FINANCIAL NOTES
CHEERFUL MARKETS.
Readers of these notes will not have been surprised that the month of August dosed without any reduction in the Bank Rate. From the time of the reduction a few weeks back from 5 to 41 per cent. the Bank has steadily lost gold on balance, and that circumstance in itself gradually lessened expectations of a further fall. There is little doubt, too, that the decline in money rates in the open market has led to some considerable withdrawals of American balances here with a consequent weakening of sterling exchange, while in some cases the with- drawal of balances seems also to have been prompted by apprehensions with regard to the industrial and political Outlook. Nevertheless, the security market has kept quite good with the one exception of English Railways and certain Some Industrials. Gilt-edged stocks have been favourably affected by anticipation of easier monetary conditions for a time following the release of Government dividends on the 1st September, while in the Speculative Markets interest in the Rubber section is undoubtedly broadening and extending. * * * *
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