DANGER OF RISING PRICES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 66, 5 April 1937, Page 7

DANGER OF RISING PRICES

-Presa Assn,-

State Needs And Private Industry May Clash WARNINGS IN BRITAIN

f By Teiegraph-

— Copyright. )

(Beceived o, 1.5 p.m.) LONDON, April 4. Markets have been quiet owing' to the holidays, and the Press is takiug advantage of the lull to analyse the nafcional outlook, The Times weighing in with a. vigorous warning of the dang* ers of* rising prices and the importauce of avoidnig a clash between the demauds o*f the Government and private industry, The Economist, taking The Times leader as its text, in a notable article emphasises that it is important ior the imperial Conferenoe clearly to grasp that the econ'jmic situation has radically changed since- . the Ottawa agreements. "An extensive programme qjt public works disguised under the name of rearmament coincides with a peacetime boom. Wholesale prices are alre'ady rising alarmingly and a serious shortage of skilled and semi-skilJed labour is developing in certain key iodustries. Unions are demanding higher wages and sporadic strikes have already occurred. Some industries to which the export trade is of vital importance aro refusing foreign orders because they are unable to satisfy teven the demands of Home consumers." Persistent rumours; from New York that the sugar confqrcnce seeks to stabilise' price at between 1J to 1| cents a pound cannot be confirmed in London. The preliminary -meeting of the International Sugar Committee, which disagreed oh the beet quota, indicates that the conflict between cane and beet producers, which lies at the bottom of the dismal history of sugar cannot be solved easily. Optimism has temporarily departed from the metal market and there is likely to be a further decline as a result of President Roosevelt's criticism of excessive prices.