COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 753, 28 February 1910, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

, • ~- INVESTMENT ''SHAKES.'." "' "' ■ The .market was extremely dull .on Saturday, and: no .sales were recorded.' National Bank, buyers £6 3a.,'sellers £S 55.-' Gear.-Meat, .£l-. paid,' buyers-£2 13o. : ; Wellington Meat Export,-£5 paid,, buyers £6, £4. paid,:buyers , £4'l6B.;''\VeUington Woollon, ordinary, ..buyers. £3 Is., preference,, sellers, 6d..discount; Hikuraugi Coal, sell,ors'£l.2s. 9d.; Taupiri'.Ooal, sellers 19a. 6d.;' Westport Coal,.'buyers £6 ,Is.', sellers '£6 25.,\ Westport-Stockton, buyers, 75.. 3d., sell-' ers 7s. 9d.'; New Zealand Drug, buyers. £2' 75.; Sharland's preference, buyers £1 25.; Taranaki Petroleum, sellers Ss. 6d. j Ward and Co., buyers £4 145.; Wellington Opera House, sellers £7 17s.

''.. WEALTH. Never in any one year, has' France's wealth, as represented by'the valud of her negotiable securities; increased to such an extent as in 1909.. According .to a calculation .mado by the editor of,the "Ecoriomiste European," relating to 160 varieties of -French securities/ representing- 87 per' cent.,-of the.'wholo,'. their market valuo on Decembor,'3l last shows' an increase of £59,280,000 as. compared with ■ the • corresponding date- in 1908, a . gain of 2.55 per cent. Tho-year. 1908, it-self'a- record, produced on increase of;'only 2.17 iper cent. To'this-advance of nearly;6o millions ster-; ling must be added ah'.e'qual-amount, derived from the appreciation .'of forei;h securities, of .which about £1,520,000,00u are held in. France.- These holdings' have'appreciatedl on'the average about 4 por-cent.-'during the .year. Allowing : for .redemptions, the' total- accretion'.of wealth during the.twelve months "works "out at, in "round figures; .200 ■ millions sterling. Other signs .of- prosperity'aro'-to- bo found .in -tho rise, of-'.'French industrial'securities, the in tho..volume .of .foreign, trade, nnd in tho receipts of French ■ railways. Tho date of _ tho inevitable, reaction' depends'on the' more of.'less'excessive rapidity with'.which prices are put up and in: dustrial over-production takes place, and on political and international events-which no one can, foresee. ' .'■-',',

SCOTTISH.OIL TRADE. . The Admiralty., demand for'oil fuel,'for the Navy, is cxpccted;to:give a: strong impetus .lo the industry, and ihis Beems ; likely enough.' La-st year- the trado' re-; suited in larger profits than,in'l9oß'owing to increased consumption cost.,of .production;,' : The larger.; demand' for naphtha, which is now Doing; used- for' a ■ wide .- variety ■ of purnoses, 'has ''also' brought additional revenue to the trade. During, the . year the Navy came. into prominence as'a buyer of fuel oil, and it-is-an oil-of the nature generally used for' gas-making that is, wanted by-the Admir-i alty'.-. It'- has- beenjouhd -that 'the use of oil ■ fuel; enables a' much, higher speed to', bo obtained, and it is the fuel for; which the now high-speed destroyers are designed. The Scottish companies are tho' only producers within . the United Kingdom, and it is certainly to tho nation's interest - for . the Navy ,to be independent of foreign supplies; .■: The -exports of oil from the United Kingdom during each of the.past ten years.were as under:— . .

