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The London list includes some U.S. issues (most of the prime rails, also U.S. Steel), many Colonial shares and bonds, some stocks from almost every nation. British bonds are traded in directly in front of the World War Memorial. The best known of these bonds are of course Consols, or Consolidated Annuities. They were first issued in 1751 with interest paid at current rates, but successive reductions brought the rate to 2¾% in 1888, 2½% in 1902. There is also a 4%, issue of Consols, sold in 1927. These bonds have no maturity date. A favorite section is "Home Rails," including, of course, Great Western, London, Midland & Scottish, Southern, and Metropolitan ("Mets"). Foreign rails include Antofagasta-Bolivia Railroad ("Fags"), Canadian Pacific, and Costa Rican. The bank division lists the British banks, also Chartered Bank of India, Bank of Hongkong, National Bank of Egypt and others. Imperial Chemical heads the chemical group while the textiles include Celanese, Coats and Courtaulds. Industrials include Vickers (steel), De Havilland Aircraft, Imperial Airways, Cunard, Dunlop, Kreuger & Toll, Unilever, Swedish Match, British-American Tobacco ("Bats") and Imperial Tobacco ("Imps"). Favorite of the land shares is Sudan Plantations, great Government-subsidized cotton farms. Guinness and Allsopp lead the breweries.
The rubbers, teas and mining shares help give 'Change its international flavor. A broker receiving an order in rubbers may have to rush out and buy some Bah Lias, Gula Kalump, or Linggi, while in teas he must know Budla Beta, Chargola, Jokai, Pabbojan. The mining list includes famed De Beers Diamond Mines, the Rand (gold), Johannesburg Consolidated Investments ("Johnnies"), Rio Tinto ("The Tinto"), Roan Antelope, Katanga, Mount Isa, Siamese Tin.
This year has been one of declining prices on 'Change as illustrated by the following representative table:
Jan. 1 Recent Prices Prices
Alliance Isurance. £20 ¾ 19 ⅛
Anglo-Persian Oil... 2 25/32 1 19/32
Brazilian Teaction. 21 ⅝ 18 9/16
British-America Tobaco...... 5 3/32 3 15/32
British-Celanese ⅞* 4/-*
De Beers............. 4 ¾ 3 5/8
Hudson's Bay.... 1 ¼ 20/-*
Imperial Chemical. 18/-* 11/9*
Loard's Bank A..... £ 3/6 £2/ -
London, Midland & Schottish.......... 33 ¼ 13 ½
Midland Bank £1 3 19/9 3 7/6
Unilever........... 1¾ 1 3/8
Vickers............ 7/-* 6/3*
* These quotations are in shillings and pence.
One pound (£)=20 shillings. One shilling (s)=; 12 pence (d).