Finance—Public & Private
The Investor's Dilemma
THE lot of the investor nowadays, like that of Gilbert's Policeman, is scarcely a happy one. A combination of circumstances, amongst which must be included Unparal- leled stagnation of trade and lack of confidence, have pro- duced such a glut of money and such cheap • Money rates that it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain a living income upon the best class of investment stocks. The British Government, rightly enough, has 'taken advantage of the situation to carry through a con- version operation which for the time being, at all events, has raised the national credit to a 31 per cent. basis: Yet the artificial character of the rise in British Funds is de- monstrated by the fact that so far from the National Finances being in a flourishing condition- the reverse is the • case. So much so that the. harassed investor who can now only obtain 31 per cent. on a Government stock has, never- theless, to submit to a 5s. income tax which means that his '34 per cent. is reduced to £2 12s. 6d. net, while in addition the investor if he is also a householder has to submit to further heavy charges in the shape of local rates.
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