! Year;. , Tons. Year. Tons. : 1900 130,000.. 1905,. 189,000 1991 ;. 143,000 1906....:..... 201,000'" .1902 162,000'; 1907-.. 230,000 -1903'.......... 162,000 1908 ;..' 235.0C0 ". 1504 177,000 .: 1909' ;.. 265,000 ■'■ The Admiralty-order is said to be.for 100,000 tons;, if, so it will mean a very sub-'i stantial increase of trade-to the. Scottish companies and to'some extent warrants' tho advanccin the shares. ...BRITISH" BAIL WAYS. -• Fortune did not smile on the railway companies of tho United Kingdom in tho past year, tho .two; -outstanoing adverse' factors bqmg.tho continuance of the trade depression uuring the greater part of the year, and deplorably bad weather throughout . tho ■ summer, months.., As, regards tho country's trade tho. comparison was'with very poor returns in 1908, yet for the opening months of 1909 further declines were established. As the year progressed, however, art improvement took place. With respect, to . tno coaching revenue of the" companies the decreased [spending power of- tne public naturally operated against good returns, and, in fact,, any desire lo spend in this'direction -would have been enecked by the bad weather, which was an' unfortunate ■ characteristic of. 19u9. But though. the earning power of the' companies has been affected-by trade and weather, a brighter picture has been furnished by the' materia! economies practised by all the spending departments,-and tho savings in expenses, have ,' generally turned decreased'gross revenues into increased net earnings;' 'Tne lall iu' the price of coal naturally had a most important effect on the' companies' outlays,' and 36 companies paid £659,000 IeSB for ■their-fuel'in. the first six months of the year as' compared with 1908, and effected a total saving of £1,038,000.;. in all expenses. ' ; ' ' '; .-- ■ ' NOTES. ■ '■-

Tne official discount rate of the Imperial 13auk .of Germany .for tho past year aver-' aKed 3.921 per cent., comparing with-4 76 per cent., for 19C8, and 6.03 per cent for 1907. Tho open market, discount rate at Berlin averaged 2.86 per cont.. comparing with j.52 in 1908 and 5.12 pt* ce nt. in 1%; During the past dozen years the- rate averaged lower: than the ISO 9 rate onlv in 1902 and 1905; '■ y lu .

The firm of the Paris"'Rothschilds "has' been: reconstituted with- a'- capital of 50 :mil!iou francs (£2,000,000) -contributed by five ,(members, representing the three brothers or branches of the family. The' firm is now composed of two. bfot'hern of tho elder .generation'and tlu-uo cousins of the younger.

Tho amount of -businew 1 trans.-cted by the German clearing-houses- in 19(9 a<?ain Showed a considerable increase. Tl>e total turnover reached £2,571,003,000, Which denotes a gain of 10.6 per cent, over 1%8 The increased clearings were partly due to the improvement. in general bvsineis conditions, but tho growing use of cheuii"s in commercial transactions is also one cause.

Officiall. issued show that the value of New York for 1910 for taxation purposes, including .both real arc estate,' has been assessed at 7,876.000.000d0l l£l,575,000,000). This is an increa" over tho previous year of 283,000,000d01. (£56,600,-

'A Bill has bcCTi introduced in the TJ S Congress to reimburse certain fire iusvr a.uco companies the amounts-paid by tlie'm ;or property destroyed by lire i„ sui>pro««-' nig the bubonic plague in tho territory "orHawaii in the years 1890 and 19C0

Jlessrs. P. 11. liurgoyne and Co. report that the imports of- Australian wine into the United Kingdom for the twelvemonths wirtod December 31. 1909, were' 873 070'cal lons, as against 655,426 gallons for the corresponding period of-19C8, .an increase of :i,M 'gallons.

The directors of Howard Smith Co., Lira•■?.d, have decided lo recommend the payment of a dividend,, for the half voar ended December 31, ISO 9, of 6d. nor share -m the cumulative..profersneo-shares, and Is. 6d. on tho ordinary, shares. Tho or-

dinary general. meeting of shareholders in the company, will be .bold in tbc: board room, Market' Street, Sydney, on Thursday, March 3, at 2 p.m. The. transfer booka will be closed from February 22 until the date of the meeting, both inclusive. '

At the" last meeting of the council of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce a reoort was received from the perishable food section iu connection with the frozen meat industry, in which .-'it was pointed out that the section during the past three,. months had held conferences with shippers, • shipowners, stevedores, freezine companies, and others interested in tho trade, with the object of getting them into line for the carrying out of the suggestions embodied in the report of a special committee dated July 28, 1909. The report was adopted, and a letter has been sent to tho Minister for Customs, urging him to promptly appoint inspectors empowered to grant certificates that the moat at ship's side ."is in a fit and..pro-, per condition for shipment."

