Evening star., 1932-04-24
BRITISH BUSINESS
WAITS FOR ACTION
IN BUDGET TANGLE
Various industries Watch
Final Decisions on New
Revenue Proposals.
SPRING TRADE INCREASE
CONTINUING IN FRANCE
German Interests Are Agreeably
Surprised by Favorable Bal
ance in March.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, April 2S.-Cable and
radio dispatches to the Business Week
give the following survey Of business
abroad for the week ending today:
London.-Business was more COM
pletely absorbed with budget details
than any other one topic all week. Be-
| sides the failure to cut the income tar
, or the beer tax, there were several
| other significant changes. New reve-
| nue. VIII be derived by reimpoSing the
tax on tea, abandoned three years ago.
Besides, the city and the heavy indus
trleS are anticipating tax on iron and
| steel products to be announced shortly,
! This, however, will be for protection,
not for revenue.
| vitality important to the money mar
ket and to the various currencies linked
with sterling is the plan in the budget
to borrow 15o,0o0.00o, with the idea
CT establishing an exchange equaliza-
| ton account" In an attempt to protect
the pound sterling from excessive fiuc-
taation due to speculation. Most i'm
portant to Americans, however, was the
| failure OF the treasury to provide in the
| new puget for the payment of Brit
aims war debts to the United States.
Decision Postponed.
1t is not to be ignored that the chan
cellor admitted that this question was
| simply being left until after the Lau-
same conference and that finad ad-
i Justments might be made in a special
supplementary budget early in the Fall.
| All OF which focuses more and more
American interest in preliminary ar
rangements for Lausanne, In the Stim-
| son visit TO Europe, in the progress OF
international cooperation.
Paris.-France is still squeezing a lit
tie encouragement out of the feeble
Spring trade recovery. Construction
shows no signs of activity and heavy
industries are stationary. Textile and
the paper industry showed further
gains last week. Beyond this, nothing
after the parliamentary elections the
first week IN May.
Americans are particularly interested
IN three developnIents this week. Short
selling of the dollar by the French has
definitely subsidized and futures pre-
miums have fallen. 1t seems perfectly
evident now that there is no govern
ment encouraged drive on the dollar,
but that the French are still uneasy
over current developments in New
York and Washington.
The second development is the in
crease In the duty ON rubber products.
More than 81 100000 of United States
imports are affected. Particularly i'm
portant are mems CATERS, athletic gar
| ments, women's dress shields and rub
berized medical materials.
| The third item of significance to
Americans is the admission to the
Bourse Of three French postwar bond
| issues fioated in the United States and
aggregating $132, 100000. Paris at
tributes the governments motive in
admitting the French dollar bond to a
desire to support the dollar. BY some,
however, it is accepted as the first
move by France to allow quotation
generally on the Bourse OF American
| securities.
Berlin.-German foreign trade figures
Tor March were happy surprise to
business. The favorable balance. in
stead Of falling away. exceeded SAC, ,000,-
900, in comparison with approximately
$25,0O0,000 in each Of the first two
months Of the year
| But Germans are not deceived.
March is normally good export month.
The March balance this year was due,
not to an increase in exports, but to
a contraction Of IT per cent in imports.
Both factors are transitory, and further
deterioration in coming months 10 fully
| anticipated. ......'
! Election Prospects.
Business. notably the retail trade, IS
in state of suspense due to growing
anxiety over the Prussian election pros
poets. Recession of activity In the key
industries continues, and activity in the
consumer industries shows spotty i'm
provement.
Far East.-Russo- japanese tension In
the Far East is increasing, but not even
the most pessimistic expect 1t to lead soon
to an open break. Japanese battleships
will patrol the fishing grounds while the
Japanese fishing fleet is out, and this
may aggravate the SovietS But it is
likely that long dickering over the re-
newal Of the fishing treaty between the
two nations will result In some sort Of
an agreement or that the old agreement
will tacitly be allowed to operate.
In Japan, business leaders expect little
| improvement in trade and industry OF.
in the financial situation until Cd silk
| prices advance; (2) banks liquidate, or
are relieved Of portion of their loans
on commodities and real estate; (3) ex-
traordinary expenditures for the China
expedition are reduced, and 90 ex-
change is stabilized.