AXIS INVESTORS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23880, 3 February 1941, Page 3

AXIS INVESTORS

LACK OF CONFIDENCE DIFFICULTIES IN ITALY LONDON, Jan. 27 The correspondent of the Times 0,11 the Italian frontier says that-, to finance tho war effort, Italy has evidently been obliged to borrow at far higher interest rates than Germany, whoso most recent bond issue boro interest at 3£ per cent, or" Britain, whose maximum rate is 3£ per cent. A new Italian bond issue, which is to be made in the middle of February, the first since Italy's entry into tho war, will bear 5 per cent interest, with an issue price of 97£, to be redeemable in nine years. It is added that this is the reason for the repeated attacks by Signor Gayda, tho authoritative Italian editor, on a small "clique of unpatriotic speculators throwing the market into an unhealthy state by booming commercial stocks as preferable to State securities, despite the fact that at present market prices these securities yield 5 per cent, and also carry substantial advantages regarding taxation, whereas the averago return on industrial stocks is only 3 per cent." The same situation has arisen in Germany, where legislative measures have been taken to correct a "skyrocket" movement in sharo prices. Quoting a statement in tho Frankfurter Zeitung, that the German share index immediately before tho war was 125.01, compared with 185.79 011 January 10 last, the correspondent adds: "The main reason for this movement in both Axis countries is that a majority of investors remember the total depreciation of all State securities of the Central. Powers alter they had lost the last war. These investors also lack confidence that the Axis will win the present war, and they prefer to hold industrial stocks because they represent concrete assets." JAPANESE SHIPPING BRITISH METHODS CRITICISED Reference to the effects of war on Japanese shipping was made at the half-yearly meeting of shareholders of: the Nippon Yuscn Kaisya line by the president, Mr. Noburu Ohtani. Quite j apart from the upheaval in Europe, whereby the company's services to Europe had been completely suspended, he said he wished to call the attention . of shareholders to the embargo which the United States, with the understanding of Great Britain, thought fit to , place 011 the export to Japan of certain materials and manufactured goods. He also referred to what be described ' as the undue exercise of ihe right of inspection of cargo on the company's vessels at various ports of British possessions, and said that all these unfriendly acts, as he felt justified in describing them, were not only bringing about a highly adverse effect 011 Japanese commerce and shipping, as was evidently intended, but could not bo of any benefit to the foreign nationals concerned, either at present or in the future. He gave the company's profit for tho half-year at yen 11,213.000 1 (about £700.000).

FOREIGN EXCHANGE Closing telegraphic rates for purchases and sales of foreign exchange Auckland on overseas centres 011 Saturday -were supplied by tho Bank of New South Wales as follows: February 1 T.T. T.T. Buying .Selling New York. dol. to S .. 3.2542 3.2050 Montreal, dol. to £ . . 3.0030 3.5290 Greece, drachmae to £ Java, fi. to £ .. .. 0.1 87 0.004 Manila, pesos to £ . 0.559 0.4*12 Hongkong, pence to dol. 18% 19 1-32 India, pence to rupee .. 22 5-32 22 49-6-1 Ceylon, pence to rupee . 22 5-32 22 49-04 Shanghai, pence to dol. -64 Singapore, pence to dol. 34 41-04 So 41*04 fi. Af„ .CN.Z. X'S.A. 100 123 125 London. £N.Z. £nt. 100 124/7/6 125 Australia, £A. ,CN.Z. 100 100/10/- 100 Fiji, jL'F. £N.Z. 100 . . 00 SS/12/6 QUOTATIONS IN LONDON LONDON. Jan. 31 Foreign exchange rates are:—New York (dollar), 4.03; Montreal (dollar). 4.45: Switzerland (fr.). 17.35; India (rupee). Is (id; Hongkong (dollar), 15d; Kobe (yen). 14 Vkl; Shanghai (dollar), 3 27-0 Id; Argentine (pesos), 17.043; Stockholm (kr.), 10 00. SIIAREMARKET INDICES London Financial Times (1926 equals 100): —• Govt. Home Indus- Gold securities rails trials mines 1910 (hitrh) . 111.7 58.2 101.0 200.4 1.9 tO (low) . 104.8 31.9 01.1 138.8 January 29 . 112.3 42.(5 59.3 175.2 January 30 . 112.3 42.(5 89.0 171.9 New York Dow Jones' (192(3 equals 1001: — 20 Rails 30 Indnst. Shares sold 1040 (hitrh) . 32.(57 152.80 1910 (low) . 22.15 111.84 , January 30 . 28.17 124.05 780,000 January 31 . 28.25 124.13 470,000 February 1 . 28.10 123.28 310,000 SILVER AND TIN VALUES LONDON, Jan. 31 Silver quotations pro unchanged at 23Vid <1 standard ounce and 25 1-1 (id a fine OUlll'O. Tin ([notations are firm. Spot: Buyers, £250 a ton; sellers, £250 10s.. Forward: Buyers, £257 15s; sellers. £259. WHOLESALE EGG PRICES Tho Auckland F.gg Marketing Committee advises that (here is no change in the price of eggs, standard hen eggs being Is 1 l'/ ? d a dozen and largo duck eggs Is.9!id, with tho usual differentials for other sizes. LONDON COMMODITY PRICES LONDON, Feb. I Friday's "Closing prices in the commodity markets were:—Rubber: Para, 13d per ib; plantation and smoked, 12 9-Hsd. Cotton: Spot. 8.05 d per lh; March. 8.31 d. Turpentine: Small lots sold in London at approximately 72s per cwt.

AUCKLAND GAS MEETING The annual meeting of the Auckland Gas Company is to he held at noon on Monday, February 21, and not 011 February 12, as stated on Saturday. MINING NEWS Argo (West Coast). —390z from 12,000 yards in 127 hours. CALL AND DIVIDEND LIST Dividends— Due (I. J. Coles—int., 7 p.c. .. To-day Clirh. Gas —final, 3 p.c. .. .. Feb. 7 Com. Bank A us. —int., pf„ 2 p.c.; ord, 3 I-a p.c. . . . . Feb. 7 X.'/,. Insurance —interim, is .. Feb. ,12 N.Z. Refrig.—sy 3 p.c. p.a. . . Feb. r_> Queensland Nat. Bk. —int., 5 p.c. p.a. Feb. 13 K.D.V. Boxes—int.. 3 p.c. p.a. . . Feb. 1 1 Wwtlis (W.A.) —pref., 1 p.c. . . Feb. 15 W'wths (Svd.) —Ist pref., 5 p.c.; 2nd. :s!i p.c. . . . . . . Feb. 15 Mt. Morgan—pf„ int. (sixth). -1 p.c. Feb. 15 Kanieri Gold—-ord. and def., Is . . Feb. 15 Dom. I. and H.—int., 5 p.c. p.a. Feb. 20 Bk. N.S.W.—int., quart., (is a snare (Aust.) . . Feb. 27 Emperor Mines —Od a share .. Feb. 28 Berlei (N.Z.)—final. 2s a share . . Feb. Auckland Gas —final, 1% p.c. . . Feb. Loloma Gold—ls a share .. .. Meh, 8 Eleciro Zinc—pref. and ord., int.. (> p.c. . . . . . . . . Mch. 14 Calls— Reid Rubber—2s Od a sharo Mch. 19 A.C.l.—con., 5s .. .c.-.. Itch. 31