Evening star., 1933-02-19
Parliament Encourages busl-
ness Sentiment by Promot-
ing Debt Conference.
GERMANY is WATCHING
MOVES OF NEW CABINET
Proposed Income Tax Increase in
French Budget Has Aroused
Keen Opposition.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star
NEW YORK, February ls.-Cables
and wireless dispatches to The Business
Week give the following survey of busI-
ness abroad for the week ending today:
Lonoon.-Brlt1shers have been buoy
ant all week. The gold share boom has
eased off without any i'll effect On the
market. In fact, the recent steady de-.
mand for high-grade industrial shares
probably due to the desire to REIN
vest profltS from the gold share boom.
Coal districts were more or less ex-
cited over the order by the Admiralty
1or a 12-month supply of oil extracted
from coal in the newly commercialized
hydrogenation process There is a dol-
Bile motive here. The coal industry long
depressed, is aided. Britain, heavily de-
pendent on foreign sources of fuel oil.
is trying to reduce this dependence.
This has been encouraged particularly
by the Anglo-Persian oil episode which
Is now on way to settlement, but not be-
fore having shaken British naval au-
thor1ties into thorough determination
to diversity sources of supply as far as
possible.
Political Influences.
Parliament is encouraging recent
bullish sentiment by reporting favorable
progress on the preparations for the
Roosevelt war debts conference in
washington, and the hopeful tone of
negotiations for new trade pacts with
the Argentines and the Scandinavians.
Berlln.-There has been no further
break in business confidence In Ger
many this week, despite the rather
grim political battle which is being
fought. The new cabinet is shirking
responsibility for commitments on eco
nomic policy until the election Is out Of
the way. They have, however, said
there will be no currency experiments
and no compulsory conversion of pres
ent obligations to lower interest levels.
Perhaps the new tariffs are the most
significant move they have made. With
the almost prohibitive rate which has
been placed on lard imports and the
large increase in the rate on meat,
business is inclined to expect any
Hitler government to move rapidly
toward autarchy through a series of
prohibitive tariffs on farm produce, de-
spite the warning of indhstrialists that
the country is far too dependent ON
industrial export markets (which win
retaliate) to allow this.
The announcement that Siemens q
Halske would pay 7 per cent divi-
news that the German State Railways,
for the first time since they came COM
pleteiy under state control in 1924, had
failed to earn expenses. Ford Motor
Co. Of Germany passed It's 1882 diN-
dend.
Germany has granted permission for
Germans to pay foreign bills up to q
total OF 200 marks a month without
securing special permission from the
OSrN11 L.. Ix - -
ment This provision gives American
firms which sell by mail order to in
dividual German customers and ship
by parcel post a new chance at the
German market
Paris.-Political cooperation between
the Socialists and the Radical Social
lists in the Chamber of Deputies made
possible the passage of M. Daladier's
new budget bill this week. It now goes
to the Senate, where it is likely to be
pretty thoroughly modified, especially
IN regard to new taxes proposed.
Increase In Tax Rates.
Despite this victory for Daladier,
there is considerable talk Of q National
Coalition government for France The
recent flight of capital, continuing re-
ports of declining industrial activity.
and the new evidences Of internal
boarding have driven leaders of various
parties to see that cooperation Is
necessary to meet the crisis
An item in the new budget which
met with the greatest opposition is the
radical increase in income tax rates.
The bill demands an average increase
in income tax of 20 per cent, and this
rises to a maximum of so per cent on
incomes exceeding $4,000. Another un-
expected victory is the agreement to
cut armament expenditures % per cent.
The income tax increases are ex-
pected to cause strikes among the tax
payers and government functionaries
next week and will have an influence
on the Senate when it studies the bill.