COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1241, 25 September 1911, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. No sales of investment shares wero made on Saturday. The buying and selling quotations were as under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ 3 (1. £ s. d. Well. Investment 0 11 9 - Well. Gas (£10) - 19 0 0 Well. Gas (£7 155.) - 15 17 6 Well. Gas (rights) 0 0 4 0 0 6 Christchurch Meat - 15 10 0 N.K. Shipping — 11 7 0 Union Steam - *'2 1 0 Well. Woollen (ord.) — 4 0 0 West-port Coal 18 6 ■ — Leyland O'ltricu 1 J! - },:/,. Paper Mills 10 5 Taranaki Petroleum - 0 18 0 Taringamutu Totara 2 2 9 2 3 6 Kotuku Oilfields, lCs 0 16 0 - THE MONEY MARKET. The advance of the rate of discount o( the Imperial Ban!: of Germany has met with a quick response in London and Paris, and the simultaneous advance made by the Bank of England and -the Bank of Prance leads to the surmise that tho two institutions have boon acting in concert. Looking at the figures of the Bank of England published on Saturday, there is -nothing in them to warrant a rise in the bank rate. On the contrary, they display considerable strength. As compared with a year ago, tho position is exceptionally strong, and the bank could have carried on without raising its rate. Thero is, of course, the usual end of the quarter commitments to be provided for, nnd, so far a-s can be seen, provision has been made for them, for the bank has met the demands of borrowers to the extent of nearly threo millions sterling during the week. As to the Bank of France, it is little disturbed by monetary movements in other centres, and just now the withdrawal of crcdM from Germany must have strengthened it very materially. The only reason that can be suggested for the advance in the discount rates is that London and Paris have been and still ore acting jointly to continue tho financial embarrassment that -is being experienced in Berlin. The monetary position in the German capital is obviously bad, and something in the nature of a panic must exist when the. Bourse is being stormed with selling orders. The decline in Consols is prctably due to foreigners realising to meet obligations elsewhere. The troubles ol Germany may develop into a. crisis, and involve some other European natior-?. In Arstria. for instance, such n crisis utiglK have far-reaching effects. .LONDON WOOL SALES. The fifth o f the series of London sales will begin a? the Wool Exchange, Coloman Street, te-morrow and there is, unfortunately, a- probability that values will decline. Tho latest quotations for Bradford Tops b'l'Mv that the market is weaker, especially for fine wools, and top-mak-ers are maning forward sales on a. lower basis of value. , , than those current for spot. This means, of course, . that in their .opinion there will bo no improvement in the market. At the Antwerp sales, hold a few (Toys ago, there was a pronounced fall in values. It, however, is well ti bear in mind that, at the September sales, attempts are usually made to bear the market'so as to make buying in Australasia- more profitable. "MADE IN JAPAN." . Tho llritish Acting-Consul in Tokio has furnished ir.icrestir.f; particulars of a number of exhibits shown at the national. Onptt'ioso exhibition, hold at Kobe, in May last. lie. principally dealt with Europeanstylo goods made in Japan. And Ausliraiian manufacturers may well feel intwest(■d in the revelations made. The exhibits represented just tho lines cf goods eiportod in greatest onantMics to the markets of India, China, .-.ml other Oriental countries from the western manufacturing 'centres. They were very varied,.rang- I inc Irom up-to-date cicatrical machinery and steamship modds to such articles as umbrellas, tinned provisions, cotton and woollen goods, and imitation leather. The salient feature, generally, was their remarkable cheapness a? compared with the European article. In respect of quality, the -Japanese product was, it appears, far behind; but, to the poorer classes in China, Korea, Asiatic Russia, the Straits Settlements, and British India, which form' the principal markets for these goods, nuality is a secondary consideration. As 'iiiEtanras of this cheapness, tho following ouotations are interesting:—Sewing machine, £3 ss. M. (European machine of similar make £5 (",. 2d.); "Nipponophons," £2 Up. (similar American gramophone. £7 13.i. Id.) • black cotton socks, extra thick roles. 3s. 2d. per dozen; imitation linoleum, 3ft. x 2ft-.. 