Financial Notes
RldSE IN COMMODITIES THE Stock Markets on the whole have shown considerable resisting power both to the outbreak of war in Abyssinia and to the prospect of the early application of Sanctions. British Funds have been well maintained, while an outstanding feature has been the continuous rise in prices of commodities likely in any way to be affected by a prolonged war. Thus we have seen leading commodities such as wheat and tin and other metals rising to the highest points touched for many years. Some of the industrial shares have also been favourably affected, and there has been some revival in the shares of shipping companies, which have been favourably influenced by a rally in freight rates. At the moment of writing, however, a more cautious tone has once again begun to characterise the markets. It is recognised that a prolonged war in Abyssinia would mean a lengthy period of unsettlement and unrest, conditions not conducive either to financial or commercial activity, while there is also a growing recognition that the applications of Sanctions, however necessary, may not be without their disturbing effects, political as well as economic. Nor, of course, is the prospect of an early General Election without its unsettling influence upon business.
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