FINANCE AND INVESTMENT
THE Chancellor of the Exchequer is launching his first offensive with a drive to tap small savings. While there is nothing particularly novel about either the new series of Savings Certificates or the new 3 per cent. bonds, both offer something which the average investor of small or moderate means is always seeking. Anyone who buys the new Savings Certificates at 15s. has the Government's promise that it will accumulate to 17s. 6d. after five years and to 20S. 6d. after ten years. That makes a powerful appeal to the investor who is not concerned with current income but who likes to feel that the value of his capital is trending, not downwards, but upwards. Investors to whom current income is important as well as security of capital will naturally turn to the new " Baby Bonds " which are, in effect, a special form of seven-year deposit offered to give a yield of 3 per cent. These bonds are not negotiable in the ordinary sense—the maximum individual holding is limited to Li,000—but they are cashable at par plus accrued interest on six months' notice being given.
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