FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20183, 11 March 1931, Page 10

FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

; FROZEN PRODUCE , * LETTER. 1 * ** ' )t 1 i THE LONDON MARKET. /• i ' ■ I'"!" ■) X - - ' ' t ■ I" ■ 1 t ; , , t t, 4 , ) ' ~ c i ' . - \ I • ■■. j> • • ' • ' ; t FllOlt J. SjECUL COBREBfONDBHT. i , , > ! LONDON, iFebruaty 6. ' It® present situation;which has- en-. veloped tiie l frozen meat trade; at' the - .consuming. end, has indeed been a sud-, --den, visitation. • Two. months ago only . a very fejw, cpuld have, .foreseen any- , , thing lijce the approach .to a slump which '< has eventuated from the glut of supplies. New• Zealand has Bent, nothing ' phe-' nomenal in tonnage, while Australia, in

, consigning, at this time-about double the amount of the; Dominion, has'done little more than was expected of the Commonwealth in the present circumstances. Bather too much has 1 been made in the Press of the way in which Australia has "cashed" her meat resources at this time of financial difficulty. The report that firms wholly unconnected with .the frozen meat business, haye, during this period of xnonetary exchange difficulty, entered the business with consignments of meat not usually their natural stock-in-trade, ignore the fact that whether these outsiders had operated or not, Australian shipments would have been just about the same as they are at present. The Cause. Neither New Zealand nor Australia' has caused the steep, downward curve in the -British price market for frozen meat. It is all due to the foreign busi- ' ness, namely, the gigantic shipments 1 of about a million lambs at this time in a very short period, .from Argentina. Once the meat has arrived here, prudence would, in such circumstances, die- , , tate temporary storage. But that is not t' the poliojr of this American, and other, • - beef , barons, with their carcase merchandise. Oblivious of the embar- „ rassraent caused to frozen meat buyers A ~ on the Empire sidfy who, having bought • c.i.*f; a few months back, at rateß very mueh above current values, are ' now i ' making ,huge losses, the South Americas . on without the . - maxkefs absorbent capacity. The-eosse-k ' ' quence is that- Argentine lamb at 4d brought,the Tfhole business to a -VV poinfc- where it » unprofitable, but still \f necessary-, for the Colonial business to a . AUthis-ia cccuxrinsr at a time' when

