FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 71, 17 December 1907, Page 8

FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

WELLINGTON - SHAKE-.' LIST,

TUB SHARE MARKET. .- The share market was fairly active ''jesterday, due in great part to profit-taking. Wellington Meat'; Export, third issue, sold at X."> 75.; Manawat'u Bails at'.£2 3s. 9d., and Westport Coals at. £7 16s. The prices are the same. . at which the'shares mentioned changed hands previously?" ; The buying and selling orders, were .within' smaller compass, and as this is the last week, for share business this year, not much trading, need be expected. There was a- ;. bid of .£5 (is. Gd. for National Banks, with sellers at £5 Bs. New Zealands were offered I at X 9 175., or a shilling more than on Satur-' 1 day, and it is difficult, to seo what'warrant exists for thus raising ■ the .sellingprice. 1 There hhve been no declared buyers for Bank of New Zealand shares since the annual meeting., Insurance shares,were firm. Nationals ! were in demand at 265..i)d.,. and Standards at 235.; New Zealands were on sale at £i is., and South .British, at £5. 12s. ,6d. Financial • shares were quiet,, with sellers of Wellington Investment at 12s. 3d.; Loan and Mercantile at 7s. Cd. cum, and Wellington I)e----posit at 10s., Gas shares were a blank, for neither '.buyers' nor sellers' quotations were ' given. Meat shares\ show no variation. Christchurch Meat Shares were wanted at .£lO 105.,., sellers holding, for .£lO 12s. Gd. Gears were in firm- demand -at- 50s. ';cum dividend; ' The annual meeting of. the shareholders'of tlie Gear Company will be held on Friday of this week. For Jlanawatu Kails there was a bid of .£"2 35., but there is an. increasing difficulty*, in procuring the shares; at all events, holders are not likely to accept* 435. For New Zealand Shipping shares ,£6 Gs. was offered, but there were no declared sellers. Wellington Woollen prefeience shares, 15s. paid up, were on sale at 14s. Gd., and there were sellers of Taupiri Coal at 10s. M., Leyland-O'Brieh Timber lit ,£2 ss. 9d., Ward and Co., Brewery shares at <£5 25., and Taranaki Petroleum at 9s. D.I.C. preference shares were in request at 225., and show a decided -upward tendency. - ■ THE MINING MARKET. ~' No business was done in mining scrip yesterday; still, there, was no scarcity of buying orders. Waihis have firmed, and buyers were yesterday offering £S Ss. Talismans, on the other hand, have gone back, the best bicl yes- . terday being: £2 12s:, as compared with <£2 13s. 3d. at the closo of last week. Tho state ot tho mining market is disclosed in the table • appended:— - Buyers. Sellers. _ . .£ s. i.d.', .£ s. d. Kuranui Caledonian ... 0 10 : 0 l'S - May Queen, Ltd;. - .... 0 1. 4 0 16 Tairua Broken Hills ... 0 4 0 0 4 6 Talismans 2 12 0 2 12 8 Wailii 88 0 89 0 Ngatiawa ... " .. • ... 01 10 02 1 Old Hauraki ... ... 