BRITISH TRADE

Hokitika Guardian, 23 October 1930, Page 7

BRITISH TRADE

FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW, k DEPRESSING INFLUENCES ON STOCK EXCHANGE. [United Press Association.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.]

LONDON, October 18,

Except for gilt-edged securities the last fortnight on the Stock Exchanges has been full of depression and. uncer)ta.inty, many adverse features both at home and abroad combining to make people nervous, and disinclined to speculate. The trade returns were bad; the unemployment figures continued to rise; revolutions in Brazil and elsewhere in South America caused a heavy slump in till Brazilian securities, came the financial and political uiisettlement in Germany and :he continued flow of gold from Berlin 1 o Prance; and finally fresh slumps in [Wall Street. Under the weight of all these misfortunes it is not surprising that settlement prices wh<\n accounts closed yesterday, mostly ""showed substantial falls. On the other/ha fid; 7 ." the 'investment section of the Stock Exchange has shown remarkable firmness.. All British funds improved, notably War Loan per cents, which ,’.reached the record of £lO5 la 3d, despite the Chancellor » l the Exchequer’si in’timatibri ' that oe intends to carry out a large conversion operation when the time is favourable. That there is plenty of/money available for good iriveslment£ is shown by the success of recent issues of this class, all of which are quoted at good \ premiums. Dealings in the Indian loan of £12,000,000 which was oversubscribed, opened at a quarter per cent. The success of this issue imparted strength to older Indian stocks, and [Australians showed steadiness, although they are still far lower than they ought to'be. .... i i» CRYPTIC UTTERANCES. An interesting event this week was l / the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s ( speech to bankers and financiers at the Mansion House. Mr Snowden spoke somewhat hopefully on revenue prospects and said that he would do everything possible to avoid imposing new taxation. He added: “Possibly I shall have to outrage my strict financial principles and maybe do things I could not justify in ordinary circumstances.” What Mr Snowden means by this' cryptic sentence is causing considerable speculation, sqme regarding it as an indication that there will not be | intereference in safeguarding and other revenue duties and that there . «jav be ft. raid on the Sinking Fund. "V - i I WOOL TRADE. j Jhe wool position., the correspondent of the “Yorkshire Observer’' says: “Unfortunately the fall in values to the present level, while dm I astrous to pastoralists) has not yet beii- h

efited those engaged in wool manufacture/; 1 ; The readjustment process is a long'one. Wool is merely one of the mulfjMde of primary commodities progressing towards a new price level. , but the best corrective of natural pessimism is recognition of the fact that when commodity prices settle drown to the new equilibrium sounder trade will ;spring up in the wake of the storm, and in, this wool manufacture will /share. It is certainly a rather dreary •business waiting for expansion of -lie .i'd'ejniand for wool commodities, which ['producers are justified in expecting. Now that cheap raw material and lower conversion costs permit, AVest Biding textiles will bo ottered at extremely attractive prices, , but,’ unless ; H economic theory is wrong, such de- , maud will eventually arise and the ' industry! will have cause to reflect witn satisfaction upon the possession of .'n abundance of cheap wool.”

0 BUTTER. 1 The butter market has shown some improvement both in demand oriel prices this week, and hopes are expressed that the bottom has been reached. One of the principal importing firms in their monthly report, says that the main trouble has been the, heavy stocks which have been held in acold stores for a. long time. It was hoped/? that relief would have been obtained in September by smaller imports, but actually September imports '/were:; 6000 tons in excess of those for September 1929, and 8500 above 1928. Although consumption lias been stimulated by lower prices and is now estimated at well over 6500 tons weekly, -these heavy September imports did not enable the stocks in the cold stores to be reduced quickly enough and holders were getting scared in view of 1 the big increase in production ln New Zealand, Australia \and the Argentine, and an anticipated increase in the Baltic Provinces. Tt would appear that pressure to sell was unduly accentuated and during the ■past.S-fcw days reaction occurred. Retailers are steadily reducing prices to the consumer and further increases in consumption" may be looked for. The report adds-. “With, complaints of bad trade general and the number of .unemployincreasing weekly, the consumers’ demand for Danish'"butter at three pence a pound above New Zealand and Australian is extraordinary.” AVTNE.

The vintage of Western Europe .-p----pears likely to he poor, according ,to the latest reports. Crops in the Champagne district are below the average quantity and growers are pessimistic about the quality. The quantity of port made will he small, -.-nd the Bordeaux crop is almost a complete failure. In most sherry districts the yield is about 10 to 20 per cent below 1929, but the quality is equal to the average yield. Burgundy is rather below the average, but ’he quality is les9 good, except in ue white wine districts, where the quality is better, hut the yield small.