WALL STREET'S NERVES
With a President unfriendly to the stock markets still in the saddle at Washington the American investor—and speculator— may perhaps be forgiven for some slight uneasiness whenever Wall Street falls. It has also been demonstrated that the market is now so " thin," in the sense that trading operations have been cut down, that resisting power has been severely im- paired. I cannot avoid a suspicion, however, that the American public is still 1929 conscious and consequently desperately afraid of over-staying the bull market. This seems to explain the musical chairs technique now apparent in Wall Street which causes investors to rush headlong for safety whenever the music seems to slow down.
How long will the music go on ? If trade indices can be trusted, for a very long time. The income of America's vast farming community will be even larger this year than in 1929 ; there are immense arrears of building and re-equipment work to be made up, all of which should spell a high level of industrial activity and an improving average of stock market prices for a long time ahead. At the moment, the market atmosphere in New York and London is so tenebrous that I still think only the boldest and strongest should venture into the open, so far as speculative purchasers are concerned. Most investors will be prepared to take a hand at rather higher prices under clearer skies.
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