COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1076, 15 March 1911, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHAKES. Sales of investment shares recorded yesterday -wore Christchurch Gas at £9 15s. and Wellington Woollen preference at £3. The buying and selling (imitations were as' under:— Buyers Sellers £'i. d. £ s. d. National Bank — 6 2 0 National Mortgage 3 4 0 — Well. Investment 0 11 1 0 11 6 Well. Trust mid Loan... 7 12 6 Christchurch Gas 9 12 6 9 17 6 Fnlmcrston North Gas — 9 0 0 Wellington Gas (.£10) — 19 1 0 Well. Ga3 (£6 155.) 13 12 6 - National Insurance 1 14 9 —, N.Z. Insurance — 4 5 0 Christchurch Heat 15 15 0 — Gear Meat (£l> 3 4 0 - Meat Export (£5) 6 6 0 — Meat Export (£4) 5 2 6 - Meat Export (525. 6d.) ... 3 1 0 - Kaiapoi Woollen 5 10 — Well. Woollen lord.) 4 0 0 - Well. Woollen (prof.) ... 2 19 0 — I.eyland-O'Bricu 16 3 16 9 Manning and Co 4 10 6 4 12 0 Miramar. litd - 0 2 6 N. 7,. Con. Dental 12 6 13 6 N.K. Drug 2 9 0 T . N.Z. Cement — 14 0 Sharland's ordinary — 14 6 Tnranaki Petroleum — 0 14 3 Taringamutu Totara 2 7 6 2 9 6 Ward and Co 418 0 -

WAIJII DEBACLE. Commenting: on the collapse of Waihi the "Financial Times," of .Monday, January 30. cays:—

"Another'instap.ee of the folly of too many speculators in buying shines at obviously inflated prices and then trying to comfort themselves by facile aburj of the 'bears' when' the inevitable crash comes is afforded by the case Of Waihie. From tha fall statement u" the. position and prospects of the mine at last, issued by tho dircetorr,, it will bo seen that the recent fall in the shares is more than justified... -Had it. not been.for repurchases by the much maligned 'bears' the price would no doubt have had an oven more severe tumble ou Saturday than actually occurred. The directors, in agreement with tho staff it the mine, have decided to make so substantial a reduction in the output, that from next June no more than 40 to 45 per cent; in dividends can be looked for yearly unless the position of the mine improves. This would represent only about 10 per cent, on the present price of just over £4, and as there is eo certainty that this can be maintained long enough even to return his capital to a purchaser now the outlook for holders of Waihis is not bright. The only consolation- is the possibility that the mine may improve in depth again or that substantial discoveries may be made in the large virgin area of the company's property known as the Union Waihi Ground.' It is easy to blame the directors for not having grappled with the position sooner,' and for. not having been franker with the shareholders as to the doubts regarding the outlook which must have grown up some time ago in tho minds of those in control of thp propertv. Bit it is difficult'to sympathise with people who paid up to £11) for Waihis last year, at which price on the l>a.°is of the record dividend of 18s. per share distributed for 19f9. tho yield was no more than 9 Der cent, per annum, while the oro reserves were only three or four years ahead of the mil!. To buy into a nuartz propo.ution—outside new mines with big speculative possibilities—to obtain a. yield of less than 15 to ZO per cent, per annum is to court' disaster whenever the first serious adverse turn occure in developments."

LOCAL DIRECTORS' CIRCULAR. ißy Telegraph—l'rcsa Association.. ' • ••Auckland, March 14. Tho local directors of the .Waihi Co. (lion. Seymour ' Thome George and Mr. Chas. Rhodes) have issued a circular to shareholders soliciting proxies m favour ot tho election of the present directors in London. Eeferrinc to the Wellington Committee's tcouosl for proxies in favour of-Mr. Tapman, who it is stated is not registered >a3 a shareholder, the circular states:—"The. conflfehce of shareholders has • been expressed individually and col-lectively-in the present directorate. The local directors feel confident that', a large body ot shareholders ' who still have confidence would regret if at this juncture anything was done to. make • the position of the board still more difficult. To endanger the re-election of Mr. Mitchiebn. the present chairman, they urge, would bo a step full of risk to the welfare oi the'company. They express themselves convinced that no foundation for the suggestion that' directors . or the executive made unworthy use of their information. They assert that personally ■ neither of then) has benefited by any trafficking in Waihi shares, and neither has-been concerned in any .operations whatever. in shares since tho market - began to fluctuate more than a year ago. Motion*). are to- be submitted to the annual meeting requesting that the directors should obtain -a complete report by a .first-class mining engineer, not resident in New Zealand, upon the whole position of the mine, -particularly the methods of wording the ore reserves and the management generally; that all reports, cabled or otherwise, be published immediately in Xow Zealand and London: that the oueftion of tho leakage of information, be investigated, and all possible steno be taken to •prevent' such leakage.

