FINANCE AND COMMERCE

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18365, 24 April 1925, Page 16

FINANCE AND COMMERCE

(Bi* OUR COMMERCIAL EDITOR!)

REVIEW OF THE SHARE MARKET.

The affiliated Stock Exchanges throughout New Zealand, resumed business, after the Easter vacation, on Monday, 20th instant, and a fair amount)

of business has been recorded. The tone of the market is good and recorded prices for Government Stocks are on the whole slightly better. The four and a half per cent. Stock due in 1938 changed hands at £96 17s--6d and £97, with subsequent demand at iho latter figure, - no quoted sellers. The Bonds in this Loan were turned over at £96 05s and £96 17s 6d. Highest re-

corded sales of Stock and Bonds before Easter were at £96 15s. " Five per cent. Post Office Loan Bonds due in 1927 were placed at £97 17s 6d. Five and a half per cent. Soldiers Settlement Loan Stock was dealt in aft £IOO 15s, and £lOl, with Jate unsupported sellers asking £lOl. For Bank shares there has been good demand during the week and prices remain firm. ■■- For Australasias, which sold a fortnight ago at £l3 16s 6d, unsupported' sellers a day or two ago were asking £l3 17s6d. - National of Australasia fully paid shares changed hands at £l6 2s'6d and' £l6 3s, as against previously recorded transactions about a month ago at £ls> 16s and £ls 16s 6d. The partly paicV shares in which the last recorded business wa s at £7 19s 6d, are.on offer a«i that figure, quoted buyers Is 6d lower. National Bank of New Zealand shares improved from business at £6,14s be* fore the vacation to reported turnover "this week at "£"6 16s, and late buyer* are offering £6 15s 6d, sellers responding at £7. . Unsupported sellers of New. South Wales snares are asking £4l 7s 6d, at which figure business was done just prior to Easter. New Zoalands in which the last recorded transactions were at 53s 9d and 645, have further demand ai; 's3s fid, sellers *9d' higherl In'the New Issue sales took place at 52s 6d, 53s and 52a 6d. Royals, £1 paid,'for which"buyers were offering 34s 9d before Easter had demand a day or two ago at 35s 6d,and 'the £4 paid were sought. at £6 15s, but. sellers were reticent;

jv Union Banks were placed-at £l4 29 v6d and,£l4 3s, as compared with £l4' ■/••2s 6d. immediately before the holidays. .Late buyers are quoting- £l4 -is * 6d, holders responding at £l4 3s. • National Insurance shares, which are

cum an interim dividend of Is' 3d" per. share/*are in demand at. 70s 9d, bub '• sellers '* day or two ago were asking *72s 6d, ; and no sales-have been report j 1 New Zealand Insurances, which sold before-Easter at 31s, 31s 3d, and 31s 6d, 'were placed this week at 31s 9d,, and 'South British advanced 3d to recorded

turnover at 46s 9d cum a dividend oi Is per share, '; Standards in which the last reported, : 6ransactions were at. 41s 9d, and 41s enquiry. at 41s' 3d, but sellers are* reticent. ■ ;"■ ,

Dalgety and Coy. shares have eased and sellers are now. offering at £ls 12s 6d,_ buyers at £ls ss. Last recorded business about a month ago was at £ls Ids. '.

Goldsbrough, Mort shares are also easier, sellers offering at 47 s 9d, with buyers 6d lower, as against sales before tEe" holidays at 48s 3d and 48s. Unsupported sellers,of National Mortgage shares are asking 78s 6d, and buy-ers-of.'N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Ordinary stock are quoting. £93 without response.' 'ln the Shipping group Howard Smiths' are in demand'at 35s 3d, recent sellers la-higher. Last recorded transactions about the beginning of the month were at. Sos and 35s 6d. ' ' ' - For Huddart Parker ordinary shares recent sellers were asking 43s 3d, with buyers'ls'lower.

