COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1439, 14 May 1912, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHAHES. A sale of Equitable Huiltline shares, at £10 2s. 6d.. was the only transection recorded yesterday. The buyins and sellins: liuotations were as under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. . it.J National Bank — 6 2 6 Well. Trust and Loan ... 7 12 0 — Christchureh Gas 8 15 0 -- Feildins flas - lie Gisborne Gas " M 0 V W-1.11. (las <£1(1) - }f ' 6 Well. (3m (third issue) ... 15 10 0 Taupirl Coal 1 1 3 — West-port Coal 10 6 . J.eylanil-O'lfrien ® f Tariiiffamutu Totara u 7 0 , i ; Golden Bay Cement — Jin Ufannimr 3nd Co •- ! 5 X.Z. Con. Dental " 110 NORTH G Kit MAX LLOYD. The cabled stunnuny of the linnnein) position of the North German Lloyd Co. ;it the end of 1911, which wn;- publisiied a fmv v»ek« aso. is supplemented hv fitlvros received by the Inst KiiEli.-h mail. 'J he arennuts of the cotnpouy i-how tnjf. Hie earning U-tt nniouri cd £20,771,837, 5S .iP'iinst. ui l".tj. Sx&r doductlas all outEoiuEß and provid-

inn for mi addition of £761.588 to the nrilinarv insurance fund. £12.552 In the iuMiraiii-e reserve, an ordinnry writing on 'nf £9 583 562. and 1,11 extraordinary ivnlinir nff"o( £750,000 from the lw>k value :>f, Ihe o.omiKinv's neonn fleet, there remained a=nrphi3 'if £3,557,176. which rnniv'tirri null £2,187,765 in 1910. The available amount was allotted thus:--Furthcr addition to tli? reserve fund. £197,859; director: ice.-. Edo 309- r r 1 fund. £-150,000: coupon tax' reserve, -Gl.-i7.SCO, end a dividend at 111" lviie of 5 per cent, ins ncain.-t 3 per rent in 1910 and nil for 1909 and 19GS'. tnese allocations leaving £6503 as . a carryover. In tlieir report the directors mention that, the continue* favourable nencullural developmenl. of Australia- hnn nroupiU a further increase in the careo traffic with this ronntrv. and "the third-class g.?r trade was to brisk tltnl. an extra bont had been put on t-o rope uifh il ; .(no increased wa&o.-' of docjc labourer? in Australia hoirever." Iho report. proceeds. "have, added creatly to tho oxp?iisps incirrcri lliei'"." This notwithstanding, it "atrrt that, th" Australian carpo boat lint 1 ysrjlcn pood profits, while the Imperial vice between Au.-trnlin and Japan had l«?en improved by the frrowinc o\porrati°n produce from Herman >cw fiuinea. h«.niinps in other directions were satj s faetor>. some dislocation oc:urritis to me Eastern business as a s?(fiicl to the in China. As regards the company 5 fleci. n i« stated thot four new twin-pcrew steamers, cacli of 8503 tons Kro.<s, have neon ordered for the South American trade, ami Iwo 11,000-ton boats for tho AuMialian service. Tho total, cross mcasuvo. meat of the entire fleet iis ckcu as tons, of a book value of «£86.61i,u58. ihc share capital of the company is £62.500.0 M. and there are loan liabilities of the total of the balance-sheet being *lZ<v 365,410.

ItEUTER'S TELEGKAJI CO. The capital of Kcutcr's Telegram Corapanv has been increased from £100.000 to £500,000. At the extraordinary mooting: of shareholders, held for the purpose of sanctioning the increase, the chairman said that the banking branch of tho business cave every promise of eventual siicc?s?, but that its further progress was impeded by want of funds. Good business had constantly to be dccliued from this cause. lie need hardly assure th?m that in the future, as in the past, the utmost caution would be observed in connection with tho banking development, and the board had been strengthened with the precise object of ensuring adequate control on the part of gentlemen Qualified from past experience to assist in directing that import-ant branch of, the company's operations. A further reason for the proposed increase of capital was the extent to the flourishing telegraphic remittance business was Hampered by a similar want of adequate resources. Instead of being able to accept profitable transfers of accumulated funds at remunerative rates, it had constantly been found necessary to bring money home at a saerificc of profit already made.