BRITAIN'S EXTERNAL TRADE, 1910. Striking cvider.ee of the great volume of the external trade of The United Kingdom, and of its remarkable expansion in 1910. is afforded by.tho recently issued

"Accounts' Relating to the j_ Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom" for the month and ' twelve mouths ending Dcrenibcr 31 last.

Tho following statement contains figures taken from the accounts '--lor' the years 1909 and 1910, with'comparative, figures for the year 1907—these"- being tho highest re-corded-prior to 1910:— ■

Increase por cent, iu 1910, as compared with Merchandise . 1907. 1909. 1910. 1907. 1909. ipnly. ■ Mill'n. Mill'n. Mill'n Per Per £ £ £ cent. cent. Imports 645.8 624.7 678.4 6.1 8.6 ExportsUnited Kingdom produce 426.0 . 378.2 430.6 1.1 13.9 Foreign and colonialproduco 91.9 91.3 103.8 12.9 13.6 ■As tho clement of price enters largely into a comparison of this kind, it is important to state that, due allowance being made for price chances, both the imports and the exports of 1910 wero greater, not only in value, but also in volume, than thoso of any previous year, not excepting 1907.

Of the increase of £52X00.000 in exports of United Kingdom produce (£20,000X00) represents the increase in consignments to other parts of the British Empire, raisins the proportion of such exports from 55.6 per cent, of the total in' 1909 to 34.2 per cent, in 1910. : ,

' The figures Riven above show that the imports into tho United Kingdom in 1910 were Valued at £53.7C0.C00 more than in 1909. Of this total increase no less than J41.1C0.0C0 was repror-ented by.tho increased value of raw materials imported, and even when allowance is made for the exceptionally high prices of two articles of great importance, raw cotton and rubber, and for re-exported raw materials, the figures indicate a, substantial increase in the supplies of the numerous materials of industry drawn from various parts of the world for use in the manufacturing establishments of the United Kingdom. l[oro than seven-eighths of the increased value of exports of United Kingdom produce is accounted for by an increase in goods classified .as "articles- vrho>y or mainly manufactured."

The total valno of the merchandise imported in to the United Kingdom from New Zealand, and that of tho merchr.ndiae exported from the United Kingdom to Now Zealand, during tho years 1909 and 19)0, wero as followl:—

Mill'n. Mill'n. £ £ Imports into the United Kingdom from New Zealand 17.73 • 20.94 Exports from the United Kingdom to New Zealand— Of United Kingdom produce 7.35 8.63 Of foreign and colonial produce 0.73 0.76 There are thus an increase of 18 polecat, in imports from New Zealand, and one of 17 per cent, in exports of United Kingdom produce to New Zealand. Among the principal articles were tho following:— Value. 1909. 1910. Imports from New Zealand— £ £ Mutton, frozen 3,499,t'00 4,238.000 Beef, frozen ...' 660,000 798,000 Butter 1.472,000 2.001.CC0 Ohccso 1,114,000 1,311.000 Wool, sheep's or lambs' 6.935,000 8,527.000 Tallow and stearine 700,000 819X05 Skins (sheep) 611,000 623.000 ' Hemp, dressed and undressed , 215,000 426.00 D Exports to New Zealand (United Kingdom produce)— Iron and steel, and manufactures thereof fen far as separately distinguished in the monthly accounts)..-.. 820.000 1,039.000 Cotton piece goods 657.C00 738,000 Woollen - and worsted tissues ........; -. ' 304,000 766.000 Apparel 467.0C0 538.CC0 WHEAT TRADE POSITION. . Mr. Geo. Broomhall. F.R.SIS., statistician to-the-Liverpool grain trade, in hi-> special report on the course of the wheat trade during the first six months (to January 31), of the cereal year, points out that his prediction that a record demand would be met by record supplies is in a fair ■ way to hoing realised: Tho estimate of the likely roQuiremcnts of the sea-son was put at 76,600,000 Quarters.,; equal to 38,300,000 quarters for six months, whereas tho actual not import of the several 'countries concerned has been 41,977,000 quarters in the first six month?. The consumption or "takings" by millers in the United Kingdom is fully up to expectation:,. Tho estimate for tho Continental'requirements for the whole season was 40.100,000 onartors, and in six months .the imports have amounted to 23,400,000 ouartcrs. which ehow that cither tho consuming power was under-estimated, or that already more than one-half, cay 53 per cent., has been satisfied in six month'!. The following table shows the approximate exports for the six months of the producing countries, and Mr. BrodmhaH's estimate for the full current cereal yuan-

Twelve Six months' months. estimate. Qrs. Qrs. U.S. and Canada 8.830.CC0 15.000,000. Etissia 16.125.000 23,C0D,C00 Balkan States 3.253.CC0 ll.OOO.nju India 2.G10.0C0 6.0C0.0CR Argentina, 5.365.K0 M.PCO.OM Australia 2.705,000 6.000,000 Other countries 701,000 I.SC9.CCO '.2.792.0C0 7j.5e0.C0Q Jlr. Ih'oomhall concludes by paying that it, must lie frankly admitted there is plenty of wheat, in sitrht, available, tor all purposes and, unless the demand from importing countries duritic the second half of the season should be on the same immen=o scale as durinp; the first sis months it. it difficult to foo how it can all ho marketed without beinc pressed for sale.

