The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1963-12-31
BabsOn's Forecast
Continued from page u


and that their prices may gradu-
ally sag as money tightens.
-. Corporation Bonds. Those
huylng corporate bonds should
either stick to issues Of under
five years maturity or KEEP
their money In the savings bank.
l predict that long-term corpora
ton bonds Will drop in price in
1864 as interest rates rise.
IA. Tax-Exempt Bonds. Like
wise. / predict that long-term
tax-eXempt bonds will decliEa
next year. They are even more
ovelpriced than corporation
bonds. because of heavy bank
buying during the past two
years. l do not look for this to
be repeated in 1864. Therefore.
] would certainly confine buying
of tax-eXempts to short maturi-
ties. and I would avoid revenue
-bOEds.
Is. Interest Rates. I forecast
that interest rates will continue
al least as high as today. and
will possible rise through 1864 in
order to keep gold here In this
country and uphold the value OF
the dollar.
is. Devaluation OF Gold. l fore
cast that there will be no de-
valuation of gold during 1864.
am ~ersonallv acquainted with
conditions in Africa. and will say
that those who wish to speculate
In gold mines should consider
American-South African Invest
ment Co. Ltd Readers should
remember. however. that gold
mining stocks will go down as
we'll as up. in accordance with
many different conditions.
II. Profits. forecast that cor
porate profits will continue to
rise in 1864. through possibly az
somewhat slower pace than
recently,
-. Conper Prices. Commodity
prices are dependent on two fact
ors: Demand and supply. Take
copper: I believe demand will
continue to increase during tine
electrical era we are now in. And
since my visit to Africa. l feel
the supply of copper is almost
unlimited. Hence l forecast lit
tie change in price on balance
in 1864
10. Other Basic Raw Materi-
ais. With some few exceptions.
the above applies generally to
many Of the basic raw mater-
ais. including iron and steel.
and especially aluminium The
present firming in quotations
viii not carry much furthe rand
could be subject to setbacks lat
er in the year.
20. Sugar. Sugar prices. how
ever. Will hold in generally
high range all through 1864.
II. building Suburbia. I
forecast that new building will
continue around present levels
through 1864. with additional
growth in "suburbia''. This ap-
plies to single homes and to
apartments houses. which could
easily be overbuilt as the Hotels
and motels have been.
y. Pablo Construction. Other
wise. strength in building Will
occur mainly in the public sec
Tor especially roadbuilding
%. Real Estate predict that
farms On the right side" Of
cities will constantly increase in
value during 1864. l say fright
side" because every city seems
to have some one best direction
in which to grow This usually
IS toward the higher land and
often to the west but this is
something subdivision develop
ers must watch very closely
-. Rural Areas. AS l have
said before. the way to bug real
estate profitably is to drive out
the milan road away from the
city in which you live. on the
right side Every few miles.
stop and inquire the price of
land. SO long as it is quoted by
the foot. get back in your car
and drive until it is quoted BY
the acre. Everything else being
equal, l forecast that the pur-
chase of this land in 1864 will
show you profit over the long
term.
rs. Florida Property. There is
still lot of land in Florida, and
there are many retired people
who are hoping to move there
l forecast that your best Florida
buy in 1864 will be waterfront
property. God made only so
much waterfront land. but there
is an enormous amount of in
terror land which for many
years viii be good only for pas
turage. Do not buy land - any
where until you see it: don't
depend on blreprints, catalogs.
and super sales organizations.
26. Florida Home. l believe a
small home in a small Florida
city. and ownership Of the va
cant lot on each side thereof,
will prove safe and attractive
investment in 1864 for anyone
who has a check coming in reg
ularly from the North.
q. Advertising. While TV
advertising will continue strong