RUSH TO LEND.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 368, 9 March 1932, Page 1

RUSH TO LEND.

Remarkable Change on the London Market. LOANS OVER-SUBSCRIBED. RUGBY, March 7. Applications for the issue of £1,500,000 of 5 per cent stock by the Metropolitan District Railway amounted to over £50,000.000. This is the third recent issue of stock to be heavily over-subscribed. The Croydon Corporation asked for £750,000 and was offered £15,000,000, and the Nlvassaland Government required £2,000,000 and the applications reached a total of about £60,000,000. These over-subscriptions are regarded as a demonstration of the great change that has come over the investment market during the past few weeks. Although a number of industrial stocks relapsed, owing to French selling, the firmness of British funds has maintained and several Australian State stocks have improved bv 20s to 40s. The financial editor of the “ Morning Post ” says that the removal of the foreign exchange restrictions has led to the stimulation of foreign purchases of sterling, both spot and forward, .as well as to increased offers of shortterm foreign balances to the banks, with the result that the problem of the hour is to prevent sterling exchange rising too rapidly. “ The situation is peculiar and difficult,” he adds, “as trade activities will not permit the profitable economic use of large foreign balances. A reduction of the Bank rate on March 10 seems a foregone conclusion.”

PRICE OF GOLD DROPS. Sterling Makes Unusual Rise. (Received March 9, noon). RUGBY, March 8. Sterling made a remarkable rise against -other leading currencies on the market to-day. From an overnight level of 3.53£ the New Ycrk rate shot up to 3.71 J dollars. The recovery automatically caused a reduction in the price of gold.