Evening star., 1932-04-30
PRICE GAINS IN GOVERNMENT
BONDS ARE MARKET FEATURE
Cheap Money Policy of Federal Reserve
Bank During Month Has Been Steady
ing Influence on Values

still unsettled portions of the list, where
the reverberations of the Kreuger crash,
the dissolution of one of America S
largest utility holding companies. and
prospects of difficulties for other hold
ing concerns had q Oppressive effect.
But there were many who believed that
these very diSsolutionS were having a
beneficial effect in clearing the air.
The immediate future for the general
bond list depends, therefore, not only
on the maintenance of the present high
level of government and municipal
bonds but also on the ultimate con-
clusions arrived at by the United States
Government as to its deficit-not to
mention the soldiers bonus bill, whose
passage would undoubtedly set up an
ntirely different series of problems.
Meanwhile there was better tone in
the foreign dollar bond list. Great
Britains budget, while a diSappoint-
ment TO financial London, because it
did not offer any relief from taxation,
nevertheless showed a balance. Chan
cellor Chamberlain omitted mention OF
payments due the United States for in
terest and war debts, but indicated
that there would be a supplementary
budget after the Lausanne reparations
conference.
What was seized upon was his state
ment that conditions had improved in
England in the past few months. Un-
employment has decreased, railroad
traffic is somewhat better, and export
trade little more active. This was
reflected here in new high prices for
British dollar bonds and had benef1-
cient influence on the entire European
list.
The sweeping gains made by the
Hitler forces in the PruSsian elections
we're not entirely unexpected by the
financial markets here and abroad, and
some satisfaction was felt that he had
failed by as much as 500, 900 votes to
reach power. But apprehension re-
manned that the result would have a
reaction in the French elections. Ger
man dollar bonds dipped here on the
first news of the voting, but afterWard
firmed when it became evident that in
terest payments on German government
issues were reasonably safe.
The improvement in municipal bonds
was reflected in a much better move
ment of new municipal offerings. While
the volume of these was not substan-
TALLY higher than in March, yet their
prices were better and bankers reported
that distribution of new municipal
bonds was much more quickly effected.
New York City's Offering late in the
month of S6,000,00o one-year notes on
a per cent basis was oversubscribed
in few minutes. This is in sharp con-
trast to the time in Midwinter when
the city had difficulty in borrowing on
a per cent basis
There is as yet, however, no market
for other than the very highest grade of
Short-term paper. Even such a firm
as the Edison Electric Illuminating of
Boston, in raising $30,000,000, had to
put out one and three year notes priced
to yield 494 and 5.44 per cent, respec-
lively.
New bond issues during April
amounted to about $4,000, 900. COM
pared with $187 ,2S1,6 ,655 in March and
S489, 283, ,538 in April, 1881. During the
first four months of 1892 new bonds to the
amount of $584, ,497 SAG have been is
sued, compared with $l,977 ,468,S77 in
the same period of 1881