CHEAP MONEY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 148, 24 June 1932, Page 4

CHEAP MONEY.

AMERICAN REDUCTION. DISCOUNT RATE LOWERED. NOW 2'/ 3 PER CENT. (Received 10.30 a.m.) NEW YORK, Juno 23. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday cut the rediscount tate from 3 per cent to 2%. The reduction to this figure, which is the rate at which member banks may borrow at the Reserve Bank, had been expected. When the .bank begun its vigorous credit expansion orosramme through buying United States Government securities in April, a heavy outflow of gold tended to offset ths programme. With the outflow virtually ended when the Bank of France completed the transfer of its balances recently, it became feasible for the Reserve Bank to take another step toward facilitating the free flow of credit.

BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS. MORE GOLD COMING IN. SHORT LOAN'S ARK CHEAPEB. DOWN TO 3 PEK CENT. (Received 10 a.m.) LONDON, Juno 23. The Hank of England return* for the week ended .limn I'M. as compared with those for the week ended June 10. are as follow : June 23. June 10. r £ Note circulation 338,548,000 8."7,4U6,C00 Coin 140,280,000 130,033,000 Notes in reserve rrJ.173.0«K/ '<•>, 051,000 Govt. deposits 3r>.r>77,<M>o Other deposits 108,794,000 121,533,000 (Jovt. securities U(i.(U4.000 (58,775,000 Other securities 40,707,000 38,102,000 Proportion of reserve to liabilities 37.10 37.10 SHORT LOANS AND BILLS. Short loans, 3 per cent, compare with 11 per cent lnot week, and three months' bills, 1 1-32 per cent, compare with 1 1-1G per cent last week. The Bank or England rate of discount is 2i per cent, to which it was reduced on May 12 from 3 per cent. Not for a considerable period has money been so cheap on the London market. The low rates should prove a stimulus to business, hut it is evident that adverse factors are preventing industrialists from taking advantage (it me opportunities that are now tittering in the way of. cheap finance.

CONSOLS AND COLONIAL STOCKS.

BRITISH FUNDS FIRM. COLONIALS BETTER ALL HOUND. (Received 11 a.m.) LONDON, Juno 23. The following table gives quotations for consols ami colonial inscribed stocks, coiunured with those of June 10: — Price. Variation. £ 8. (1. 8. (1. Consols, 21 G5 O 0 20 Ot Funding Loan, 4, 10tiO-UO 1»2 1.". 0 2O Ot War Loan, 5, 11)20-17 .. 102 0 0 5 Of Conversion Loan, 3J .. «0 5 0 20 Of Victory Bonds, 4 IQ2 IB 0 1"> <>t Com'wealth, 0, 191,1-75 »3 lo o .".7 (if Com'wealth, C>, 1031-41 100 10 0 30 Ot Victorian, 8, 1920-40 .. C 3 32 <i 10 Ot Victorian, Si, 1920-40 . 00 5 0 25 Ot Victorian, SA, 1930-40 . 95 0 0 40 Ot Victorian, 5, 1032-42 .. 88 3 0 85 (»t Victorian, 43, 1040<>0 . 82 , r j O ."{5 Ot N.S.W., 4, 1038 9(> 0 0 (iO Ot ff.S.W., 3, 1035 83 7 0 07 (>t N.S.W., 3}, 1930-50 U4 15 <) 20 Ot N.s.w., r.j, 1922-32 .... oo 5 o 2 <>t n.s.w., c>l, m:io-4O 100 2 c 77 6f N.S.W.. G. 1930-40 00 10 0 70 Ot Queensland, B, 1040-00 . S7 2 <i ,'!7 <>t Queensland, :t. 1922-47 . 02 7 (! 12 Gt Queensland, G, 1030-40 . 08 0 O 72 (it New Zealand, 4J, 1048-58 80 15 o 52 (it New Zealand, HJ. HMO . 78 12 (J 15 Ot New Zealand, 3, 1045 . 71 o 0 r> Ot New Zealand, fi, 1030-31 102 17 (1 10 Ot S. Australia. 3J, 1!.'39 . 78 5 0 S2 (it S.A.. 3, 1010 or after .. 54 0 O 30 Ot S. Australia, (i*. 1930-40 100 10 0 47 (it Tasmania, :',J, 1920-40 . 77 10 O 50 Ot Tasmania, r>. 1920-40 .. 7M 15 0 Do Ot Tasmania, 04, 19IS0-40 . 300 15 0 25 Ot W. AilS,, 3i, 1929-35 ... 80 5 0 5 Ot W. Australia, 3, 1930-40 83 I) 0 47 C.f W. Australia, C, 1915-35 90 0 0 30 Ot tlJlglier. 'Lower.