0 1 8 0 2 0 1 1 THE PRODUCE MARKETS. The London quotations for imported butters are exceptionally high, and this is due to the great demand'for the Christmas trade. Choicest New Zealand butter is quoted at 1205.,. and even the-renovated butter from the s.s. Turakina is making as much as 1125., almost as much as was realised a year ago for choicest Ivew Zealand. . The 'cheese market is; firmer, ' •' white being quoted at 60s. to-615., which is about equal to the price realised last year. For frozen meat the outlook is-not so good.' The mutton market is very 'dull, and the trading is from hand to month. Canterbury mutton -is quoted at 31d., as against ijtl. a year ago; North Island mutton is at 3|d., as com : pared with 4jjd., showing a 'drop,.of a..full , penny a lb. _ The lamb market is affected" by i the large arrivals from Australia, and as heavy .shipments are now . on the water., the prospects for an improvement -in value aro not very good. Canterbury lamb is quoted at si'd., as against 6|d. a year ago;,and North Island lamb is at 5Jd., as compared with the nominal quotation of. 6d. last year. For beef, hindquarters are priced at 3Jd;, .'as against . 4d., and forequartcrs at 23d., against "3Jd. The demand just now is for foroquarters,. which is , an indication that consumers are looking for i cheap meat. Hemp continues dull; for Janu-ary-—arch shipment tho present quotation is £2S for good fair grade, while a year ago the same grade was commanding £37 10s. THE METAL MARKETS. ■ i The ind,ustrial metals continue on the' downgrade. Tin on spot was quoted on-Friday at .£127 10s., and on tho following day dropped to. .£125 ss. Load has declined from. .£l.'! 17s! 6d. to .£l3 12s. Gd., arid-a year ago it was .£l9 15s. Copper is a- shade higher than on . Friday, for snot copper' is now at ,£53. 'At the corresponding dato last year this metal was at .6107 7s. 6d. / Silver is at 2od. per ounce; a year ago it was at 313 d. , . WOOL TOPS ■IN AUSTRALIA. ' - The "Sydney Morning Herald" of December 8, says:—"The'matter-of'producing tops, in* Australia on a. large scalflryhiwi occasionallv becn-looked into by Continental* houses, anil some of our local wool'scourers'," but the ini- • tial outlay, uncertainty of labour, regulations, r and higher rates of pay than on the Continent have acted as deterrents. Seeing these difficulties with prospects of overcoming them br bounties, one or two enthusiasts set to work to secure a place for wool tops in tho Bounties Bill, and when .the proposal for a bonus was submitted, no item in "the Bill met with' a better reception: The total sum available is .' £50,000 spread over five years, at the rate of lid. per lb. for the-first three -years! and-id!! per lb. for the.two following years.' -The bonus' is to be paid on the exported tops manufac- ; tured in Australia, and not merely on the pro-' i. duction 1 of tops for local consumption. The '• inducements are sufficiently .encouraging for a Botany wool scourers to undertake an expansion of their business by the manufacture of tops. Orders have already been given for the speedy delivery of top-making machinery, but owing to the complicated nature of the machines some time must elapse before they can be shipped from Europe. It is expected that in about twelve months, a plant of 80 carding and combing machines will be installed, forming by far the largest establishment of its kind in . the Southern Hemisphere, aud giving employment to fully 1000 workpeople."

