WISE INVESTMENT
HAVING ceased to be the scene of any great activity in stocks and shares Throgmorton Street has become a vast and'rather noisy debating society. The main item on the agenda is, of course, the Trade Recession and the questions most hotly debated are : How soon and how far ? It is significant of the change which has taken place in City sentiment in recent months that those who are prepared to discuss a probable slackening of industrial activity from its current high level need no longer run the risk of being dubbed either fools or knaves. On the contrary, the risk of earning either one or both of these epithets now attaches to anyone who still professes to belieire that greater prosperity lies not far ahead. For the moment the Blue Sky School, having lost most of their money, are in danger of losing their reputations too. But, as everyone knows, Stock Exchange opinion swings about with discon- certing swiftness and violence, and I shall be surprised if the pessimists are not proved to have painted the picture in too sombre colours.
For several weeks I have tried to remind investors—and speculators—that the weather in Throgmorton Street had definitely ceased to be fair and warm and become cloudy and unsettled. There is still no reason to anticipate storms and blizzards, but it is obviously prudent to be prepared for grey skies and occasional squalls. The technical condition of markets, both in London and New York, is fortunately very strong, so that prices should be held fairly firmly until more decisive news about trade is available.
* *
Previous page
