COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1382, 7 March 1912, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. raent shares yesterday. The buying anc soiling quotations were as under:— Buyers. Sellers. • £ s. d. £ s. d National Bank ■' 5 16 0 6 0 ( Bank New Zealand 10 18 0 — X.Z. and Biver Plate — 2 0 1 N.Z. and Hivor Plate (new) - 019 I Well. Gas (£10) 18 0 0 18 10 I Well. Gas (third issue) ... - 12 10 I Well. Gas (pref.) 0 8 0 - •S.B. Insurance 3 14 0 — Meat Export (£4) - 5 0 i Meat Export (525. 6d.) ... - 219 N.Z. Shipping - 15 0 I Union Steam 2 0 6 — Well. Steam Ferry (18s.) - 0 17 Kaiapoi Woollen , — 5 12 I Well/ Woollen (ord.) - 3 12 i Well. Woollen (pref.) 2 17 6 2 18 i Westport Coal 17 0 17; Taringamutu Totara 2 6 6 — C. jr. Banks, Ltd - 0 19 i Donaghy Hope and Twine — 12 1 Golden Bay Cement — 14! N.Z. Con. Dental - 12 1 N.Z. Drug 2 10 6 - Slmrland's ordinary — 14 1 Sharland's preference ... — 14 1 Ward and Co — 5 4 I W.F.C.A. (£5) - 7 5 1 W.F.C.A. (£1) - 1 8 NATIONAL MORTGAGE. The net profit of f<1.149 earned by the Na tional Mortgage and Agency Company ol New Zealand, Ltd., for the year ended Sep tembar 30 last compares with £38,505 and £38,141 for the two preceding years. Th< net profit is shown after paying all Londor and New Zealand expenses, interest oi debentures, a bonus of 10 per cent, to thi staff, end after providing for depreciatioi and bad and doubtful debts. An intcrln dividend of Is. 6d. per share was paid, and the final distribution was of the same rate while the bonus was increased to 2s. pel share. The return to shareholders wni thus 12J per cent, for tte year, as agains 113 per cent, in the preceding term. An nd dition of £15,000 was again mads to re serve, and £10,997 was carried forward. The capital of the company is £200,000, and tin reserve fund appears in the balanr,ssheeat £165,000. Debentures were reduced bj £13,000 to £532,804, while sundry creditor! and accrued interest were £215,482, bills payable £53,552, and profit and loss ; bal ance £43,497. Among ass3ts, premises, plani and furniture arc shown at £111,806, loans advances, and current accounts £853,919 and cash and investments £244,613. THE MEAT TRADE. The report of the Council of the Incor porated Society of Meat Importers (Lon don) for 1911, which has now a membershli of 104, gives a. summary of the arrivals ol frozen and chilled msat in the United King dom as follows:— From New River Australia. Zealand. Pl.it3. Carcasses Carcases Carcisso , Mutton 1.962,799 1,795,359 3,030,851 Lamb 1,658.155 3,427,236 1,064,68 Quarters Quarter? Quarter: Beef, frozen .... 521,382 165,546 1,513,72: Beef, chilled .... — — 2,138,841 The total number of arrivals of steamer: carrying the above was 467, including 13' from Australia. 78 from New Zealand, ant 250 from the liiver Plate. TRADE OF SOUTH AFRICA. The return of the trade of British Soutl ■Uriea. for 1911 shows that exports of Soutl African produce amounted to £57,734,875 aga-inst. £54,509,270 for 1910, or an increasi of about 3! millions. About 65 per cent of last year's total consisted of gold, rav and concentrates, which amounted t( £37,670,972, against £34,390,347 for 1910 Diamonds accounted for nearly 15 percent of the total. tho value bcim- £8,232.879 against £8,480,875 for 1910. Amongst othe exports of South African produce are eoa to the value of £1,079.007, against £986,161 the quantity being 1,509,122 tons, nyains 1465 279 tons: ostrich feathers, £2,253,140 against £2,272,846; wool, £3 900,142, ng.iins £3 830 903; and Augora. hair, £917,874 against £903,164. Imports into Britis-j South Africa for 1911, including articles f 3 - South -Urican Governments £2,001.960. am specie £1,121.198, amounted to £39,564,775 against £40,105,532, showing a slight dc crease, but the imports of merchundis alone apart from Government article? showed an increase, being £36,423,535 against. £35,123,674, or an increase of iwarl: £1300.000. Amongst imports of food wer w eat £550,695, against £745.652 for 1910 flour £616 914. against £723,405; butter £195 411 neainst £181,161; beef, £73.97( ncninst £30,577; mutton. £32.308, agains £25,282; and bacon and hams, £237,77! against £239,471.