FOREIGN EXCHANGES

DOLLAR EASIER. (British Official Wireless.) (Received 11.30 a.m.) RUGBY, June 23. Foreign exchanges on London today, compared with rntes previously quoted:— June 23. June 22. Par. Montreal, dol. . 4.U 4.17 4.80 C New York, dol. " ""' " ''2* J c ' ! <> Paris, franc . 9115-16 02J 124.21 Brussels, belga . .. ••- -■• ■ ''2 ■> i Geneva, fr. .. 18.55 IS.fiOJ 25.22 Amsterdam, fl. 5.145 8.955 12.107 Milan, lire ... 71 71 3-10 112.40 Berlin, r.m. ... 15 7-:t2 15.215 20.13 Stockholm, kr. 10.50 10.30 lS.l.ifl Copenhagen, kr. Hi 11-32 lSjf 18.159 Oslo, kr. 20 5-10 20 5-16 18.159 Vienna, sch. .. 33 32.50 34.585 Prague, kr. ... 121.15 122.50 104.25 llelsingfors, mk. 215 215 129.2:1 Madrid, pes. . 4313-1G 4315-10 2D.221 Lisbon, escu. .. 110 110 110 Athens, dr. ... 557.5 557.5 !175 Bucharest, lei . C2O 020 813.0 Rio. mil 5 5 5.9 d Kucnos A., dol. — 34 -17.<!2d Montevideo, dol. 30 30 Did Bombay, rupee 17 01-04 IS c>l-fit 18d Shanghai, taels 20 1-1-G 20 3-10 ♦ Hongkong, dol. 153 3 5.50 * Yokohama, yen 18| IDS 24.5S Warsaw, zlotys 32.25 — 43.38 Belgrade, din. . 225 225 270.31 All quotations nre for cable transfers. •Determined on the price of silver.

HEMP PRODUCTION.

£10,000 GOES BEGGING

The Government's bonus of £10,000 for a commercially practicable method or process of effecting major improvements in the preparation and manufacture of New Zealand hemp is unlikely to be awarded in view of the fact that no process giving promise of being accepted has been submitted.

Entries were originally to have been submitted- to the Government not later than November 30 of last year, but the closing date was postponed for six months. Fn spite of this, it is stated that it has been impossible to find a process that complies with the specifications laid down when the bonus was offered in February, 1930. It was stipulated in the conditions that the machine or process in regard to which the whole or any part of the bonus was to be paid should be recommended by a committee set up by the Government. The £10.000 was to have been paid wholly or in part for a commercially practicable process of extracting and dressing the fibre of New Zealand hemp (phormiuin tenax), whether by machinery or ltherwise./ There was to be obtainable i greatly improved quality of fibre, marketable at a higher 'price, a considerably greater quantity of strong while fibre pel ton of green leaf, or a substantial reduction in the cost of producing the fibre. Various other conditions were attached to the award of the bonus, but it is stated that the condition concerning the extracion of fibre from not less than 500 tons of green leaf under test requirements has not been fulfilled to the satisfaction of the Government.