Evening star., 1933-04-02
bR|TA|N'S SBUS|NESS
QUIET, BUT HOPEFUL
Large Equipment Orders for
Public Improvements Are
Received During Week.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

opcCidl DlSpdtCn 10 1 ne StdI.
NEW YORK. April Gables and
wireless dispatches to the Business
Week give the following survey of busi-
ness abroad for the week ending today:
London.-Britain's business interest
this week ran the gamut from appre-
hension over political developments in
Germany to satisfaction over the sue
cess OF MacDonald's visit to Geneva and
Rome. Industries are not thriving, but
the general business tone is good-bet-
ter, probably, than in most countries.
AS far as the United States Is con-
cerned, London is more optimistic than
week ago. The average executive,
however, rather anticipates that the
States can't avoid more or less serious
crises in the fields of railroad financing
and in insurance. There is also some
question as to whether too many banks
have been allowed to reopen. This ac-
counts for the rather cautious attitude
OF British bankers and traders There
Is no fear now of departure from the
gold standard. This feeling helped
boost gold shares out of the funk into
which they dropped soon after the
banking holiday in the United States.
Equipment Orders.
Among the equipment orders which
have been placed with British indus
tries recently, the $4,000 order from
Alexandria (Egypt) for harbor electri-
hcations, the 100000 aircraft order
which the Turkish government has
placed with the Vickers-Armstrong Co,
and the $4,000 Argentine boiler order
piaceo with the same company, along
with the 100000 training ship order
from Brazil are important. Brazil has
q
express train for the Sac Paulo
Railway.
Paris. - Improvement in business.
which has been suspected for several
weeks, seemed bit more concrete this
week. At least the feeling that France
Is due for certain amount of re
covery news" has spread rather hope
fully In the last 10 days. February
turnover taxes were larger than those
for January. This Is the first time in
several years that any months returns
nave showed a gain. One dark spot in
the picture is the drop in wheat prices.
which are down 10 per cent this week
and are IS per cent below the quota
tionS for last year.
beriin.-Germany failed to register
the horrible dread" of the Nazi .'anti-
Jewish" atrocities which stirred the for
eign press and foreign diplomats in
Berlin to strong protests this week.
Politically, the country is not calm, but
1t Is not so upset as seems to have
been pictured abroad.
Nevertheless, the reaction to the re-
ports tempered the enthusiasm which
has pushed stock and bond prices to
boom levels. Some stocks have reacted
only after they had touched prices 800
to 400 per cent higher than the lows
OF the crisis. Leading per cent bonds |
nave touched par. Reaction which
started late last week was due more to
profit-t taking than to any expressed lark
Of confidence
Bull Factor.
One of the bull factors behind public 1
confidence was the extreme moderation |
OF Chancellor Hitler's speech, in which |
he stressed that there would be no at
tempt to complete economic self |
sufflciency in Germany, no currency
experiments, and full recognition of the |
to Germany of a healthy |
export trade.
The steel industry is operating at 30
per cent of capacity especially on Far
Eastern export demand), compared with |
only 20 per cent late In 1892. Sales of
the German Ford Co. are up in recent
weeks. Two Berlin banks increased
their dividend rate from to S per cent.