STOCKS AND SHARES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23615, 27 March 1940, Page 5

STOCKS AND SHARES

SYDNEY EXCHANGE REOPENS OVERSEAS LEAD AWAITED (Received March '2O, 0 p.m.) SYDNEY, March '2<J Following the Easter vacation the Sydney share market was dull. Investors were inclined to mark time and await a lead from overseas. Prices generally were steady. Sales included: .i; s (l Bank New Zealand . . . . I 10 0 Bank ,Ne\v South Wales .. '2d 15 0 Commercial Banking Sydney 18 i) O Wincheombe, Carson .. i h u Tooths Breweries .. .. -1- 0 A.C.I. I 15 (I Ditto (con.l . . . . 0 14 Broken Tlill Proprietary .., '-! <> ii Kleclrolytic Zinc .. .. 1"> 0 W. Adams o i:t « W. R. Carpenter .. .. - - 0 Mount Lycll .. • ■ I' l 0 New Broken Hill Consol. 017 IV 2 Emperor . . • • 015 0 T'ho Melbourne Stock Exchange has not yet reopened.

COMPULSORY SAVING MR. J. M. KEYNES'. PLAN AVOIDING INFLATION BANK CHAIRMAN'S SPEECH [from our own colutkstonoknt] LONDON, March 1 "I have read Mr. Keynes' plan for compulsory saving or deferred pay and 1 can only say that it has been carefully studied, but that it has not been rejected." Lord Hankcy made this statement to the House of Lords during a debate 011 methods of avoiding inflation. At the same time, Mr. J. M. Keynes was addressing a large meeting of M.P.'s of all parties at the House of Commons. He explained bis scheme in detail, and answered a number of questions. Members were impressed. Decision to act upon Mr. Keynes' plan rests with tho Treasury.

Spiral of Costs and Wages Tn the House of Lords, the chairman of the National Bank of New Zealand, Lord Balfour of Burleigh, called attention to the fact that unless the consumption of goods by the civilian public could he drastically curtailed a vicious spiral of alternate rising of prices and wages was inevitable. Ho asked the Government what steps it proposed to take to limit consumption effectively. Inflation was the most unfair method of restricting consumption as it bore most heavily on the poor and those with fixed incomes. By raising costs it created difficulties for export trade. The restriction of civilian consumption would make available more shipping space for things the country wanted more and conserve the stock of its foreign exchange. Lord Stamp, economic adviser to the Government, said a great deal of retrenchment in consumption was possible before the nation as a whole had to live at a lower standard than in 1911. The House had to consider whether moral suasion, intellectual conviction, statutory compulsion, or an automatic method like inliation was necessary. Curtailing Consumption Replving for the Government, Lord 11 aukey, ".Minister without Portfolio, said the Bank of England indices of the volume of retail sales suggested that a considerable measure of economy had been exercised by the civilian public in personal expenditure in recent months. The development of Britain's war effort was moving on steadily, and as it gathered momentum tlie greater must he the extent to which civilian consumption in different directions must be curtailed. 'I his curtailment was important not only to keep in check the "vicious spiral," but to promote maintenance of a large export trade and provide means of purchasing the necessary raw materials from abroad. , . , .. Lord Balfour of Burleigh said no speaker came out in violent opposition to the scheme put forward by Mr. Keynes. He was glad that at all events the Government had not yet rejected it. CHRISTCHURCJI EXCHANGE LAST WEEK'S BUSINESS Turnover on the Christchurch Stock Exchange during the t>hort period prior to Easter totalled £7OIO, against L' 20.979 for the previous week. Dealings in 'the various sections were: —Banks. £1078; insurance, 111.66; loan and agenev, C'2oß; frozen meat. £.'s3s; woolhsiis, 1:98; gas, 1171; brewer 1 "*, 1093; miscellaneous, £1154; mining, C 313. DECLINE IN STERLING LOWEST QUOTE SINCE 1933 NEW YORK. March 25 Sterling was quoted to-day at dollars to the pound, the lowest quote of the day being 3.685. This is the lowest since April, 1933. The weakness was the result of the European markets being closed and the operation of control regulations. AMERICAN SECURITIES POSITION IN AUSTRALIA

It was possible, that the Federal Government would follow the leaf] given bv the British Government and aconire the company's American securities, said Sir Dalziel Kelly, actingchairman of Capel Court Investment Company (Aust.), Limited, Melbourne, at the annual meeting. Returns of the American .holdings had been lodged wi tli the Commonwealth Hank, as agents for the Government, shortly after the outbreak of war. The chairman said that Australian industries could bo expected to work at high capacity for the duratioil of the war, and the trend toward selfsufficiency which began in the last war would again be intensified, resulting in u big stimulus to the production of many goods such as paper products, cotton goods and various forms of textiles which had been imported previously. NEW YORK SHAREMARKET Dow .Tones' averages (192(5 equals TOO) and turnover on the Now York Stock Exchange are as follows: — 20T?nil- HO Shares roads Indlist rials sold March 13 .. 30.07 118,32 fi.'to.ooo March 14 .. 30.52 118.11 000,000 March 15 .. 30.01 110..V1 B*o,ooo March 10 .. 20.78 115.70 -180,000 March IS .. 20.80 115.50 510,000 March 10 .. H 0.13 110.01 010,000 March 20 .. .10.10 11(1.73 580,000 March 22 .. 30.10 110.70 ,'IOO,OOO March 25 .. 30.01 M 0.25 500,000 Highest in 1939.—Railroads, M 0.90 (September 27); industrials, 151.22 'September 12). Lowest in 1939: J{ai 1 - roads, 24.15 (April IS); industrials, 121.4'.(April 8).,