ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 August 1938, Page 7

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

. + ALARM WIDESPREAD IN EUROPE PORTENTS & PREDICTIONS. SOME FEARS OF ONSET OF DEPRESSION. LONDON, August 10. The scramble for gold continues unabated. French business men, alarmed at the sudden return of M. Daladier, the French Premier, from the Mediterranean, sold francs heavily today, and many in London are inclined to the view that it is not merely nasal catarrh that has caused Mr Chamberlain, British Prime Minister, to interrupt his holiday. The bulk of the orders came from the Continent, but a novel development is the large number of purchases on behalf of America, South America, and the Far East. In a statement to the French Press today, M. Daladier declared that France’s financial position was satisfactory, deposits at the moment exceeding withdrawals. The savings bank situation was also contrary to normal holiday expectations. M. Daladier denied any impending revision of the tripartite monetary agreement between Britain, France, and the United States. The Berlin correspondent of “The Times” reports that apprehension is also spreading in Germany. Prices on the Berlin Stock Exchange declined an average of five points, which is one of the sharpest falls since the Nazis seized power. Company reports indicate the presence of all the classical accompaniments to the onslaught of a depression, and complain that, owing to rising costs, the expansion of profits has not kept pace with the expansion of sales. Wages, however, have been kept low, unlike the cost of capital. A continuance of low wages, it is felt, may yet delay the break in German industrial activity.

GOLD HOARDING. SIGNS 'OF APPREHENSION IN STOCK MARKETS. (Recd. This Day, 10.50 a.m.) LONDON, August 10. Gold hoarding continues, but purchases are on a smaller scale. There is evidence that the market is suffering from indigestion, the effects of political fears spreading to the stock markets, where most issues have been marked down sharply.