1. REVISIONS OF THE EUROPEAN DEBT SETTLEMENTS—DISCUSSION.
- Author
-
Patterson, E. M.
- Subjects
CORPORATE debt financing ,PAYMENT ,DEBT ,DEBT management ,CASH flow ,BONDS (Finance) ,SINKING funds ,PUBLIC debts - Abstract
There are two ways of approaching this question of revisions of European debt settlements. One is by an appeal to historical, legal, sentimental, and certain long-run economic considerations, the method that has been followed in the two papers preceding this. The other is to examine the drift of events which may conceivably have much to do with settling the argument. It is possible that the matter may be taken out of our hands, so to speak, and that new adjustments may occur while one is still debating. One will be remembered that in May 1921, claims against Germany were finally set at some 132 milliards of gold marks, including A, B and C bonds, and that attempts were made to collect 5 per cent interest plus 1 per cent sinking fund charges on the A and B bonds or a total of three milliards of marks per year. Against this effort disinterested economists everywhere protested. The Ruhr invasion and the collapse of Germany bear witness to the folly of demanding the impossible. Today the discussion rages around the possibility of collecting only 2.5 milliards per year which is a 6 per cent return on only 41,666,000,000 marks.
- Published
- 1928