2s. Ed.: potud ham, 2Jd. per tin; woollen sweaters, £1 14s. Ed. per do^on: and cotton vests, with imitation lace frilling, exported principally to Turkey, 4s. 6d. per dozen. The world is moving when the 'Japanese arc bufy mnnufa-eturinq; nnd exporting in quantity, cottou vests for the still turbaned Turk of modern Europe. DEAR FOOD - RIOTS. Tho dear food riots in Europe—especially those in Austria and Franco—must ultimately result in some modification of tho duties levied on imported meat. In both countries tho rioters have rcada a npeda] demand for the admission of foreign meat. The price of meat in Austria has reached a. point which prevents a vast section of the population from buying it at all.. When, a year of two ago, it was ascertained beyond doubt that tho production of cattle wae decreasing in Austria, the example of Gre.it Britain was followed, and frozen meat from overseas wa3 welcomed as a way out of the difficulty. Argentine meat was imported, tried and approved, and it was believed that, while the import of frozen meat regulated the prices, the Government would take measures to enable the rural population to rear cattle, in numbers as great as had been tbe case ten years ago. But the formidable agrarian partjos joined hands to save their interests, which were then threatened by the import of cheap meat. Tho Government were induced to conclude a, secret _ treaty, by which the imports of Argentine meat were limited to quantities which made it imporsihlc that the necessary investments for freezing establishments, transport steamers, etc., could be made by capitalists. But this wan not. all. A limited nuantity of frozen mr.U was admitted up till the end of June. The whole quantity was not sold, and cf tho WOO tons admitted only 3382 tons were imported.. Out of these moreover W0 tons were sent on to England, so that the total consumption from January to Juno amounted to 29C0 tons. TRUSTS AND KINGS. In these days of trusts and anti-tru?t movements, it is.interesting to note that the Emperor of Austria has a monopoly on the manufacture o? the very finest porcelain, and the Government of Greece controls a playing card trust. The Emperor of Japau controls all the tobacco in Japan. He does not grow it, but everyone in Japan who does grow tobacco must sell it to him at a nrico Used by the Royal merchant. Then the Emperor turns round and fells it to tho manufacturers at a figure he fixes himself. The Republic of Colombia Government makes all the ire for that countrv and its importation. As it'.c is perhaps the most needful commodity in the little republic, and as shutting off the supply would bring much discomfort. Colombia has its citizens in the hollow of its hands. If there is ever any protest-at prices or any signs of revolution the Government simply stops selling ice. The. Chinese, Government has perhaps the most profitable monopoly of all—salt. It clears not far from £2,KO,DCD a year in all out of Us trust. Anybody can produce salt but he must sell it to tho Government itself, or to merchants who have bought the rights for r-ertuiu districts. In France the Government lia_= :t monopoly o! the. manufacture and ."ale of matches and tobacco product;;. The Government of Italy is said to make £7.CCO,CiO a year out of its tobacco monopoly. A great part of this tobacco is r.iised in the United States and imported into that country. The .Russian spirits monopoly is also a tremendous source of national revenue. CUSTOMS. Customs revenue collected at t!ie "ort nf Wellington on Saturday amounted to £935 2j. Id., tho total for tho week heinj .€21.591 •I 1 ;. lCd. The returns for each of the- pa'-t oight weol;-, ns compared with the figures for the corresponding periods of last yaav, show as under:— 1311. 1910. £ £ August 5 11,5:8 18.252 August 12 25,137 J,5 055 August l<) 11,592 1(1.161 : August 26 15,965 26.1f>9 September 2 18.156 11.393 September 9 2).«6 12.E>;9 September 16 13,455 !3.8.iS September 23 21,591 22.5-52 ! l<o.Blo 144.289 1 The beer duty for the week amounted to £"C 7 2?., a-s ngainit £389 <s. for the corre.-- • ponding week of last year. ; LONDON MARKET?. i By Tolcjriph-l'ress Association- Cepyrislu J (Rec. September 24, 5.5 p.m.) ; London, September Zl. , Rabbits are firm ami are selling well. ■ Bc.-t. Sydney, ex store, 16i.; Melbourne, ! 155.; New Zealand. 163.. extra good 17s. ) Cotton—September-October shipment, 5.62(1. 5 per lb. Jute.-October shipment. £19 159. per ton. ! Ilcinp k dull. Scptoiabcr-A'ovenibar ship--1 ments, £20 per ton.

