The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-12-29

oieo me officially with a request to
give him some information on the
money markets of Europe and on the
state loans there made. As my reply
contains facts and figures not gener
ally known here, / think that a re.
vised copy of it will be interesting
Tor your readers.
1.-THE MONEY MARKETS.
There is no doubt that London is
the one great money market Of the
world, for all kinds of enterprise, and
the natural resort of many foreign
governments In their financial needs.
Yet large number Of international
loans and other financial operations
have been made, and are constantly
being made in Europe, entirely out
side OF London, and money has often
been easily raised in other markets,
when it could not be obtained In this
great center
Outside of London, the most i'm
portant financial market is Paris,
and it may not be amiss here to re-
cxE1he wonderful fact that when the
French Government, under Theirs,
decided to pay off the German in
demuity, and to raise therefor the
then unprecedented sum of, five bill
lions of francs, that enormous
amount, which was subscribed to
more than fifty times In the whole
world. was raised more than ten
times in France alone, at the very
time when she was supposed to have
been crushed under terrible defeat.
Then again, Berlin, Frankfort and
some other cities are also considered
as money centers, where financial
operations can be successfully trans
acted, though it is proper to nCte
that loans started In any one of these
financial centers are generally ad-
vertised and opened on the same day
in all the others. Yet, Paris alone,
through it's own resources, has many
a time supplied money to countries
which had failed to obtain it else
where.
The great point, in order to obtain
money in Paris, is to inspire
confidence by presenting straight
forward information confirmed by
the French representatives, and
good guarantees from the borrower,
for the reason that, in Europe, the
public,-not the bankers the
money lenders, and that this public
has been deceived by so many rotten
foreign loans,-Spanish, Greek, Pc
ruvian, Paraguayan, Egyptian, Turk,
Nicaraguan and others, without men
tio> ing the recent home scandals of
the Panama Canal, that it has
grown justly suspicious, though al
ways fascinated by calls from for
eign countries. OF the German
money markets, only little needs to
be said, because for all our purposes,
they can be said to follow pretty
closely the Paris market.
u.-CURRENT RATE OF INTEREST.
In Europe, the current rate of in
terest for Government loans and all
enterprises of a safe nature, can now
be said to be universally 3 per cent.
Twenty years ago, it used to be 5
per cent, hardly ever more; but
money has grown there so abundant
and cheap, and has accumulated to
such proportions, through the thrifty
little savings of the people which
make the power of Europe, that the
scarcity of adequate occasions for
Investments has compelled investors
% u Ixr 20 hh tanI
with less than 5 per cent, and the
rates of interest have slowly been
dwindling down to such a point, that
even some of the richest countries of
Europe have been able to still fur
Their reduce the rates of interest on
their public debts, as for instance,
Belgium to only p per cent, and
England to % per cent, instead of
the old well known and time honored
3 per cent. consols. FRANCE, whose
legal standard used to be per cent
has now only a 3 per cent. standard
and yet her bonds are nearly always
above par, thus rendering probable
further reduction of interest, III
the near future. The other principal
States, nearly all of which have
made loans in Paris, within the last
ten years. carry their obligations as
follows: Austria, 4 per cent; Bra
I'll, old 5 per cent. recently converted
into and A.; new Egypt, 81 and
Spain, 4; the United States, A.; Fin
land, 81; new Greek, 4; Holland, 81
Hungary, 4 and A.; India, A; Portu
gal, 3, 4 and A; Norway, 81; Sweden
4; Switzerland, 81; new Turk, 4 pei
cent, etc, Some of these States, i
is true. may still have in circulation
bonds of L higher denominal interest
but they are only the residue OF Older
loans whose market value is regularly
and proportionately higher than par
so that the capital necessary to bu.
them really obtains only the same re
duced rate of interest as the new
emissions. Thus the operations o
The Paris exchange can be said to be
made on regular basis of j per cent
interest, and the differences IN thu
foures of the various bonds onl.
represent, essentially, the RESPECTIVE
stains of the individual credit of tn
various nations, though some ma.
also owe higher quotation to som'
special inducement, such as bonus
or premium on reimbursement or tn
Donnlar advantage of lottery draw
ipgs. Italy is about the only Eu
ropean State whose regular interes
on her public debt is still calculated
on the apparent rate of 5 per cent
- ~; ,.oto &c o,,I,- nominal becauS