pty 2 4 6 Dunlop, Perdriau ............... 0 18 10 Cash Orders Ainalg. 0 15 1 G. J. Coles ».. H ...... S 7 9 Goldsbrough, Mort 160 Henry Jones Co-op. 2 16 0 McGrath and Co l 9 7 Lustre Hosiery a . 1 1 6 W. K. Carpenter 1 16 6 Bradford Cotton e, 118 9 British Tobacco (pref.) .,......., 1 10 3 David Jones a,. l 12 10% Stedman's Sweets 0 11 9 Pelt and Textiles -.- 112 0 Pelt and Textiles, Eights N.Z. . ; delivery 0 10 9 MELBOURNE, October 14. Sales:— £ e. d. Pelt and Textiles 1 12 3 Pelt and Textiles Rights 010 9 Herald-Weekly Times 2 10 9 Aust. Consol. Indust. 116 2 Yarra Palls „ 2 3 9 G. J. Coles V....B....'. 8 6 6

The Bank of New South Wales quotes.telegraphic rates of exchange on overseas centres as follows:— On Buying. SeUlng. New York—Dols. to SNZ 3.2542 S.2050 Montreal—Dols. to £NZ 3.6039 8.5290 Greece—D'chmae to SNZ — 412.70 Java—Florins to £NZ . 6.187 6.004 Hong Kong—NZ d. to dol. 18% 19 1-32 India, Ceylon—NZ d. to rupee 22 5-32 22 49-64 Manila—NZ d. to peso . 6.559 6.442 Shanghai—NZ d. to dol. — 6% Singapore—NZ d. to dol. 34 41-64 35 41-64 DIVIDENDS DUE. The following is a list of shares on ■ which dividends are payable:— Wunderlich, Ltd.—half-yearly, ord. 4 per cent., pref. 3% per cent. .. Oct. 24 Amalgamated Wireless—Final 5 per cent Oct. 24 South British —Final, Od and bonus Sd per share Oct. 24 William Cable—Half-year, pref., 3% .per cent Oct. 25 Martha Mine—Interim, 6d per share, free of British income tax ... Not. 1 Bank of Adelaide—Interim, hVz per cent, per annum Nov. 6 National Bank of Australasia—Intrim at 6 per cent, per annum .. Nov. 2? Bank of N.Z.—Interim ordinary, Is per share, and D shares 3% per cent. Dec. T