Economic Outlook

IF stock exchange business is any indi cation of the prosperity of a country, Australia has never been better off than in the first week of the current financial year. Trading reached boom proportions on July 8, when price index for all ordinaries ended the day at a record 267 - 55.

The boom is attributed to various reasons—reaction after the end of the financial year; continued high company profits in spite of a fall in export in come; and high overseas investment in Australia.

July 8 activity, however, was only the culmination of an upsurge in prices that beean some weeks ago when General Motors- Holden’s announced the highest profit ever made by an Australian company— £15,300,000. There were the usual post mortems after the announcement, due

to the fact that over £7,000,000 of the profit goes to pay a 425 per cent, dividend to US shareholders and only £33,696 to preference shareholders in Australia, (The rest is listed under “Retained in the business”.) The reply to this is that when the parent US company backed the production of an Australian car to the tune of £1,750,000 over 10 years ago, no one knew that it was going to turn into the bonanza that it has.

It is calculated that in the last year GM-H has got slightly over 50 per cent, of the new car market in Australia— really a fantastic percentage. There have been the usual public demands for a re duction in price—which on the figures, the company could well afford —with the counter blast that it would highly em barrass GM-H competitors.

The man-in-the-street, of course, is not interested in who is embarrassed so long as he gets a cheaper car—and there is no sign of that at the moment.

Sydney Sales Prices

June 5 July 8 Burns Phllp ... 83/6 92 - Burns Philp (SS) . . 57/- 55/- £ 58/5/- £ 59/2/6 Dylup Plantations 27/6 25/- Hackshalls 51/- 52/6 Kauri Timber ... 18/41/ 2 20/- Kerema Rubber . . . 17/- 8 / 6 Koltaki i5/iy 2 21, ny 2 Lolorua 9 8/4 Mariboi 7/6 7/9 Norfolk Is. Whaling 4/1 4 1 Queensland Insurance 73/6 76/- Rubberlands ... 6/3 6/6 Sthn. Pac. Insurance 18/9 18 - Steamships Trading . 54/- 58/9 W. R. Carpenter Hold. 18/- 20/- Timor Oil 6/4 9/7

Oil And Mining Shares

Fiji

July 9, ’58 June 5, ’59 July 8 Emperor . b5/fl b7/6 b7/9 Loloma . . — b34/b33/-

Papua-New Guinea

Bulolo . . . b35/s40/b31/- N.G.G. Ltd. bl/9V 2 b2/5 b2/4 Oil Search b2/6 b6/ll b6/5 Ent. of N.O. b7d b6V 2 d b3V 2 d Papuan Apln bfid s4/3 b3/9 do. opt. . b6y 2 d b2/l bl/10 Placer Dev. b86/6 b98/6 blOO/- Sandy Creek b4d s6d b3d