Market report CUSTOS
The market in equity shares, as measured by the Financial Times index, reached a new record level, above 483, on Wednesday of this week.
On the previous day the gold tigures for June were announced, with a published loss to the reserves of £26 million—the true figure was doubtless far higher; and the situation on the railways deteriorated. There could be no clearer illustration of the point, made here last week, that the market is now dominated by fears for the currency. Sterling, for its part, after a wretched end to June, has perked up a little but is scarcely above the level at which the Bank of England is bound to support it; and government stocks go from bad to worse to worse still.
A £60 million takeover bid for Cerebos- the company's interests are much wider than salt, extending to such speciality foods as Bisto and Scott's Porage Oats—has come from an unexpected source: Rank Hovis McDougall.
Cerebos was thought to be on Imperial Tobac- co's shopping list. The Cerebos directors are recommending the bid, which would change the nature of Rank's operations.
The International Publishing Corporation's figures were bad; the report and accounts look more hopeful. The newspaper and magazine sides will have the benefit of higher prices and advertising rates, and the board looks to a `substantial recovery' in trading profits. Apart
from the Sun, the printing division is still the biggest drain on the company's resources; and the benefits from closing down the loss-makers are delayed by the cost of redundancy pay- • ment—£694,000 last year and the same sort of figure thiS year.
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