Of course, a second partial failure in France, or the partial loss of the American winter wheat, or the Russian spring wheat crop would relieve the situation, for then grower;; in other countries would hold hack, and merchants importing countries would wish to araaa; stocks in anticipation of' a possible scarcity nest Eeason. Customs duties collected at tho port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £5107 Is. 9(i.

•TRADE IK ALLEN STREET. Fruit.—The llokoia reached port on Tuesday with, transhipments ex Talune from the Cook Islands. The shipment included 25C0 cases orange? for this port. Heavy shipment,; of peaches aud apples continue to arrive almost daily from tho Jiotucka. district. Pa.ssion fruit have eased in price, and the market is being well supplied with JTuw Zealand-grown. The bulk of the pears which reached this market on Friday last arrived in an overripe condition, and the results will leave a. loss 'to (shippers. Tomatoes from the Hutt district show no signs of decreasing, and the market is now extremely low.

Vegetables.—Harrows arc selling at very low rates, whilst pumpkins have better inquiry. Cabbages arc realising from 4s. to Gs., according to finality. Tho demand, for cauliflowers is good, and green peas arc also in good rceucst. Onions—Fairly heavy salc3 arc being made now owing, no doubt, to the low prices ruling, viz., £4 to £4 10s. An excellent demand exists for pickling onions at Id. per lb. Potatoes.—A largo percentage of the potatoes from tho South Island are reaching the market in a wormy and blighted condition, and extreme care has to be exercised in buying from southerners. So far, North Island cupplics do not appear to be affected. . Butter continues 12 excellent demand, prime milled in bulk realising 9*d. to 10d. per lb. . . Cheese.—The usual demand is being experienced, with no change in the quotations. - ■ Eggs—The market has cased slightly today's . prices being Is. sd. to Is. 6d. for trcsh, and Is. ?.d. for Drcservcd. Hams nud Bacon.-The trade continues good with no variation in tho prices. Flour—Moderate shipments of Australia!l'arc coming forward, the Gelling price here being £9.155.. per ton. Oatmeal.—This l? being offered at £11 per ton f.o.b. south, less the usual trade discount. . • ' ~,,.,,, Rolled oats have slightly better inquiry. )ats—The market, continues firm in tin south, mini'prices have advanced hero id. per bushel. ' Bran.—Supplies are fully ec.ua! to requirements, and- the flotation is 65a. f.o.b. south. '. ' ' Maize.—Fair sales arc. being made at 3s! 3d. to 3s. 4d. per bushel.

'• AUSTRALIAN WHEAT. By Telcgr'anli- l'nss'A"oe|:i linn -Copyright ■ ' (Rec. March 14, 9.45 p.m.) London, March 14. Australian Wheat—Twelve to fifteen thousand cuartcrc- at tir« nortr, JanuaryFebruary shipment, have been sold at 335. 7Jd. THE METAL MARKETS.. Uy Telegraph -Tress Association -Copyright (Rec. March 14, 9.45 p.m.) London, March 14. Copper-On spot, £54 17s. 6d.; three months, £55 18s. 9d. Tin.—For forward delivery, £179 10s. Lead, £13 2s. 6d.

GRAIN AND PRODUCE. (By Telegraph.-Press Association.! Chrlstchui'ch, March 14. Tho local wheat market i 3 very auiet since buyers .reduced their limits, many farmers preferring to hold rather than accept present values. Exporters say tlicy cannot give moro than 2s. lid. at country stations, though urimo milling samples may in cases realise 3s. During tho last few days some 800 to SCO saoits have been purchased at 2s. lCd. for Hunters, and 2s. Ltd. for tuscan, at a. 3d. station.

The oats market is vers'-firm, and offerings arc still scarce. Oartons are worth up to 2s. 2d., and for Algerians u» to 23. 3d. at country stations has been paid. A Ohristchurch business man,, who has been on a visit to - Southland, states that the crops there will be all harvested within a fortnight. About ninety per cent, of the oats now grown are Cartons. The watht-r has been so fine that a large Quantity of oats arc being threshed from stook. and the crop, so.far,as yield is concerned, is an average one. At present 2s. at country stations is being paid, though in a week or two, when offerings increase, prices :may ease somewhat. The short-age of oats in North Oiaso-and Canterbury is expected however,' to' keen the market firm. The prices asked for oatsheaf chatf are beyond exporters' limits, but there is a eertoin amount of speculative business being done in conscoucnce of a probable shortage of feed in the winter. Up to 70s. at country stations has been paid.

A fair amount of business is being done in potatoes, though most of the samnlcs b?in!» offered are not yet ripe enough for coastal shipment, and outside of the demand for immediate use of the business is being done for April delivery.

Partridge peas nre easier in consonuencc of a falling market at Home, and 3s. Id. is the outside price now being paid.