and Outlook SERIES of four articles giving a very comprehensive survey of the World's Trade and Commerce during the past year Jand the outlook for the future, will appear in these columns, The [first of which is appended.
The past year has been particularly unfortunate for.the 4o%|Shanghai investor for the disaster of war and the enormous destruction it has brought its train has coincided with a calamitous drop in share and commodity markets abroad.
Local debentures and equities of every type, Chinese Government and Railway Bonds have slumped. Rubber shares have followed the drop in the raw article and investments on the London and New York 213i Stock Exchanges have also severely declined. No matter how ni; diversified in character and wide-spread geographically his invest~ ments may have been, sharp deprecia ion can scarcely have been avoided.
The domestic outlook is quite in-Jcaleulable for it is bound up with the fortunes of war: even the future of the currency is far from secure. The situation abroad, however, is _amenable to rational discussion. Such a survey {alls naturally into three parts: the activity of industry and trade; the production, consumption and prices of commodities; and the course of the security markets, The first is of pre-eminent Importance, for prosperity depends on the volume of production and trade and is not primarily a function of price; nor does need continuously rising' markets.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.