TWO SYSTEMS OP TOPMAEING. There are two systems of topmaking—one is pursued at Bradford, and the other is in vogue on the Continent. Tho Continental- system is to be adopted for the new. Australian works. In either process the wool for topmaking is first sorted, and then scoured; partially dried, oiled, and put on tho carding machines, from

which it emerges as a long continuous ribbon, which is wound bn to bobbins. It is next .taken hold of by gilling machines, which straighten out the'fibres. The idea of comb-, ing wool for worsted spinning is that every fibre shall run parallel and not be. crossed. From tho. gilling. machines' the ribbon of wool passes on to the combing machines, which conVplete tho process by turning out the requisite skeins or hanks of wool. In' the .Bradford system the tops are backwashcd after carding, and.'then'oiled during combing; but. in tho Continental system the wool is dry, combed, and baekwashed after combing by elaborate machines; .afterwards passing .'over a largo number .''of'..heated copper rollors'.Lforming a. polishing process.; In the combing process the tops are separated from the noils. The idea of the process is'that the wool is pressed down by brushes oh to steel teeth' forming combs, which, are'; kept .continually revolving, so that not only is every fibre straightened, but tho long , wool is separated from the short—the one forming the. tops and the other the noils. In tho reports of the Bradford market, tops only are quoted, whereas in Continental reports, while pride of place is naturally given to tops, tho'noils are-also mentioned. ' QUALITIES OF TOPS! The quality of the tops is denoted by numbers, called counts, such as "seventies," "sixtyfours," "sixties" (super GO's and common 60's are the' ordinary standard merino counts). These numbers or counts refer to the : number of skPins or hanks, each SGO yards long, which weigh lGoz.; thus, in "seventies" quality there are 70 skeins, in "sixty-fours" there would be Gt skeins, and so on. Tho finest merino wool combs'.into a top of the highest count, and tho coarspSt 'Lincoln, Liecester, or other longwool breed to the lowest; while crossbred wool combs to the middle counts —for example, from "forties" to "fifty-sixes." The Bradford top quotations published weekly-in tho Dominion paners are-super and common GO's (merino). 1 40's and' 4G's (crossbred). .A, long-stapled wool of , equal quality. is more valuable than a Shorter wool in topmaking, for tho length of fibre must be considered in conjunction with i fineness when detexmining the count. • MINING N^EWS. 'BT TELEGRAM—TRESS ASSOCIATION.) Dunedih, December 16.. ' The following additional dredging' returns l ' aro to hand:—Golden Treasure, 58oz. lOdwt.; Alexandra Eureka, 490z. 7dwt.; Waikaka ' Queen," 38bz. lOdwt.; Chicago, 28oz" lld.wt. 13gr.; Otago ll,'.- 250z.; Otago I, 240z.; Sandy .Point, 200z.;. Golden Gate, 15oz. 9dwt.; Enterprise, 15oz. 3dwt.; Clutha River, lloz. 16dwt.;! Eoyal Waimumu, 14oz. lOdwt. j (by TELEGRAPH—SrECI.U CORRESPONDENT.) \ Auckland, December IG. • 'In the Karangahake Mine, ci telegram states, good blotches of gold are showing in the stone. There has been a riso in' shares to Is. Bd. in consequence. , STOCK. EXCHANGE.. [BT TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.