“BULL AND BEAR TACTICS"

Shannon News, 20 November 1928, Page 4

“BULL AND BEAR TACTICS"

LONDON MERCHANT’S DENIAL,

CAUSE OF PRICE FLUCTUATION

An erroneous impression frequently expressed in New Zealand that concerted “bull and bear” movements were quite general on the English markets was cqntradicted by Mr. A. C. Rowson, a Tooley ,Street merchant, when in the Taranaki district. , ■

The question . asked was whether anything could be done, short of the fanners controlling their produce in London, to avoid the breaking, of the market by firms which, on a falling market, sold out quickly. Such firms, it was suggested to Mr. Rowson, frequently showed better returns than those which, in the interests of the farmers, tried to sustain the market. The reply was that the considerable fluctuations in price noticeable in certain, intervals during the season were the result mainly of the buyer rather than of any concerted action- on the part of the sellers. Buyers’ views of the market were governed largely by sentiment. Sentiment developed by: the trend of trade conditions at home and abroad. Such factors were- statistics of stock, shipments, production; industrial conditions, consumptive demand, competition of other foodstuffs, competitive varieties and a host of other matters. All the factors were available, through the various channels of information. . O In the majority of cases'the buyers formed the same conclusions from the information before them, and acted accordingly. Very frequently the majority was wrong, as the production taken into consideration had a knack of varying consider;}bly as time went on; It was the majority of these factors in conjunction with a considerable variation of production and consumption from day to day throughout the world, which brought about a continual and sometimes apparently erratic fluctuation in market price. Its effect, however, was to exactly balance the quanity of produce manufactured with the quantity consumed. . .