liubber.—Fine, hard Para rubber is quoted at 4s. 10i<i. per Hi. Hides are duil. Copra is quiet, South Sea, in bags, £25 15s. to £26 per ton. ANTWERP WOOL SALES. Ujr TelograDU-l'ress Assocmtion-CopyrigM (Rec. September 24, 5.5 p.m.) London, September 25. The Antwerp wool sales have closed; 8396 bales La Plata were offered and 4158 were sold. AUSTRALASIAS MORTGAGE CO. REPAYING STOCK. !3y Tcleirrapli—PrcFs Ass-ocialion-Copyricht (lici , . September 24, 5.5 p.m.) London, September 23. The Australasian Mortgage Agency Company proposes repaying 70 per cent, of the preference stock. NORTH OTAGO PRODUCE. (ISr Telegraph.—Frcs3 Association.! Oamaru, September 24. There is practically no wheat in farmers' hands at present, and purchases are being made in the south. 3s. £d. for Velvet is the ruling price. No transactions have taken place in oats, of which the local market is bare. The ruling price is 3s. Tho potato market _is depressed. The average ruling price is £2. Seed crops arc now nearly all in and there i<s little movement. Butter is "lcntiful, and the supply is increasing. Separator butter sells at lCd., and dairy butter at 8(1. Eggs are plentiful at Ba. per dozen.

FARMERS' CO-OPERATIVE. (By Telegraph— Presa Timarti, September 23. The annual meeting of the Farmers' Co-operative Association took place to-day and was largely attended. The balancesheet showed paid-up capital amounting to £82,045. uncalled capital £82,854, reserves £51.117. fixed deposits £160.000. gross earnings £60,000, and net do. £24.000. The sale 3 comprised:—Merchandise £276,000, grain £191,000, at auction £431,000. total £898,C00. This is an increase of £16,450 over the preceding year. The profits distributed in dividends and bonuses since tho inauguration of the Association have been £218,000, and the shareholders number 2325, of whom 2400 hold from one to five shares. Tho employees total 252. and salaries and wages amount to £22.053. The Association has just opened a new branch at Fairlie. The chairman regretted the fre.qucucy with which the Association lnd been affected by fire, -the latest being at Waimat?, where considerable damage had been done. This, however, had been covered by insurance. All the retiring directors were re-elected. On the motion of tho chairman it was decided that, in future, the election of directors should be by post as is douo in North Canterbury and North Otago. A recommendation was passed that the Association should withdraw from tho Stock Auctioneers' Association. MASTERTON INVESTMENT AND BUILDING SOCIETY. The thirty-fifth annual report of tho Ma-sicrton Permanent Investment «ad Building Society states that tho total mrant of loans shows an increase of £1600 as compared with the previous year, while the percentage cf profit is practically the tarn: , , the figures being 7.32 per cent, for 1909-10 ami 7.26 per cent, for 1910-11. The year began with a balance of £2368 6s. lid., and the receipt-? during the j-ear totalled £21.073 10s. ICtl. Tho excess of re(Vipts ovot expenditure on August 31, 1911, was £1170 13s. 4d.

FEILDING MARKET EEPOET. Messrs. A. H. Atkinson and Co., Ltd., of Feilding, report that, on Friday, they eold a. large yarding of \nss. chiefly storer- of uneven nunliiy, for which there is little demand. Rood wcaiwrs sold well. Poultry male, top prices, and the firm could have sold three or four times tho number forward at same values. For ducks, cockerels, and turkeys there is fireat demand. Pigs: Weancrs. 35., 45., ss. 9d.. 7s. £d., 9a. 6d., 11s. 6d.; slips. ss. 6d., os.: stores, 55., ss. 6d.. Bs.. 95., 10s., 125., 13s. 6d., 155., 175., 13?., 195.; light porkers, 2<s. 6d.; sows, 125., 315.; boars, 12s. to 245.. Poultry: Hens. 3s. 3d.. 4s. 3d.; pullets, 4=.; pigeons, Is. 9d. to 2s. 6d.; cockerels and roosters, 4s. 3d., 5=.; ducks, 55.; turkey gobhlerg. 15s. to 165.; all at per pair. 3[a:<ze, Is. lCd. to 4s. 3d.; seed potatoes, 75., , Bs.. to 125.; table do., 75.. Bs., 9s. to 123.: carrots, 3s. to 45.; onioin. Id. per lb.; celery, 6d. per bundle; cauliflowers, 9d. to is. each; home-cured bacon, 7Jd.; ham BJd. per lb. FKOZEN MEAT. ■ The.JCow Zealand Lonn and Mercantile Agency Company Limited, have received die following rablegvnm from their London hoiipc under date September 22:— Frozen Meat: Tho market is firm for mutr ton, and steady for beef, but there is less inquiry for-lamb.