A SHARP FALL.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19459, 5 November 1928, Page 11

A SHARP FALL.

SPECULATIVE SHARES. COMMERCIAL SUMMARY. (CKXTED PBESB ASSOCIATION —BT ELECTBIO TZLEGBAPH—COPYBIGHT.) (Received November Brd, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, November 3. A change came over the Stock ' Exchange during the last week, the plethora of new issues having proved more than speculators could digest. A reaction in these speculative industrials was inevitable after such a prolonged upward movement, and it is consequently not surprising that there has been considerable liquidation, notably of shilling shares. There has been nothing like a panic, but many of these new shares ha.ve fallen sharply and numerous speculators who thought they were making easy money by buying them have had a salutary lesson. But while speculative stocks have been having a bad time gilt-edges have been holding their own fairly well, and though business in them has been small, quotations have moved within narrow limits, and war loans closed strong. Colonials have generally been quietly steady, and thougli the City of Sydney loan met with such poor support, and dealings in it opened at seven-eighths discount, underwriters are not perturbed, for, as one financial newspaper points out, the stock is likely to be readily absorbed, as the giltedged market is short of stock at attractive buying prices. Bubber Market. The end of the Stevenson rubber restriction scheme has not so far had any effect on the market and the bestinformed people do not anticipate that it will cause any serious fall, f° r will be remembered that prices declined sharply when the Government announced the abandonment of the scheme oh April 4th, so that the effect of removing the restriction has been discounted. There has been some anxiety regarding stocks which have accumulated at Malaya, which are variously estimated at between 75,000 and we|l over 100,000 tons of raw rubber, which it was feared might be thrown on the market all at once, but it is now believed that there is no danger of this. Banks and Credit In its quarterly trade forecast, the Federation of British Industries states that the outlook continues unsettled but with a prospeot of improvement in the new year. The Federation adds: '•'There are many indications that the Bank of England may soon be m a sufficiently strong position to exercise something approaching its pre-war freedom of action, thus making the actions of the New York Federal Reserve Bank of less consequence, and unless there is an abnormallv drastic restriction or credit in America there is no reason why the New Year should not see considerable easing of our internal monetary problem, accompanied even by a reduction of the bank rate." New Savings Scheme. Scottish joint stock banks contemplate an interesting innovation which is likely to encourage thrift amongst the humblest classes of the population. The proposal is to open . deposit accounts for any sum from Is upwards, allowing the usual Savings Bank interest of 2i per cent. Hitherto the banks have not opened deposit accounts for less than £l. The course now proposed will open the doors of Scottish bankß to a large new class of depositor previously barred unless he were resolute enough to save up piecemeal his first £l. The joint stock banks will thus be in competition with the Post Office Savings Bank and similar institutions. Tea Consumption. The report of the Indian Tea Association for the season 1927-28 contains interesting statistics which show the consumption per head of population in 1927 reaching the highest figure yet attained, just over 91b, which is almost double the figure for 1880, and nearly eight times that for 184(1 the year when statistics of tea were first kept. The increase seems confined to tea alone among the beverages, since the figures of coffee and cocoa have been comparatively stationary since 1920, and in both cases are less to-day than in 1918, less than one lb of coffea being consumed per head in 1927 and 2 l-31b less cocoa.—Australian .Press Association.