' 'Refrigerating fully .paid shares improved to business this week at 20s' 3d and 20s 2d—that previously recorded bein<» at 20s and more are wanted at 20s 3d, hut recent sellers were asking 20s 6d.' The' partly paids are sought at •10a 3d, sellers 2d' higher, recorded sales .- Before the vacation were at 9s lOd, 10s >. J 3d, los 4d, and 10s 3d. • Mosgiel IWoollens' were dealt in at £6 3s; showing no change oh business done 1 ■- just before Easter. ' Wellington' preference shares changed hands at £6 5s 6d, " with" subsequent buyers at £6 ss, no quoted setters. •;

Westport Coals, in which -the last reS beted ■ turnover was at 33s od, have aafand at 32s'9d; declared sellers:at '

- Manning Brewery" shares were placed at 38s and'3Bs 6d, cum a dividend of Is. I per-share as against transactions at the former figure a fortnight ago and more are-available at 395, but buyers are no* quoting. ' iNew Zealands had sale' at 40s, the •highest figure yet recorded, previous ; sales taking place up to 395, and latebuyers are offering 38s 9tl, sellers 6d •higher. - ; • .'Ward's had business at 565. an easing of 2s on that reported towards the end •of last month, and subsequent sellers asked 57s 6d, with quoted buyers an : 66s- 3d.

'Kauri Timbers were dealt' in at 33s 6d. as compared wilh dealings a fortriighT - ago at 33s 6d and 38s 3d, and late sell-ers-are asking 38s 9d, with recent quot--edbuyersat 335.

-• Beath arid Company shares remain unaltered, -with recorded business at 33s •..edvand more are available at that figure, quoted buyers 9d lower. j-Bunis,,Pliilp shares are sought at 36s 9d,.biit sellers want 3"s 3d. Last re.corded turnover was at 36s 6d. N-Z. Drug Company shares have de- -: njand at 60s, but sellers are asking 67s • W-. Last recorded turnover, cum the .divideßd and bonus amounting to 2s 2d rar share paid on 6th instant, was a? • , Tlg anaJki Oilfields with business at 29s show- httle-change on transacEfons recorded just prior to the holidays, and ■ittere are further unsupported sellers at" that figure.

_:ln Mining shares the onlv reported business was ih""Waihis at 25s 6d.

AUCKLAND CITY PROPERTIES. (rasa association nufciAv.) AUCKLAND, April 22. "Wien the City Council came to an agreemwU'with the Government by which it received the site of the Sfcortland street Post Office in exchange for other' city properties .needed by the Government it was arranged that the cash balance should be adjusted by axbitration. i - V The Council did not anticipate a compensa- „ tion. claim of £IOOO a foot for each frontage amounting to £212,935. The building las frontage 102 ft sin on Shortland street, 84ft on fort street, and a depth of 137 ft. '• -The Council's proposal is to use a 40ft Atrip in the centre of the land for a road■way, and to -cut np the residue into sections 'for disposal by' outright sale. The city's ' '- claim for the three properties to be handed j' over in exchange is £43,000. ' Any dispute la-to be decided by a Judge of the Supreme Cent.

DOMINION'S TRADE AND MARKETS.

COMMISSION'S REPORT.

(IKOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDED.)

CANADIAN RAILWAYS

THE PROPERTY MARKET.

NATIONAL INSURANCE.

AUSTRALIAN PROPOSALS.

SYDNEY, April 16.

