LITTLE FEAR FOR FUTURE

Taranaki Daily News, 3 January 1928, Page 9

LITTLE FEAR FOR FUTURE

ENGLISH TRADE OPTIMISM BRIGHT OUTLOOK FOR 1928 SPIRIT OF CO-OPERATION ► . ■; Bj Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright. Received Jan. 2, 7.5 p.m. A- and N.Z, London, Dec. 31. The Stock Exchange wound up the year in great style yesterday with quite a boom in British funds, some of which closed not far from the highest point of the year. Business had been somewhat restricted since the resumption on Wednesday, as is usual at the end of the year, but there was a firmness all round.

Just before the House closed the annotincement was made that the list for fresh applications for the new Treasury 15 per cent, bonds had been closed two days before the advertised time. This evidence that subscriptions had been very' heavy had the effect of causing a * funds to advance. This news led to the revival of talk of an early reduction in the bank rate and of cheaper money, and brokers and jobbers separated for the New Year holiday in the happiest frame of mind. Dominion stocks share the firmness, and it is satisfactory to see the New South Wales loan scrip quoted at about l-16th premium. This is a good reply to the pessimists who had been uttering nasty criticisms about the State and its finances because the underwriters had to take 62 per cent, of this loan. Some measure of the upward tendency on the Stock Exchange during the year may be gathered from the tact that 365 representative securities selected by the Bankers’ Magazine appreciated by just over 4 per cent. Discussing wool prospects, the Yorkshire Observer says: “With smaller supplies from Australia and no compensation elsewhere, no one expects ar- drastic fall in prices, for, assuming that a slight reduction be possible, competition which would thereby be encouraged would prevent jt from proceeding far. The wish for cheaper wool is general, but top-makers are not prepared to act upon the assumption that it will be obtained. They are not deviating from the policy of being on the safe side by basing quotations upon the actual cost of the raw material. It is reported on reliable authority that the German and french stocks of raw material are only normal, and in the circumstances it is onlv reasonable to suppose that German and French competition will continue to be considerable and prevent any undue sagging of values. It is reported that United States importers are seriously considering replenishment of foreign wools, and they may be keener competitors for raw material than they have been in the first half of the season. We eannot expect Japan and Russia to drop out entirely and on the whole Bradford will have its work cut out to get in on a favourable level.” An optimistic view of British trade and industry is taken by Lord Gainford, president of the Federation of British Industries. He says that, “taken as a whole British industry looks forward to 1928 with less misgiving than in any year since the war. It is now generally jecognised that there has been in recent years a great increase in our internal Dade, but that comparatively speaking our export trade has been depressed. Fortunately there are fairly definite grounds for the hope that the next twelve months will see a recrudescence of our overseas commerce. The period of falling prices is at an end, and so is the period of the artificial scarcity of gold, which gave rise to this. For the first time since the boom of 1910 gold has flowed into the Bank of England in re.ponse to natural exchange movements. Moreover, no less than half the world’s tonnage of shipping under construction is being built round the shores of the British Isles, which is most welcome news from the point of view of national prestige. “I find grounds for optimism in the marked change in the atmosphere of delations between employers and employees,” continued Lord Gainford. “If only we can retain and develop this spirit of sympathy and co-operation there need be little fear for the future.”