■> FEILDING MAEKET EEPOET. Messrs. A. H. Atldnson and Co., Ltd;, of Feildiug, report no quotable alteration in tho . values' for pigs. Poultry is selling well, young birds of any kind meeting. a ready salo at higher rates. Fruit was in heavy supply last week, especially tomatoes, which have come forward in quantities beyond requirements. For potatoes' of good sound quality there is strong inquiry, and good sales were made. Onions are wanted, and few lines offering. Quotations: Pigs: Slips and stores, 9s. 6d., lis. 6d., 13s. 6d., to 155.; porkers, 165., 18s., 19s. 6d., 21s, 6d,, to 225. ■ Poultry, at each: Hens, Is. 3d., Is. Bd., Is. lid., 25., to 2s. 4d.; cockerels, is:, Is. Id., is. 2d., Is. 3d.-, roosters, Is. 6d., Is. Bd., Is. 10d.;. chicks, 4d. to 7<L: ducks, Is. Id., Is: 2d., Is. 7d., Is. Bd. Produce:. Bran, 55.; pollard,. 3s. ,6d.;. wheat, 4s. 2d. to 4s. 9d. per bushel; oats,. 2s. 5d.; maize, 4s. 9d.; pears, 2s. 3d. to 2s. 9d.; plums, 2s. 3d. to 2s. 9d.;, tomatoes, Is. 6d. to 25.; cucumbers, Is. 9d.; onions, lid. per lb.; apple, 4s. to 4s. 6d.; potatoes, 10s.. 10s. 6d.; marrows, 2s. 6d.; factory bacon, sides 61d;; hams, 7d. per lb. •

LONDON MAEKETS. Messrs. Dalgety and Company, Limited, report having received the following cable messages from their London house under dato of February 24:—Frozen meat: Frozen mutton is in good demand, with the market firm at last quotations. ' Nesv Zealand frozen lamb is also firm.at previous quotations, and in good demand. Now.'Zealand prime crossbred- lamb, -.Canterbury,' heavy, is now quoted at 5Jd., and light at 58d. Australian lamb is in good demand, with prices 3d., higher. Prices; for beef, for which there is a fair demand, are jd. higher, but the' market is not quite so firm at the advance, which may not be maintained in tho- future. Tallow: Prices -are 3d. to 6d. higher: ' '

NEW SOUTH-WALES LOAN. By Teleeraph—Press Association—Copyright (Hoc. February; 27; 5 pjn.) 1 London, February 26. The scrip of -the New South Wales loan is quoted at 2s. 6d. premium. ■ LONDON MARKET QUOTATIONS. By Telegraph—Press Association—Oopyrleht. - . . (Rec. February 27,'5 p.m.) '■'. London, Februrjy. 26. Homp is quiet. January-March shipment, £25 per ton. ■ Copra—Fair business for South Sea in bags, at £24 2s. 6d. per ton. ' " Cotton.—American upland- middling cotton is-quoted in Liverpool at 7.84 id. per lb. ' . .. :;- THE METAL MARKETS.. By Telegraph—Press ABBociation-Oopyrisht, (Eec. February 27, 5 p.m:) ■"' • London, February 26. ; Copper.—On . spot,' £59 Us. 3d. per ton'j threo months', £60 7s. 6d. Tin—On spot, £151 per ton; three months, £152 10s. : ! '.' ■ : Load, £13 ss. per ton; Silver—Bar silver 'is quoted, at 238 d. per .ounco standard.' The fall .5b duo to,; the Indian' Budget proposal to raise tho import duty from,s per cent, to 4d. . per ounce. .bank' op;austkalasia: . ''';'. : .dividend of !l2 per cent. By Telegraph—Press Association—Oopyricht. . London, February'.2s. The Bank of, Australasia has declared a dividend .of 12. per cent, and a!bonus of Bs. per.share has added, £50,000 to rescrvo-and.£ls,ooo-to premises account, and.has. carried forward £7470. .