For 18 months a .Royal Commission appointed by the Federal Government has been pursuing investigations on National Insurance. The enquiry had little publicity. The commission did its work almost unobtrusively. Much of the evidence before it was of a statistical or actuarial nature.' Figures are dull things for newspaper readers, and consequently little sought by the newspapers themselves. There was. no doubt, however,, as to the publicity given the commission's first progress report—a comprehensive, weU-arrangeu survey of insurance requirements to cover casual and permanent sickness, maternity and old age. The detailed examination ran into 34 large printed pages—a nice Easter egg for the Good Friday breakfast table. Like all good Easter eggs, the report had its surprises. Wo are all to be compulsorily insured in ai National Fund, if the report is translated into law. In exchange for cur contributions . there will be benefits for the casual sick, the. permanent siuk, for mothers, for the old, for children. At was in the by-paths of the report that the most interesting items were, found. We are informed, for instance, that . there were 1,278,000 male and '370,000 female salary and wage-earners in Australia on June 30th, 1924. The estimated average adult male wage on that date was £4 14s 3d and female £2 10s per week. Of the 1,648.000 wage and salary earners, less than one-third had made voluntary efforts to provide insurance for themselves through, mutual associations. 1 A total loss of £8,412,000 was calculated to have been incurred in a year by workers on account of lost time resulting .from sickness. There were also in the report, interesting facts concerning old-age pensions. We were told that out of every 100 people born in Australia, 65 lived till they were 60, and of this number, 16 became claimants for the pension at that age. The report regarded. as <»n "astounding fact" that one in every •six -persons born in -this country eventually became a claimant. The annual liability of the Commonwealth-for these pensions was estimated at nearly £5.000,000. Naturally there will be many hundreds of thousands of words written and spoken before a, National Insurance Fund becomes a reality, if.it ever doe*?: Bound tip hj) the'question axe so many controversial matters, divergent demands and opinions,' and 1 invoked, financial interests.that maybe the commission will not recognise its recommendations when Parliamentarians have embodied them in. a ktw. The first • oritio of. the report in the. field was) the friendly societies of New South' Wales. The secretary of these .-■ threw cold -water on. the -idea of jcompolsory insurance, and declared; tbat the report of .the.. cdriimisison,, if /adopted, would be the deatih. knelt.of !■ the societies, which' have been'- in existence iri"Australia 'for over- 80 -years.-' He-denied, aB i suggested by the- report' 'was overlapping, of;existing*benefit* by multiplicity of; friendly societies. ■ln short, he castigated the commission's findings in such-a •■way that, although the report will find favour with many, his criticism is sure to be,the forerunner of much other adverse comment, j . , • DAIRY RESEARCH. : (sreciAi. -to "ran miss.") WELLINGTON, April : 23. The Federation of South TaranaM Co-operative Dairy Factories, through their representatives, yesterday approached the Minister of Agriculture for a Government subsidy for si, dairy laboratory at Hawera, which is to confine itself to local, research. The matter was considered at a 1 meeting of the Cabinet this morning, and it was agreed that the federation be granted for three years a sum' equal to the salary _of the r scientist in ; charge not 'exceeding £IOOO per annum.'

fyi CASLB—PRESS ASSOCIATION— COFiaiGHT.) (mbtbb's tbleqbAmsO OTTAWA, April' 22. , "The Merger of the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways would result in an enormous saving, sufficient to provide net earnings to meet the fixed charges of-both railways," Sir Henry. Thornton, president of • the National Railways, informed* a Parliamentary committee to-day. The suggestion;that the deficit in the National Railways was - due -to State ownership was nonsense. It.was due to conditions which existed previously, and which'had been forced upon the management.'

FRUIT EXHIBIT AT WEMBLEY.

(bi associatioh— cowwght.) (AU3TJULttN . AMD .'■ K.2. CABLK • ASSOCIATION.)

LONDON, April' 22.

Lord Burnside lias been commissioned to manage an extensive -display of Empire Fruits in tho Palace'oi; "Industry at. Wembley, where all varieties of fruits from every : part, of, the Empire will be on sale. Lord will also run five fruit kiosks.in various parts of the Exhibition. AUSTRALIAN MARKETS. (BY , CABLE—PBE3S . ASSOCIATJOK— COPTEIGHT.) (AUSTIAUAN AND JJ.Z.; CABLE ASSOCIATION.) (Received April 23rd, 11 pja.) ' SYDNEY, April 23. Oats—Taamanian Algerians 3s id to 3s 6d, white 4s 6d. Maize—3s Bd. 'PotatoesLocal £4' to £5, Tasmanian •£8 to £lO. Onions—Victorian £l6, New Zealand £ls. ADELAIDE, April 23. Oats—2s to -2s" 3d.- .■*-.. '

.MELBOURNE, April 23. Hides—At tie sales, prices were firm, excepting for kips, -which, were slightly.easier.

Messrs TV. E. Simea and Co. sold by public auction yesterday, the property situated, at "So. 98 Wildberry street, Woolaton, comprising a house of' 4 rooms, to Mr Anderson for £565. The property situated No. 68 Tweed street, was passed in at £650. In the afternoon a. property-furniture auction sale was held on account of Mr C. Lawrence, St. Asaph street. The house of 6 rooms and J-acre was passed in. at £795. Furniture Bold -well and, among the prices realised were":—Single wooden bed £3 Is, baby duchess £2 ss, duchessc. £4 "15s, table £4 10s, 6 dining chairs £1 4s, sideboard £7 ISs, hall runner £3 10s.