Financial Notes
• MARKETS STILL CHEERFUL.
ALTHOUGH the holiday season may be restricting activity in the stock markets in some directions, the general.. tone keeps very firm, with interest centred in Gilt-Edged securities and Home Industrial Shares. In an article elsewhere I refer to some of what may be termed the artificial influences re- sponsible for the strength of Gilt-Edged securities, but in fairness it must also be recognised that the rise in industrial shares is being constantly stimulated by satisfactory reports fram the various industrial companies. Moreover, a further stimului to the purchase of industrial shares is furnished by the expectations of large Government expenditure during the next few years on the National Defences.
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GOOD RAILWAY TRAFFICS. _ _
The Traffic receipts of the English flailways continue to be most satisfactory, and the four Trunk Lines now show for the first 34 weeks of the current year all aggregate increase of over £3,000,000, whereas for the corresponding period of last year the increase was only £823,000. Nevertheless, the market for the shares is less active than it was a few weeks ago, a circumstance for which chronic apprehensions of fresh Labour , demands are mainly responsible. . It seems a pity that when the Wages Award was given recently by the Wages Tribunal that the N.U.R. could not, for the time being, at all events, accept the position without announcing the deter- mination to make fresh demands in the new year. At all events it is the attitude of the N.U.R. which explains why Home Railway Stocks hang fire in spite of the improved position of the companies.
IRON AND STEEL PROSPERITY. •
While most of the industries of the country are continuing to show favourable results, progress continues to be par- ticularly pronounced in the Iron and Steel industry. During the past week the Sheep Bridge and Staveley Companies have made unexpectedly good dividend- announcements. The Sheep Bridge Coal and Iron Company has probably benefited by its interest in Yorkshire Amalgamated Collieries, which controls the Firbeck Main -and Newstead Collieries jointly with the Staveley Company. The Sheep 13ridge'Coal and Iron. Company last year paid dividends of 61 per cent., but the Final distribution now announced raises the rate to 10 per cent. for 1935-36. The Staveley Coal and iron Com- pany is also distributing an extra 1 per cent. in its Final Dividend, making 9 per cent. in all for the year to June 30th last, against 8 per cent. for the previous year, the dividend, moreover, being tax-free.
PAINT PROFITS.
An industrial company which over a considerable period has given good results is that of Pinchin, Johnson and Company, the paint manufacturers. The Directors have just 'declared an interim dividend of 74 per cent., less tax, on the Ordinary shares. This is at the same rate as in the previous year when a final dividend of 124 per cent. was paid, making 20 per cent. for the year. The Ordinary shares of 10s. each now stand at about 49s., so that the yield even on the Ordinary shares is reduced to just over 4 per cent.
INSURANCE PREMIUMS REVISED.
In view of present tendencies, I am not surprised to note that the Prudential Assurance Company is-raising its premium for endowment assurances, especially those, for the shorter terms. Equally, I think it is also significant of present tenden- cies that there is to be a reduction of premiums for whole-life assurances without profits, excepting in The case of those of advanced years. I should not be at all surprised if the example of the Prudential were to be followed in some other directions. In view of the high Income Tax.and other modern conditions, the increase in short-term endowment assurance., is not at all surprising, but there is perhaps some danger of the main essential of life assurance—namely, provision for dependants—being somewhat overlooked. A. W. K.
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