SEARCHING FOR INCOME.
And if dissatisfied, as he may well be, by this very low yield on British Government stocks the investor looks , around for other directions in which he can employ his savings, the discovery is. soon made that there are few ' directions in which a substantially higher yield can be ' secured. • The. best class of British Corporation stocks, especially thosein the trustee group, give scarcely a better . yield than British Government stockS themselves, and while it is true that in the Colonial list, including Austral- ians, yields of 4 to 5 per cent. are obtainable in places, many of . these loans mature within a measurable distance 'of time, and at present there is - every prospect of the borrowing countries being able to renew on more favourable terms to themselves. Moreover, as a further consequence of this extreme cheapness of money the investor who -may be disposed -to stand- aside for time in the hope of getting a somewhat higher yield by and by is only able in the meantime to obtain -1 per cent. on any money he deposits with the bank.
And while I have no desire to pile up the agony, as it were, it can scarcely be very cheering to the investor to be told that a trade revival; which - everyone must sincerely desire, can only be possible if there is a further rise in prices of-commodities, that is, of foodstuffs and most other articles. In other words, a trade revival must be accompanied by a measure of increase in the cost Of living, a disheartening thought to the investor, who may not actually be in some business of a character likely to be benefited by the rise in commodity prices.
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