Italy. Elections to the new Chamber
Tipologia: Paragrafo/Articolo – Data pubblicazione: 17/02/1934
Italy. Elections to the new Chamber
«The Economist», 17 febbraio 1934, pp. 349-350
March 25th has been fixed for the election to the Chamber of Deputies of the 400 persons on the list to be presented to the electoral body by the Grand Fascist Council. In the meantime the associations and bodies specially designated have been convened to exercise before February 15th their right of nomination of 1,000 candidates among whom the Council will select the necessary 400 names. What will be the lease of life of the new Chamber is uncertain. The last utterances of Signor Mussolini seem to foreshadow a longer life than that which was prophesied until recently. The organisation of the corporations as really effective agencies for the guidance of the economic system will require some time. Meanwhile, following the experimental principle of Fascism, the Chamber will continue to be in being, until it is considered ready for supersession by the new Corporation Council.
The Stock Exchange has already received a fillip from the success of the 4 per cent. Treasury bonds issue, which testified an increasing acceptance by the saving public of the likelihood of a low long-term rate of interest. The average index number for variable dividend securities rose from 48.12 on December 31, 1932 (December, 1925 = 100) to 58.55 on December, 30, 1933, and 60.75 on January 27, 1934. A few details of shares prices may be useful to indicate the preferences of the public. April 1st is the date on which most dividends are declared.
| (December, 1925 = 100) | ||
|
| April 1, 1933 | Jan. 27, 1934 |
| Banking | 76.34 | 80.36 |
| Navigation and transport | 33.80 | 34.19 |
| Textile | 12.77 | 15.98 |
| Mines, metallurgical and engineering | 37.98 | 48.61 |
| Electricity | 51.04 | 67.89 |
| Agriculture and real estate | 66.91 | 71.58 |
| Food and miscellaneous | 62.12 | 82.94 |
The differences are wide enough. Banking, electricity, real estate and miscellaneous shares are the favourites, owing to greater stability of returns. The only shares, among those included in the Milan statistics, which have regained the level of 1925 are (December 31, 1925 = 100): – Bank of Italy (100.54); Risanamento Napoli (101.25), a real estate company; and Ligure Lombarda Zuccheri (104.16), a highly protected and prudently managed sugar concern. South of Italy Railway Company (96.23), Metallurgical of Italy (88.57), Adriatic Electricity (87.81), Edison Electricity (93.71), Beni Stabili, Rome Real Estate (89.50), Italian Distilleries (95.90), and Pirelli Rubber Company (80.90) come near the 100 per cent mark.
