TRADE IMPROVEMENT.

Shannon News, 4 January 1927, Page 4

TRADE IMPROVEMENT.

i v\j& BUTTER I DISTINCTLY' GOOD * . Received Sunday, 5.25 p.m. —w~~- LONDON, Jan. 1. \ "Wo may look to the New Tear ' with quiet confidence," i 3 a sentence in the annual review bt one of the .• principal firms of wool brokers with ' reference - to their particular trade, /and the same sentiment is expres3- . e .d. by people connected with almost / all classs of business everywhere. A feeling of cheery optimism is appar- , ent and there is a general disposition to forget the troubic<j and bad times of 1926. ; The resumption of work in the coal mines occurred too close to the - Christmas holidays to permit the heavy industries to resume fully before the ciid of the year, but there . is abundant evidence of an early im- - prove ment. The iron and steel trades '■ and a number of shipyards have :- more orders than for some time /•past. The engineering trades, par- •'. ticularly motors and electrical manu- ;. facturers, are also receiving a good number of orders and the textile - , trades, boot? shoe, pottery and chemical industries, are'all becoming in- '■ crcasingly active. The stock exchange wound up for 1926 in good form. Prices all round -. were remarkably Arm and there was , an almost entire absence of any sell-/ ing pressure. Certainly, the volume of business was not ,gr.eat, but ■ the firmness of gilt edgeds occasioned by %'■ the favourable reception accorded the conversion loan spread to other departments, with the' result that \ the tone all round was confident. ' '■ Good orders arc expected when the Exchange reopens on Monday.' Butter May Rise. ' The butter trade continues active "" and with an improvement in the industrial conditions throughout the country the demand is expected to i increase. The outlook from tho seller:*' point of view is regarded as ~N-p"romising. Supplies from New Zealand and Australia this month are plentiful, but decreasing Australian • shipments' point to something like a shortage before the season closes, and if the consumptive demand is maintained, as seems probable, it would not be surprising to see prices advnncc further. Discussing the wool outlook, the Schwartzo - Buchanan Company write: "Values of raw material today are more.in accordance with the value of the finished article than they have been for a considerable time, so that with wool on the present basis there should bo no likelihood of any serious decline, and though possibly prices may be affected in the early part of the year by the uncertainty of the franc's position, there will be a recovery later ..in the year. The fashion still tends towards fine goods, and even the present vogue for stockinette costumes made of merino or fine crossbred wool seems to have displaced the former vogue for coarse knitted goods. Thus the outlook for medium and coarse crossbreds is not clear. They look distinctly cheap;

certainly they cannot be very remunerative to the grower. Still there is no sign of any improved demand ior these styles, though by their very cheapness they may attract increased attention and create new outlets." LEADER'S MESSAGES. Premior Baldwin's New Year message says: "We have left behind a year of discord and industrial depression. .Let us resolve to repair the damage and restore the national prosperity in a spirit or goodwill." Mr Ramsay MacDonald's message says: "Most people will be glad to get rid of 1926. All will hope for more sanity and businesslike genius in the conduct of the nation's affairs in 1927."