ECONOMY OF BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26617, 31 December 1951, Page 4

ECONOMY OF BRITAIN

Prospect Of 1952 Recovery

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 29. -Business and financial circles predict an early shock and then a gradual recovery as an economic prospect for Britain in 1952, says Reuter’s financial editor.

..They say the shock may come with the publication of Britain’s gold and dollar losses during the last quarter, swollen by the repayment on Monday next of 175,000,000 dollars on the North American loans, the quarterly figures may be grave, but there should be an improvement from then on. * n respects the new Government has given hostages to fortune. One is the policy of closing the external gap by making money -tighter internally. So far the pinch has come only on the London Stock Exchange, but during the first quarter of 1952, the Government may be able to transfer the pinch to industry and business, ine idea is to enforce more competition with more rewards for efficiency and more penalties for inefficiency. There may be a little more danger of unemployment but not more than it takes to move people from wrong jobs into right jobs. These are waiting for them. & The other hostage to fortune is the T i e i C fSn nnJ 10 } c * aim the waiver of 111,000,000 dollars of interest on the iMorth American loans. This is widely regarded as a sprat to catch the whole of American military aid and goodwill.. Probably 1952 will 'avoid the extremes of both inflation and deflation. It begins with some reasonably good econojnic auspices.