AUSTRALIAN ALLIANCE ASSURANCE. The accounts of the Australian Alliance ■\ssurance Compnny for the 16 months- ended Decerabor 31 last are briefly reviewed in the Australian papers to hand by the last mail. According to the Melbourne "\rcus" instead of showing separate fire, marine?, and fidelity Kuarantoe, tho report now contains only an undcrwritinc ucThis shows that premiums, after deductinc rea-snrances, were £59,148, while losses were £22,834; charges, expenses of manacement, and commission totalled £24.324. Th« Mirplus was £11.990. of which the directors 'propose to allocate iIO.OCO towards a. rpinsimini'O reserve, to provide for tho imexpl'rcd liability, while the balance of £1990 in carried to profit and loss. With Mie i(jr:'i(!f incMirfd rn nc-ount of ih<i mnrinc fliid flilnlity (leßWlm»n|.i at llio" date of Uie la.»t report, Uβ debit at proflt md

wined out by a transfer from the reserve, *. which was created from the prjnmim of g £5 per share at which the recent issue wae m made. The profit and loss account also H shows receipts from interest £5163, inpayment to proprietors' fund by life brunch £2856, and minor sums, while income tax and transfer to life branch required £372, leaving the balance to credit of the account £9795. The life department shows renewal premiums £5516, new lire- ■ miums £2724, and interest £7571. Claims j and bonuses required £24,660, expenses of management £2149, special life bonuses £8016. A repayment, was made to the pro- ' prictors' fund of £2G56. on account of nd- , vances made in 1909 and 1910, to main- ; tain the life assurance fund. Suspense ac- 0 count is .shown at £2436, and surrenders at f £,3649. The assurance fund, which was i £170,109 at the beginning of the term, was i £141,591 at the close. The directors' rs- J port states that an appreciable reduction ; las been effected in the cxp?nses of con- t ducting the life business of tho company. < The balance-sheet shows that capital has I bsen increased to £150,000, and the balance ( of the reserve fund, obtained from the new j issue, after writing olf the debit on i account of profit and. loss shown in the previous balonce-sheit, was £13,892. This, ftdded to the £10,000 re-assurance reserve which is used in the company's business, makes the total against raorve fund £23,892. The various contingent losses and tho amount owing on open account have been reduced, while claims under life policies not paid have increased to £9100, and the Australasian insurance trust account appears at £3833. The principal change among assets, which total £346.373, relates to the deposits. The liquidation of the Australasian Insurance Company and the » reduction of mortgages doubtless both have . something to do with this alteration. Th= f< leading assets compare with those at the i date of the previous balance-sheet (Aus- S ust 31, 1910), as follows:— ° 1909-10. 1510-U. > £ £ ft Real estate 52.966 53.960 t> Australasian insurancs shares 14,967 2.515 [ Lent on mortgage 110,045 99,387 i Deposits 60.3J6 151.584 p Loans on policies 13,138 10,705 jj Customs duties collected at the port, nf jj Wellington yesterday amounted to £1C95 { lls. Id. f: GRAIN MARKET. s (By Telegraph—Press Association.) | Duncdln, March 6. \ Samples for the new season's oats aro a now commencing to arrive, but owing to g Australian demand having slackened q pric.es are easier. Prime milling, 2s. 2d. to 2s. 3d.: good to best feed, 2s. Id. to 2s. 2d.; - medium, 2s. to 2s. Old. In wheat Micro is very little business passing. Millers ap buyers of prime samples, while medinm milling aro being absorbed by the local trade owing to the absence of fowl feed. Prime Velvet, 3s. 10d.; Velvet Ear and Tuscan, Is. 9o\ to 3s. 9!d.: medium VelvH Ear. 3s. Bd. to 3s. 9d.; damaged wheat, 3*. sd. to 3s. 7d. SHEEPSKIN SALES POSTPONED. Messrs. Murray, Roberts and Co., Ltd., have received the following cablegram, dated March 5, from their London house, Messrs. Sanderson, Murray and Co.:-"The second series of sheenskin sales have been postponed for an indefinite period." The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company. Limited, have received the following cablegram from their London house, under date March s:—The sheepskin sales have been postponed sine die. LONDON MARKETS. Messrs. Dalgcly and Company, Limited, Wellington, have received cabled advice from their London office, under date March 5, as follows •.-"Sheepskins: Saks have teen postponed indefinitely." LONDON QUOTATIONS. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright London, March 5. Stock Exchange quotations include:Bank of Australasia, £117 (buyers), £119 (sellers); Bank, of Victoria. £4 ss. and £4 155.; Union Bank. £59 and £60; National Dank of Now Zealand, £5 2s. 6d. and £5 is. 6d.; Melbourne Board of Works, £102. METAL MARKETS. '■ (Hec. March 6, 9.50 p.m.) S London, March 6. Copper-On spot, £65 Is. 3d.; three months'. £65 155.; electrolytic, £67 2s. 6d. Tin.-On spot, £196 10s.; .three months, fi £191. y