RISE IN SHARE VALUES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 43, 20 February 1940, Page 4

RISE IN SHARE VALUES.

AUSTRALIAN INDUBTRIALB. NOW ABOVE PRE-WAR LEVELS. Now that sufficient time has elapsed for the wartime economy to develop, prices in Australian share markets have, as a whole, become established at a higher level than that immediately before the war. In tracing the course of the upward movement in various classes of investments since the decline in August,. the weekly review of the Sydney Stock Exchange Research Bureau, says that widespread and consistent attention has been paid to industrial companies. These will have to meet heavier taxation, and provide for increasing production costs, but policies of development and expansion are being implemented, and opportunities have been provided both for the extension of existing concerns, and for the establishment of new industries as a result of the restrictions imposed either directly or indircctly upon imports. The placing of extensive Government orders has given a marked impetus to production. The circulation of an increasing volume of money is strengthening effective demand, and there is a lively expectation that Australia is entering upon a new industrial era. This confidence has been reflected in share prices, the review adds. A slight fall occurred in the index during the early weeks of the war, but recovery began in October, and has proceeded since without interruption.