COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 767, 16 March 1910, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INTESTMENT SHAEE3. No transactions in investment ■ shares wero recorded yesterday, and tho quotations were restricted. National Mortgage, buyers £3; Feilding Gas, buyers FA is. 6d.; Wellington Meat Export, £2 12s. 6d. paid, sellers £2 165.; Wellington Woollen, ordinary, buyers £3 25.; Taupiri Goal, buyers 195.; Westport Coal, buyers £6 2s. 6d.; Leyland-O'Brien Timber, buyers £1 55.; Sharland's preference, buyers £1 25,; Taranaki Petroleum, buyers 8s:, sellers 10s.; Ward and ,Co., brewery shares, sellers £5. / ' OROSSBKED WOOL.' At the opening of the London wool sales coarse crossbred wool displayed a weak tone, and' inferior descriptions, declined a shade, and that decline appears to have been maintained. The easier tone is duo ! to the demand on American account being restricted. It makes a wonderful differ* once to greasy crossbred wools when the representatives of the United States are operating. If tho Americans have secured all the crossbred wool they require this season, then there a possibility of the staple declining in value. The Americans have bought , largely in Australia and New Zealand, and it is not unlikely ! that they are well provided with the raw material, but there are--other considera- j toons-to be taken into account before a decision can be arrived at. Bradford is 1 also a large consumer of crossbred wool, while some Continental houses also need large supplies. The market is not wholly dependent % upon . the American demand. Ihen, again, there is the ouestion of supplies; "

The Kiver Plate clip is a source of unfailing interest to New Zealand pastoralists, because the wools grown'in the Argentine come into active competition with those erowir in Great Britain and in the Dominion. It is now history that 8, serious drought has affected the flocks of the Itiver Plate, and all authorities agree that tltero is going to be a decline of 10 to 15 per. cent, this Reason in its output of wool. iK.- 1 ! 8 b ? !le r,e ( l Jh a t the increase from NewZealand will about make up the deficiency w ° ol consumers throughout the world will just • have auoct w,V-^ ntlty of ororabred ' wool as they had last season. As the trade of the world was. easily a bl(j to, absorb - last seaMain Ne w Zealand-and. the Itiver fiirlv w™ both c * Bes - thero was a ?i,™ y c " Tr ?- ove r.- m consequence of * „ 1U £ P rl \? n then it is quite equal to absorbing the combined pro* bodv nlilft! two cou "t. r ies named. tt S, v i a l. a ? ur P!us. Trade is good h? Amori o i rc j ° 2 , tIM Continent, and llm ? ii dov fi |o Pments are taking ■tfif to pSST* crosabreds are , GREAT BRITAIN'S CREDIT, In the "Maim" of January 21 annparti an article headed ''Grear Britain Declining Credit," in which is riven a dt ■Mls'ind^Sir H° pri . ce of British oonsols and their yield per cent, on the mar-' ? r i C 1 f X m 1792 ' Tho artiol « is mainiy devoted to, the causes of. the decline of 1J.45 ?nrl °ion« w s} . place between .1896 and 1906, and. of tho further fall of 7.70 per cent, which has followed since 1906. out • that. the first decline of 13.45 per cent, waa to be. accounted for by indefinite causes, the Transvaal war, which enormously increased the country's i German competition, 'which considerably reduced the earnings i?> -r-1 ? mercantile marine and of I British foreign trade. But to what must be attributed the further decline of 7.70 per cent, since 1906? The journal eives a tabulated statement of the rise or fall in I tne prices of loading foreign securities to' snow- that thig continued : declining tend* , ency is peculiar to Great Britain, and that 1 ei J, orm ou6 depreciation suffered by Bri- i tish Consols casnot be attributed to a" general crisis. It points out that in the only five cases where there has been a decline in leading foreign stocks there has been a cause which does not apply in the case of Great Britain. Thus, the decline in Prussian Consols has been due to the increase in, the German debt, while the amount of Great Britain's indebtedness has been-reduced. The fall in Egyptian Unineas is, to be .attributed-to the great Egyptian.crisis of 1907-8, from which Egypt is still in process of recovery. The change in the price of Italian stocks is due to the conversion of. 1906, while the decline in the French Three Per Cents, is so slight as to need no .comment. Tho journal coneludes that 4 tho irresistible deduction is that'the«ychief, if not the. sole, cause ofthe progressive decline in British national credit is • what the journal describes as the ; violently aggressive financial policy" pursued by the Liberal party since its accession to office. "The consequence," tho journal concludes, "is that Great/Britain, which has always enjoyed the highest credit in the world since the time of Elizabeth, w losing that privilege," and th&t if tho British Government found itself for any reason, under the necessity of borrowing, it would have to pay for its new capital 20 per cent, mcrre than it would have had to pay in 1896.

Customs 'revenue collected at Wellington yesterday amounted' to £1522 18s. 9d,

TRADE IN ALLEN STREET. The fruit market exhibits a better tone, and, except for a few lines, prices are a shade higher.

Pears.—About a week or ten days ago supplies were very heavy, and price 3 generally were at unprofitable level, but during the past few daya an improvement hag taken place, and values are now cruit© 23 per cent, better.

Apples have been ruling very low, bnt recently a wolcome improvement has taken place. No supplies are coming forward xroin Auckland, while in past, seasons thia market has been well supplied from that quarter.

Tomatoes are now showing a tendoncy to advance, as the glut appears now to be at an end. There is not likely to be a relapse.

G rapes.—Very little, if any, grapes are expected from South Australia this weoK. because just a day or two prior to the time for shipment wet weather was experienced. This should cause retail prices to advance.

'Peaches.—An advance was. looked for long before this, but has not been realheavy PI) 8 ara sti " comparatively Oranges.—A shipment from the Cook Islands arrived yesterday in fairly good condmon, but some of the fruit is a little

( J c^ abl ? B aro . in am P le supr'y me , the present requirements. Cabbages" cauli■mand. 8 ' 6reon PCM are in m °3t do-

in B go t S-le r rn 0 d. PaStry bUttOT lato a ra4 U<l ba ° 0n mCCt with at continue scarce, but mS ar ? in ample supply. Wheat. Tho market is easier rv»p wheat there is a fail- demand Wl " o ,?J"?f l6,_^ outhe - rn markets continue weak boon n y°^rf D pLt haTC Gr n0 ' th " a VCry ™P r °Dtable lino T>V? por v° a "i or ?. 13 obtainable. * Flour. Prices have declined by about 10s per ton sinco last week. ut AUB, Pollard and bran aro without alteration. LONDON WOOL SALES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Cony rich t mu i' i London, March 14 The wool market was .very firm, and com. changed maintained. Prices were un(Rec. March 16, 0.1 a.m.) .... , , , London, March 15. A* the woo] ea2o3 Hiku brajid realised as hifih as 14id., and averaged 125 d,,

METAL MAEKETS. \ London, March 15. Copper.—On \spot, £59 3s. 9d.; three months, £60 2s. 6d. Tin.—Dull. Bulls are realising owing to fears that the coal strike in Wales will cheek consumption. On spot, £144: three months. £143 17s. 6d. SILVER, Silver is quoted at 23 5-Bd, per oz. standard. WHEAT AND FLOTTE. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyrigiu London, March 14. The wheat and flour afloat for thoTTnited Kingdom is 3.890,000 Quarters; for the Continent, 2.215.C00 quarter??; Atlantic shipments, 47,000; Pacific, 13,GC$. The total quantity for Europe was 1,245,0C0 quarters, including 433,000 from Argentine and Uruguay,