} Dunedin, December 16. . Stock Exchange salesWaihi, Jiß Gs.; Golden Bed, 7s. 6d. ,i •']'■ ' ■■ . LIVE STOCK SALES. " ' The New Zealand Loan and - Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., report:—At -Himitangi, on Monday,, wo had a good yarding of cattle. There was a small attendance of the public, but competition was brisk, and the whole rarding was quitted at satisfactory prices. We quote:—Yearlings,, mixed, 30s. lid,; yearling heifers, 235. Gd. to 285.; 2-year heifers, 31s. to 405.; 21 and 3-year heifers, ,£2 15s. to .£.3; yearling steers, 38s. to £2 9s. Gd.; 13-month steers, £2 18s. to £3 ps.; 2 and 21-year steers, • £i-, storo cows, 21s. Gd.; cows ana calves, 38s. Gd. to £2 2sJ'; forward cows, £2 lis. to £2 155.; fat cows, £i 4s. , . HOME MARKETS. JT TBLEOBArII—PRESS ASSOCIATION—COrTRIQHT. London, Deceanbor 15. Frozen Mutton.—Canterbury, light, 3 15-16 d.; North Island, 3|d.; best brands, 3Jd. , New- Zealand Lamb.—Canterbury, light and medium', sad.; heavy, sW.'j Southland, 5Jd. New Zealand Beef.—Unchanged. Now Zealand Hemp.—Quiet. Quotations unchanged. Copra.—Quiet. South Sea, 17s. Gd. Rabbits.—Dull. Owing to heavy supplies of English, hideß were neglected, and withdrawn from sale. There is nothing doing in leather and basils. Silver is quoted at 2s. Id.; antimony, £S. Copper.—On. spot, ,£59; threa months, .£6O 55.; electrolytic, ,£62, Tin.—On spot, <C 125 ss.three months, ,£126 15s. Lead, ,£l3 12s. Gd. HIGH COMMISSIONER'S CABLE. The Department of Industries and Commerce has received the. following cable from tho High ; Commissioner, dated' London, Decembor 14. 1907:- . ' • ; ; '. \ The mutton market is dull, with less demand. Trade is very disappointing, thero being only a hand to mouth demand. The ; following are tho current quotations:—Can- . terbury, 3jd.; North Island, 3Jd.; Australian, • ;2Jd. r and River Plate, 3d. per lb. "The lamb' market is a shade weakor, owing . to large arrivals frdm Australia. Canterbury ] lamb is quoted at 5Jd., and othor than Can--1 terbury at 5Jd. per lb. • - The beef -markot is steady, and demand has 1 .been chiefly for forequarters. Current quotations are:—Hindquarters, 3Jd.; v forequarters, 2jd.. per. lb.. . ; The butter market is very firm. There is , a great demand in the markot for Christmas ; trade, and it is, estimatod that supplies will ' bo short. Choicest Now Zealand buttor iB [ quoted at 120s.- per cwt.; Australian, 1175.; Argentine, 1175.; Danish, 1235.; Siberian, 1095.; ] saltless is quoted at 2s. per, cwt, less than j above' prices. The damaged buttor from s.s. Turakina is realisine 112s. per cwt. There is a better demand for cheese. White manufacture is quoted at GOs.; coloured at 61s. per cwt. i The hemp markot is qniet, with small busi- > ness ■ doing. The following are tlio currcnt ; quotations:—Good fair grade on spot, ,£29; , fair grndo on spot, ,£2B; fair current Manila i on spot, JE29 10s. January-March shipments: , Good fair grade, .£2B; to grade, .£27; fair i currcnt Manila, .£29.

