Market notes
CUSTOS
Leslie Adrian is on holiday
This is flaming August and on fine days the Stock Exchange is as browned off as the rest of the country. The leading firms are all say- ing that the market is too high, but equity shares refuse to go down, even when the Daily Telegraph tells them to do so. The explanation is simple. The Government has just poured nearly £500 million into the market by way of compensation for the steel takeover and the 1 . recipients have not yet completed their re- investment. The greater part of it has stayed in the gilt-edged market, which has been very firm, especially the 'shorts.' It is difficult to find a better hole to hide in than Exchequer 64- per cent 1972 at just under 99 to yield 6.65 per cent to gross redemption. Or Con- version 6 per cent 1972 at 98.
Apart from the selective buying by the life funds and unit trusts there is little going on in equities. Oil shares have been falling back under the Arab attack but Australian mines were eteered by the good quarterly report from Western Mining, whose nickel ore reserves were snore than doubled. The company has declared 50 per cent interest in a new copper mine in south Australia. Some brokers are pointing out at while British industrial equities look high, Australian look cheap, the index yielding 5.1 per cent with a price-earnings ratio of 12.5. But good advice must be taken in the selection, for there are many pitfalls in the Australian market.
In spite of the major difficulties which property companies face at present, the annual report from Regional Properties is refreshingly
t;ncouraging. The chairman, Mr Bernard Sut- on, states : 'In the absence of unforeseen cir- cumstances and given no material change in nditions, your Board confidently expect that should be possible to maintain the same rate dividend for the current year.'
' Associated British Picture Corporation, de- de Lord Hill's demand that its television ubsidiary, AR( Television, should combine with sociated-Rediffusion to operate the London •rneekday contract, remains a useful investment. . the latest annual report, the chairman re-
eals that a significant recovery has been , i ;cheved by its cinema interests. At 33s 3d the shares yield 4.9 per cent.
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