Gippsland Times (Vic. : 1861 - 1954), Monday 18 May 1931, page 1


FINANCIAL POSITION ABROAD All Countries are Reducing Costs Having spent seven months following the tracks cf business depression through Malaya: India Europe and America, Mr )Denis Moore a member of the Melbourne Stock Exchange, has returned with the conviction that there is no short-cut back to prosperity. A.\ll the cou'ntrits I visited were making determined efforts to reduce their costs in line with the lower level of world prices" he said. 'They could see no other way out of their difficulties.' No Inflation "Although unemployment was still severe I found definite indications that business was gradually being re-adjusted on a sound basis by these method's. After the bitter lesson learned by some of the European countries none of the Governments would be likely to adopt currency inflation as a means of relieving the depression.' Mr Moore is specially qualifiedl to stutcy industrial and business conditions. ;Bfcre joining the Stock Exchange he graduated in economics at Cambridge Ur.iversity, and completed further studies in A.\merica. Permanent Damage "I believe that the advocates of repudiatiom have permanently damaged Australia's credit in the Lcnropn loan market" Mr .Moore declared. "Even when stability had been re' stored in our Governments, I think it would be difficult to fund our floating liabilities, or to raise new capital unless the issues had the backing of the British banks oh" financial inStitutions. The small investor and trustee who supplied the bulk of Atastralia's loan requirements in the past have had their confidence very badly shaken, and it will be a long time before it can be fully restoted.' In Britain and Europe, 'Mr Moore1 met many leading indlpstrialists and bankers. Few of them held out any prospect of a general revival in business this year, although commodity prices were believedstoqbe fluctuating around their lowest levels. Germany Improving Despite her 5000,000 unemployed, he found that Germany had made a wonderful recovery as an industrial power. The fall in world commodity prices had had the effect of increas-ing her reparation payments by 40 per cent., but new inventions and methods had placed industry on a highly efficient basis. If some relief were obtained from the burden of reparations, Mr Moore gained the impession that the coun-try would be splendidly equipped to compete for world trade.