panied by the flotation of a number of companies, particularly in Russia, where the Maikop field for a time attracted much attention. But in comparison with rubber, oil did not provide the same opportunities for the company promoter, and the flotation of companies for the exploitation of oil-fields, known and unknown, was comparatively limited. The oil boom lasted approximately 10 years, when a reaction set in. But meanwhile huge fortunes were made. Bonus shares were issued in great numbers by the principal oil companies, and this, together with high dividends, kept public interest at a high level.
With the exception of the oil market, stock markets were in a depressed condition for some time before the outbreak of war.
The War Period. Early in July 1914, rumours of war began to affect the Continental bourses. On July 13 the Vienna market was demoralized by fear of hostilities, but it was not until July 24, when the terms of the Austrian ultimatum to Serbia were made known, that the London market became seriously per- turbed. From that date until Friday July 31, when the London Stock Exchange Committee for General Purposes decided to close the House for an indefinite period, markets were inundated with a vast flood of selling orders from home and abroad, and excitement was intense. The European bourses virtually ceased to function, and this diverted an enormous stream of foreign selling orders to London. Inter-bourse securities naturally suf- fered a very heavy decline. On Monday July 27 many Lon- don jobbers ceased to " make prices." This was " general carry over " day, and the difficulties to be met by speculators were formidable. The settlement, however, was completed on Wednes- day July 29, without any very serious disaster, though 9 fail- ures, involving 20 members, were announced. Dealing, however, had become a matter of negotiation entirely, and on Thursday July 30 1914 the House opened for the last time that year. During the first two hours no attempt was made to do business, and the next morning the committee decided not to reopen the House until further notice. On Monday July 27 four consecutive transactions in consols were officially recorded at prices showing a movement of i between each bargain, a circumstance without precedent in modern London Stock Exchange history. During the closed period, business, despite official discouragement, was not entirely suspended. A certain amount of dealing, on a strictly cash basis, was found to be possible. On Sept. 14 the committee fixed minimum prices for trustee stocks, based on the quotations ruling on July 30, the object being to prevent disastrous depreciation. The New York Stock Exchange similarly made minimum prices for American shares, and these values were adopted by the London committee. The maintenance of these prices was insisted upon by the banks, which had undertaken to continue their loans against securities without asking for any additional margin.
Meanwhile the question of dealing with the uncompleted mid-August account was taken in hand on the London Stock Exchange and completed on Nov. 19, a special set of rules governing its arrangement. The gist of these rules was that bulls of stock carried over on July 27 should put up a 5 % margin on high-class securities, and 10% on others, and pay interest fortnightly, or alternatively pay a higher rate of interest in lieu of margin. The " taker in " was put under the obligation of continuing to " take in " stock at July 27 prices until 12 months after the war, or the expiring of the Courts (Emergency Powers) Act, 1914, whichever event was the sooner. The declaration of a moratorium, which was continued until Nov. 4 1914, made it impossible to reopen the Stock Exchange for some months. About 90,000,000 had been borrowed against securities before the war began, and it was not until the moratorium came to an end that the mid-August settlement was carried through. The affairs of a small number of members were in this operation wound up under the liquidation rule, but the amount of stock carried over under the temporary regulations was smaller than had been feared. As stocks rose to the mean price of July 27 they had to be taken up or sold. On Dec. 23 1914 the conditions governing the reopening of the London Stock Exchange were promulgated4 The minimum price list was then extended to
include inter-bourse securities. Minimum prices were gradually abolished as liquidation ceased and prices settled down to the new level of investment values. On July 3 1916 the last of the minimum prices were removed.
The London Stock Exchange was reopened for the first time after the outbreak of war on Jan. 4 1915. Severe restrictions were placed upon the transaction of business, in accordance with arrangements made in Dec. 1914, between the Committee for General Purposes and the Treasury. These arrangements were embodied in Temporary Regulations which were substituted for the old regulations governing Stock Exchange practice. All bargains had to be done on a cash basis. The suspension of virtually all speculative business was the most important inno- vation introduced by the Temporary Regulations. Normally, speculation forms the great bulk of business effected on the Stock Exchange, and its temporary abolition deprived many members of their occupation. The volume of business which it was possible to do was further restricted by two other features of the Regulations namely, the " physical possession " rule, which prohibited dealings in stock that had not been in physical possession in the United Kingdom since Sept. 1914, and the fixing of minimum prices for trustee and other securities, which were in nearly every case the mean prices on July 27. Both of these rules were relaxed to some extent during 1915; the former to facilitate sales of American securities held in Allied and neutral states, and to allow sales of colonially held stock. When they were established, minimum prices undoubtedly served a very valuable purpose, but when the issue of high-yield- ing war loans completely altered the standard of investment, as regards the yield in interest, no useful purpose was served by them. The retention of minimum prices fixed on a pre-war basis of credit made it impossible to deal in the securities affected, and that was the reason for their removal. But the absence of specu- lation naturally caused a considerable reduction in membership. On the day of reopening the number of transactions was less than 1,000. On subsequent occasions the number rose to well over 3,000 per day, but in 1915 the daily average was nearer 2,000 than 3,000. A heavy loss of revenue was sustained by the company owning the Stock Exchange, and in 1915 it failed to distribute an interim dividend.
The arrangement by which all stocks carried over at the outbreak of war were continued until after the end of the war, unless the " end of July 1914 " prices were reached, worked well in practice, thanks largely to the American demand for securities; and the " open " position on the London Stock Exchange, which in Aug. 1914 was about 90 millions sterling, had been reduced by the end of 1915 to about 20 millions.
With the reopening of the London Stock Exchange an im- portant reform was introduced which was continued after the cessation of hostilities. The Temporary Regulations provided that every bargain should be recorded. This practice was much preferred by the public to the pre-war custom of marking only occasional bargains. The absence of buying and selling prices, dealers being prohibited from offering stock in the market, was one of the reasons for the compulsory marking of all bargains. This reform led to the issue of a supplementary list of bargains in securities not quoted in the daily " official " list. Thus, from Jan. 4 1915 onwards, a complete record of business done was furnished by the two lists, on the authority of the committee. Another innovation was the retention in the lists of prices of previous bargains, which added to their value to the public.
The course of prices in 1915 and subsequent war years was generally downward. In June-July 1915 the flotation of the unlimited 4^% British Government War Loan made a lowering of investment values inevitable. This for a time checked business in the stocks protected by minima, and caused a heavy fall in other fixed interest -bearing securities. In March 1915 minimum prices were reduced to a small extent. The minimum for Consols was reduced from 685 to 665 prior to the issue of the 4|% War Loan, and it was removed later when the great bulk of the stock had been converted into the 4^ % stock. The market for American securities was very active and strong throughout 1915, and