• COMPANY ' tapiw .FunSd §£ -rf PRICES. Yield i '■ Taid Up. Halnnco ''J'lier d Lust T„vl»tnr Forward S c. bhar0 " B«JW. • Seller. , Ea ] 0 . Interior. banks. ■■■■£ "i' v " ': : f ■ • f £ £ e. a. f t. a. x «.'a. * Kew Zealand . . - J.OCO.OOO f8l,673 Si. "M ]0 ' 0 17 0. 9.10 0 310 2 ' Rational - - • ■ a75,OJO 335.318 ti 15 ' 12 S'6 6' 5 8 .0 1NSUBANCE. ' ' : : • Kalionalv - - . 1CO.OOO .549.330 | nnltd. "m*. 1 : ;•.'•■ 'J-.* 0 511 1 >ew Zealand- . - ECO,000 -"-S36.7S5 >i B 10 310 .0 4 10 South British - 100.000 •; 513.109 1 unitd. '30 * •• «• 6tondMd - 55,000 62,163i nnltd. ..10 • ,13 0.110 130 CIS 4 Equitable Building 1 - £0,000 , ' " it SOf) "'' 5 5 ]0 "10 3 6 10 5 0 10 2 6 418 5 Metropolitan lluildine El.pCO., : V v .5.23 . jo','"'nil., ' "7." : .i ! " . . Wcllinston Invest. -- 50,000-- ■ : <8,033- 1— .• fH -3 0 12 0 SO 0 VTel'Rton Trusts Loan'' "101,230/' :S9.620 5 - 5 8' 7 0 G 7 10 0 .7 10 0 5 6 8 NationalMortgage.• - 200,000' .112,550, 9. '' 8 . -30- i- 350 i. » j>.® * J J K.K. and Rivur Plato - 300,000-*' 2S0.31S 1 Jlil 7 ' 1 9 0 1 9 -9 ' 1 3 G 4 15 0 Loan and Morc&ntile/- . 135,233'.; ,157,3Si.: .. J ' 85 " 6 P 5 6 .. ...0 7 6 0 5 6 9 19 Auckland I - : .1E0,370 HX553 : • nil 15 ..M 0 0 14 60 CMstehurch ., 152,000 *.' ,D5,0S7' ' 5" "nil 1 10 • ' 10 '2 (i .' FeildmH - ... . 30,E01 -103 1 nil 016 9' 01S 0 01.7 0 Gisborno - . . -17,100 p,239 ■ 1 nil 12} 213 0 Hawcra . .1. 8,250 745 f i' 10 few Plymouth - . 18,000 ' 3,159 5' nil " -10 • -- — 715 .0. i>apier - / - •■'. , . ) 10 nil 15 » 0 0 .. . 49,957 f ,.22,517 6 5 IS ln 10 0 „ - .•••-•. j j. • fl 1 • 15 3 7. t» - Talnierston North . •' £7,000'' 11,033" 44 i - 10 --t' % 6 7 .3 C 6(4 Vcllint'ton - , , 12W70 » 57933 10 nil 10 »M 0 0 U IS 0 5C8 MEAT. ' " . . . ' I Canterbury-- . • - JSJ.7-27 TO,071 ■ 1i -21.., B i ••. 8 .0 0 . ' Christchurch . • ]GS,{»0 ' £4,337 " 1U nil. " 8 10 30 0 101J" 6 _ 1010. 0 715 4 Gear - ,* Kc00 | - t)o,-261 1 nil. lijj i 10 0 '112 0 W ellington Meat Exp. " | '• '5 nil. 8" 615 0 „ 105,756 f . ,63,767 4 1' . 8.500 ! 1 f 52 0 6 5 6 V „ I ■ m 21 ■ 8 3 6 6 3 7 6 3 7 0 6 5 4 TPanfiarm 45,850' " 31,401' . 5 , nil. 1 . 8 . TlUNSPOItT. , W. & H. Kailway - 170,003 121.453 1 4 7 '2 30 236 239 336 K.Z. Shipping'..' • • 473,840 113,751 8' .nil.: 5 6 6 0 '6 5 0 6 5 0 6 8 0 Union Steam :. . - ctO.OOO 472,593 10 nil. 10 20 15 0 21 0 0 20 17 6 4 1 6 10 "Vi'Stn. Steam Forry 46,253 ' 1 65 1 nil. 6 0 18 0 118 0 COAL. : Vcstport - . JfO.OOO- 117,215. . 8|. ' 15 .. .15 "■ 7 16 0 7 17 0 716 0 614 7 aaupiri - . . t2,C0J 5,319 1 nil. 7J 019 6 0 19 9 WOOLLEN. , ... Eniapoi-. - - . 100,003 .£2,851 5- nil.; 6 . llosuiel - • - . £.'1,457 17,113 51 14 4 2 19 0 3 0 0 218 4 Wellington - , . . to,000 t4,3£3 4 .1 .6 . . .8.8:0. 3.6 0 V 5 6 MISCELLANEOUS. Bonauhy liopo. • ■ 47,000 ' - 10 nil - 617 6 ■ ' Leylandd'O'Brien . S5.000 37,761 1 nil 15 2 4 9- 2 5 9 2 5 9. 6 6 0 liauricovillo Limo . 7,000 SOJ 'i n' 1 8 15 0 K.Z. Candle - • - . 10,000 .— 10 nil ._ 10 0 0 kJS;l)rug . tOO.UH 54,514 .'3 ..nil .7 ;.,.510 0. 2 11,6. J>./.l'aperMills . . . W,755 1,177 l' nil ' f 1 s'lO!- 1 3'3 1 3 3 6 0 S It.'I. Cement- - 40,000 ' • 2,018 1 ml 8 110 6 111 6 planning & Co. ' r D5.C00 1 37,670 4 1 ' "10 • 317 6 ; r Ward & Co. • " 1:0,000 E0.&55 *4' ' 1 10 4 17 6 6 2 0" 6 0 0 '800 wgln. Opera House " 36,630 l,70o 5 nil .g 615 0' 7 5 0 - 7 0 0 5 14 3 V"(jtn Fresh Food " 58,261 — 1 nil _ . V hitcombo & Tombs- 46.-350 f0,153 6 .nil 10 4 6 0 410 0 / khariaud, LimiieJ <8,67ii t,3U . • 1. nit 7i 119' 0 '