Loan Proposals

Taranaki Daily News, 24 June 1915, Page 5

Loan Proposals

AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT. GENERAL WELCOME TO THE LOAN. SMALL INVESTORS' OPPORTUNITY. Received June 23, 5 p.m. London, June -2. The demand for loan prospectuses is enormous. City men welcome tUe scheme ag a bold, attractive, and clever one. The Stock Exchange unanimously approved of the conditions. There have been heavy transactions and conversions, especially in Consols. Many insurance companies made large applications. The Cardiff coalowners and shipowners applied for over a million, and the staff of the New South Wales Agency Genera! agreed to sitbscriC at least £j per head. (Times and £cdni;y Sim Ser\ice,.) ' Received June 33, 6.10 p.m. L - London. June "22. A prominent financier opine- that t'ie new war loan is an inteie-ling experiment, and that it will probably all deposits in savings banks and lead to withdrawals from the Post 'Office banks owing to the superior interest. The idea of touching the small investor h»> ne\ei' before been tried. The (Internment insured success by t'ie \ery liberal term 8 , which are likelv to attract foreign capita] and re-est»Wi«h the rate of exchange. Trade unionists regard (he loan favorably

£1,000,000,000 WANTED. FOR THE WAR AM) AFTER. London, June -iThe loan p/r -:<r - im-. shows plain!;.' that only holders of the new war loan have the option of converting the old loan or Consols. Tli.- Tiviisiiry point- out that the loan the war loan and great funding operations. Tt i= estimated that 350 millions of Consols are in the hands of the public, and it is expected that holders of 2-50 million will convert, which will mean » subscription of 3*50 millions, it is expected that 2(HI millions (if the oM war loan will he converted. T.ii- will 'carrv a of '2l'.) millions. Neither war stocV nor Consul., can ».e converted mile-- the holder i< prepared to subscribe an equivalent marl et of the new stock. The official expect a-

tion is that Consols will probably drop to oi or 58 in October. The gain to the State will be the wiping out of a third of the earlier capital indebtedness if all the Consols are converted. Though the amount of the loan is not stated, it is not unlimited, as the House of Commons' resolution confines it to the supply voted for the present year; that is between nine hundred and a thousand millions. Mr. McKenna stated that the Government will be disappointed if it does not get 600 millions of new money. The Time? fears tliat, in view of the new ibafiis of credit established, some severe readjustments will have to he made in the value of certain colonial government and high-class corporation issues.

Mr. McKenna, in the House of Commons, said tbe Bank of England was prepared to rediscount Treasury Bills to enable the holders to subscribe to the new loan. Mr. McKenna said the Government thought it prudent not to fix the amount of the loan. He reminded the people that every effort was not only necessary to carry on the war, but would bear fruit in enabling Britain to maintain her financial preeminence when the war was over. However long the war lasted there was a future, and thev did not want to see it crippled by neglect of prudence and economyi. He who subscribed now, would be doing an act of mercy and benefit himself and the country more than he who saved in order to subscribe when better able to hear the strain after the war. If Consols were all converted that would mean an application for at least four hundred millions of the new loan. The methods of issue had been arranged to meet every class and every purse. He hoped all would curtail their customary expenditure to subscribe to the loan. Mr. Asquith announced that a Bill t,r> postpone the elections for a year would be introduced forthwith.