SLACKER BUSINESS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1035, 28 July 1930, Page 11

SLACKER BUSINESS

BRITISH TRADE REVIEW A LOSS OF CONFIDENCE United P.A.—By Telegraph—Copyright Reed. 9.5 a.m. LONDON, Saturday. With the approach of the holiday season, business on the Stock Exchange -always begins to fall away. This year the slack period commenced earlier than usual, and there is little indication of any public interest, either in investment or speculative stocks. Gilt-edgeds have felt the effect of the continuous drain of gold from the Bank of England, chiefly to France, and British funds have lost some of the appreciation in values which they experienced a fortnight ago. Dominion stocks have also been dull. The French gold withdrawal led to some talk of an increase in the bank rate; but according to the “Financial News,” the balance of opinion is against the likelihood of a change before the end of August. “The Economist’s” review of the state of trade again makes rather dismal reading. It says: “The position as revealed by the June statistics is even more discouraging than a month ago. It is not surprising, there is in evidence on the one hand of a general loss of confidence and on the other a feeling that things will be better in autumn. To deal with the latter feeling first, it may be said at once that there is no ground for supposing that there will bo any improvement in trade above the normal revival of activity that follows the holiday period in all years, good and bad alike. This year the depression is too general and too deep-seated for its end to be of sudden definite character. In fact, if the autumn harvests are such as to precipitate a further decline of commodity prices, the autumn revival is likely to bo less marked than usual. A general loss of confidence in business circles is offly natural; but it is equally a state of mind calculated to prolong trade depression • and not accelerate its termination. The Australian apple season is drawing to a close under depressing conditions. Importers will not be sorry when the last cargo has been handled. Recent arrivals have consisted largely or poor quality Tasmanians. and as they came on a market glutted with soft fruits, both English arid Continental, it is not surprising that the apples made only low prices. Cooking sorts, especially, have don** badly, for the supplies of raspberries and currants have been enormous. Indeed, the arrivals of these from the Continent have ' been so large that English growers have had to take unremunerative prices for the crops, some actually letting the fruit rot rather than pay for carriage to the markets. The only Australian apples which aro doing any good are hardsoft like Rokewoods, Granny Smiths and the best Sturmers; but many of the last-named were too large and over-ripe.

A considerable qauntity of New Zealand apples has been placed in cold store in the hope of better prices after the glut of soft fruits has ended. THE TIN SITUATION

The Tin Producers’ Association states that as a result of co-operation between the world’s chief producers, it is estimated that an aggregate cux*tailment of approximately 17,100 tons in the output of metallic tin will bo effected to March 31, 1930, without reckoning on the reductions being made by the Chinese producers in Malaya, Siam and China; but even this reduction does not satisfy one leading firm of metal merchants, which. In a letter to the newspapers, asks whether what is being done is enough to save the situation, and pointing out that temporary improvement is not what is wanted in the mining industry, as the whole of those mines which stop work for two months will not derive any benefit unless any rise in price is maintained after they have resumed production. Commenting upon this viewpoint, the “Financial Times” says that unless there is considerable early improvement in consumption, of which there is no real indication as yet, the current restriction scheme cannot do more than keep the present unwieldy stocks from further expanding.