I - -'WHEAT. : :f> " * WQRLD CONFERENCE. '■ ■■ %' - ' , -• ■ • ; •■■■ V v U.S.A. NOT TO BEi REPRESENTED. ... \ * K V \ - \ ( V ; 'V* ■' T i „ i >" " •') ' ■ • ■ ' (Received March 10th,,.£.10 p.m.) ' Washington;- March 9. : Tie' State Department' has' decided that i-tb'e'- United States 'will not; part. ■ ticipate ■ in l the coming World Wheat .Conference at Rome. STOCKS IN UNITED STATES. SUPPLY OP FARM LABOUR. (Received March 10th, 7.10 p.m.) . > WASHINGTON, March 9. The Department of Agriculture has issued a report stating that wheat stocks on 'farms on March Ist were . 160,282,000 bushels. The percentage of the previous wheat: crop shipped, or to be . shipped, out of the country was 09.4 per cent. » The supply of farm labour on March Ist WQB reported to be 111.8 per cent. The normal for the United States as a whole was approximately 164 men for every 100 -jobs available, which is a -decline from - the record, high ratio '.of 171.8 pfer cent..on February 2nd. ENGLISH QUOTATIONS. - (UHITSD .- PRESS ASSOCIATION-^—*T 'sUSCTBIO - - TUJEGfIATH—COPTEIOHT.) ■ . . , LONDON, t March 9. iWheat cargoes—Prices < wore , raised 3d, but buyers did not respond; 1 'Parcels are firm at an.advance of 3d, -with firm enquiry. <-• Futures:— London—- ' April, 19s 8d ; per quarter. ( ' 1 - June, 19s'10d per quarter.' -"liverpool— , , . March, 4s 2Jd per cental. May,• 4s 41 d per cental. , ' July, 4s 5Jd .per centah. ' October, 4s 7}d per cental. ' AUSTRALIAN EXCHANGE. LITTLE PROSPECT OP * REDUCTION. '(VKItJSO PEESS ASSOCIATION—BT UECTBIC '., TMJSOJtATH—COPTOUOHT.) -j • - ' • LONDON, March 9. is .agarn a persistent»rumour jisfcf, l t£e Austrian exchange rate will 'shortly -,be -reduced' 10 per - cent., tut Press Association' enquiries •jtßvejpy 'jUttl6. : ( «ns6uragement of this arajrapldn, lt' "at this *£*«& ww pod " winks; ThWpethaps, « 4 'itfe- €e"<n&3isyj 'doubtftjli/whether t sttfplus/ is ."sufficient to Pust% ;aileyiation of ;thd" exchange rate.' : Austra%h'stock&vifre firm, and'" there, have been i de&Hwte in several States' * to , ' '<t% > H(jw w fft *■ *- t , AUSTRALIAN' MONETARY SCHEME ■ Thespian Above'referred to'is kbowa >aa; #te because iit Was vftdyahcea by the Australian Federal ' rehabi?i&ti6h:, of, Australian , aud. is, as follows: ' Towards providing employment ji !wtl teprriduetive woris in all States 1: &SOQff,QW- '& lponth 1 ahonld ,be made, the_,Commonifreatth. i " Towards , .providing - issistan«e----i .ibSway off bouaty. on the-wheat recently i - >y way of reUef for | C%n)Monw;ealth p Bank, I l t||ough H th,e, of directors, has ' 'iMofmed 'the .Commonweawlt ; the cannot provide the I for-the ,whoI«; of'these r ;, C<Qmmon.ii^alth> l should ; in. trodnce the necessary legislation to create'an'issue of fiduciary currency to 4 ;tM.idevoted to raeh 'purpose. ThW issue, ! be :limi«f«4 to j&18,Q00,000. Advances made from-fiduciary notes fund axe to he covered* by loans raised t to iimeias inarkel conditionr ; ofthe. Commohr ; : .Australia; ikhe*te«>itttioxL'' The representatives" of. Queensland, Western *: Anetrifrtl • and ; Tasmania dissented. < v> ■»The Prime Ministers of Queensland, , Western Tasmania agreed> % M 5,000,000 I ®fk;JW'ht<^set?'i|S^tioh.*N■ s p.tA; • f.o^s.,* ! ZeaUnd' Government I described the- plan as by inflation/ ' iid ,if i into .effect would result in. l J business 'obligations; , in!> effect,' .wholly of partially v depoius and life insurance ». induce effectual wages by, iocrea- - thfeefcost of J living j render it' much j aform Australian fanners to copipeie in' wprld,'s markets,;' •wholly- or . partially/, held; in' ' .itibney form'; increase excha.nges'against , Aufitraliaj increase external indebtedness; motij&n jb. fjarce ihat:is uncontrollable. - - t " ' Copland described the Theo- ' dore r as .;deßtined l Jo fail .in every - the difficulties of all | |We|r r combined - Austrian banks (Mel- , iboume, February, 24th)', formaUy obr sie<?tecl to/tßa proposed, fiduciary curl /feney.-jon'; ijhe *roimd thafe> the. Trea- • jiethodi l - are "no!;, on sound / or e? r he carxy- ■ of tl»e " 'the' 'opinibn 'of the Basks, not ulleviate the position, but would rather, increase / t SBeX:-.;The-' w»T' with the Goverpment. pro- ,, -yided- that,' what', is' done, ie. im 'lines ' tfrH will be ; of lastine benefit Jto, AusI. J ,