MIGHT AS WELL CLOSE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19338, 31 May 1937, Page 5

MIGHT AS WELL CLOSE

HOME STOCK MARKETS NEW TAX KILLS INTEREST INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY (Eloc. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Peed. May 31, noon.) LONDON, May 30. Tt is scarcely an exaggeration to say that the stock markets might as well be closed business is so slender. Ihe revised version of the defence contribution has robbed then, of every shred of interest.

Meanwhile, the forces against the tax are massing. A Conservative motion lor the rejection of the Finance Bill is unlikely to be carried, as it would mean the overthrow of the Government, but it is lioped that the fact that an influential section of the party has taken this extreme course will impress Mr. Neville Chamberlain. The attack is likely to be supported from all sections of the House, even Labour members, who favour taxation on profits and consider that the defence contribution, is an extremely clumsy way of' doing so.

The commodity markets are also quiet. They have shown a tendency to drift downwards in the absence of speculative interest. The early summer is normally quiet, so that any marked revival in the near future is improbable. Rubber especially is disappointing in view of the strong statistical position of Malayan production, for April is well down compared with March. Butter Market Lifeless The butter market is lifeless. It lias barely maintained its present values, though there has been no selling pressure." The Whitsnn holidays, repercussions from the bus strike, and the threatened coal strike led buyers to hold 'oil' the market. Some livening of interest can now be expected.

The Economist's review of the stale of trade draws attention to the marked revival in exports, which indicates that recovery is proceeding in the right direction. Manufacturing costs are rising, but there are few indications of resistance to higher prices. Prospects in nearly all industries remain promising. Building activity is higher than ever and world industrial activity and international trade continue to expand. The volume of world trade is now only per cent below the 1929 level, and is still growing. Raw-material-producing countries continue to gain ground. Industrial production is expanding in Germany, Japan, Belgium, and Holland, but progress is slow in Prance.