New Britain herald., 1926-12-28
FOREIGN FINANCE
 BECOMING STABLE
All Countries Reporting Im-
 prOYenent in Currency

New York, Dec. 2s.-tP-Stabili
 zation of the Belgian currency on { new gold basis, a remarkable re. covery in the French franc late il
 the year, the return of the Japanese yen and the Norwegian kroner tC
 within a short distance of parity ant
 substantial improvement in most o
 the other foreign exchanges signal.
 izing a world wide movement toward
 more stable monetary conditions il
 1926.
 At the close of the year the out. | look for sound currency condition.
 was brighter than at any time since
 the war, largely due to the cumula. tive effects of a constructive pro.
 gram supported by internationa
 bankers and the foremost economic authorities of all countries.
 Within the next year, 1t has been predicted by financial experts, the Trench franc and the Italian lira cies which have gone back to the gold standard. Revaluation probably will be necessary, as 1t was in Bel gium. Recent developments have in dicated that attempts were being made to ascertain the true levels of these exchanges.
 The Belgian monetary program, effected with the aid of a sl00,000,- 900 international loan in October, unquestionably gave a powerful i'm pulse to stabilization plans in other countries. Previously. both Belgian and French francs had gone through the most troublesome days in their checkercd histories, plunging to rec ord low levels in a mid-summe slump.
 After selling above { 1-c cents carly in the year the Belgian franc tumbled to POT 1-2 cents in July after political disagreements had temporarily made it impossible for the country to obtain external loans and inperiled the stabilzation pro- ject. Under new ministry financial reforms were subsequently, carried out, putting the government in a position to undertake it's program. This involved the creation of a new unit-the belga-yalued around 1891 cents. or the equivalent of , francs then begged at PTS cents.
 The long delay in effecting a set clement of the French war debt to the United States, coupled with seri- ous financial unsettlement in that country, contributed to the downfall Of the French franc which touched g, record low of 1.93 3-4 cents be- fore the decline was checked. The return Of Premier Poincare to pow CT and hls success in reshaping the finances of the republic had steadying influence on the exchange. gradual recovery, which set in late in the summer. was accentuated ny the Belgian operation and toward the close Of the year the franc was selling around the 1 cent level, more than 100 per cent above it's low.
 The Italian lira, protected by a SloO, O,OO0,OQ0 loan, was in a better position to withstand the vicissitudes Of exchange trading than other European currencies. The sum- E1er reaction carried it down to 3.1G cents but it soon rcbounded to new high above 1-c cents and was holding not far from that level at the end of the year
 Indications that Japan was pre- pairing to restore the gold standard were seen in the climb of the yen back 10 virtual parity with gold above 49 cents. Bankers in close touch with the situation, however. explained that the years advance of almost 6 cents had been due in part to speculative purchases of the cur rency anticipating it's complete stab ilization, and that the Japanese authorities might delay the lifting of the gold embargo until satisfied that the exchange would be able to meet the test without causing any financial or trade dis turbance. Large gold balances have been built up in the United States as a safeguard to Stabilization, which Is almost certain to come in .92T.
 After grappling with the problem 1 of preventing too rapid apprecia- 1