ATTACKING THE SHIPPING TIiDST. Of 1 the dozen or more shipping companies for whose dissolution the United Stales Government is suing, owing to their commercial policy, which is alleged to be at variance with United States laws, the Ham-burg-America Line is the most important. 1 The selection of this gr-iat corporation as a member of the group of test prosecu- j iions is in accordance with anticipations, j although, if the action bo successful, .it will not assist the English companies in any way that a German undertaking l should have been singled out the # pur-1 pose of a test case. The suggestion is, of l course, that the undertakings named in . the suit have been guilty of action in restraint of trade, and if the decision goes against them there pro many other concerns, not actually joined in the action, who will be affected hy it. The case is, Dot likely to come to trial for some months, and in the meantime ail the parties joined as defendants will have ampta opportunities for considering their action. If tae Government is successful it will follow, almost as a matter of cour&e, that the In-1 ternational Mercantile Marine Company is also an offender.agaiust United States sia-, tut-os, and the present case is, in fact, more or less a preliminary stpp toward the much more important legal contest which is expected to take place later on. One of. the points upon which the shipping companies rely is that no alteration in their trading arrangements ha? to-Kon piaco during recent ysars, while so far from restraining trade, they have made every effort to encourage its development. They will, in fact, argue that there is no further trad 3 to be doveloped. at present at any rate, and they will certainly be able to bring forward a good deal of evidence in support of this view. The Government, on the other hand, will urge that if there is Tio furthsr trade to be developed, then this is due to the action of the companies in strangling legitimate enterprise. The capital of the companies involved in the action runs into many millions of pounds sterling. but the companies concerned ara not undulv anxious regarding the result, for in the event of a verdict being given against them they expect to be able to accommodate themselves to the new circumstances without very much difficulty. The most disquieting aspect of the eitua- 1 tion from the companies' point, of view is' the expense involved in fighting the United States authorities. The managers of the various shtapin? undertakings' trading across the North Atlantic helievo that they a.re on the eve of a period of increased prosperity if Isft to carry on their business in their own way, and efforts will, therefore, be made to get the Government to postpone the trial of the action pending the development of conditions, which seem likely to require all the energy of th,3 shipping companies to handle without having their attention diverted to legal problems. SPINDLES IN UNITED STATES. Tlii3 total number of spindles in the United States for the year 1911 is given officially as 30,803,662, and of this number 29,022,597 were described as active. This compares with 28,929,093, of which 28,266,662 wero active in the previous year. As ring spindles consume about 50 per cent, tnoro fibre per spindle than mule spindles, it is interesting to noto that in 1909, tno latest rear for which these figures are obtainable. in the whole of the United States there were 22,679,006 ring and 4.716,*94 mule spindles, compared with 17,933,756 ring and 5.221,857 mule in 1904. It is .evident that in •the United States ring arc -in much greater favour than mule spindles. Owing to the facility with which the ring spindles can be worked, manufacturers use frames rather than mules whenever practicable, and new mules are rarely installed except for spinning very fine filling yarns, sorttwisted knitting 'yarns, or very coarse yarns mado from short-stapied co-.ton or waste. BANK OP AUSTRALASIA. At the half-yearly meeting of the shareholders of the above bank on March 28, in London, the chairman, in his speech in referring to the , outlook, sa-d: -As regards tlie prospects of tne current year, I think, on the whole, they are fairlv favourable. It will not be as good a season as the preceding one. Parts of Australia, have had a pretty severe drought, and it is estimated that the wheat production will show a falling-oil of from 25 to 30 per cent., and the drought has had an injurious effect on the frozen meat trade, and tlie exports already show a. considerable falling-oil'. Still, there have been good rains over most oi Australia, though not very recently, and more rain is still much wanted. The state Governments ere all assisting immigration; there is a keen demand for all sorts of labour; trade is brisk, imports are heavy, ond advances aro in keen demand. In attempting to forecast the future of the hank, one pew and important factor has-to be taken rnto consideration. A Commonwealth Bank has been authorised, and will s'nortly be established. So far as I kaow : there is no other instance of a State owning and running a bank, and the experiment will te watched with interest. Of course, we lip not welcome a new and powerful competitor, but if the Commonwealth Ba.n.K is managed on sour.d financial lines, with tho intitntion of making profits for itself and not of becoming a burden on the taxpayer. I see 110 great reason to fear it. Such an institution, if nbly managed antl backed by the State, may become i source of great strength to the community and may be able to afford valuable assistance toother financial institutions in time of trouble. I hope that the CommonwoJilth Bank may some dar hold in Australia somewnat of the position that the Bank of England holds in this country. If. However, the Commonwealth Bonk, m its t.'isire to get. hupiness, goes in for keen competition, all I can «av is that the Bank of Australasia is as well able to meet competition (is any institution in Australia. CUSTOMS DUTIES. Customs revenue collected at the port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £1749 14s. lid. HIGII COMMISSI OXER'S CABLE. The Department, of Agriculture has received the following cablegram from the High Commissioner for New Zealand, London, dated May 11. (Note-Quotations, unless otherwise specified, are average market prices on spot!:— Mutton.—The market is. ovwt but .firm, Nominally, Canterbury <i 3-Bd. per lb., r-.orth Island 3Sd. per lb. . Lamb.—Tlie market i« active, with a good demand. Prices arc firm, 'ilie market has been favourably affected by the shortage of Home supplies and a dccline of 23 per cent, of imports during the year. Tin weather continues favourable. Canterbury 6d. per 11).. other than Canterbury 5Jd. ltecf.-Thc marker, remains firm, and a. good demand continues- Best utiality is scarce New Zealand hinds '! 3-Bd. per lb., Vcw Zealand fores 3 3-ed. per lb. I Mutter.-The market is steady, with an improved demand. The decline is checked, nnd on the whole prices aro slightly heller i this week. Choicest. New Zealand butter today. per cwt... is 111.-:.; Danish. ll£s.: :Siberian, 1065.; Argentina, 10os.; Australian, I lMs. , , ~, I Cheese.-There is a_ better demand. the. market is firnnr. N*ew 7eslantl whiff, [ I-. 71s. per cwt,; coloursq, I Is. tu flirt.

»lemp.--Thr market closed firmer, with more inquiry. A Good. business has been done. New Zealand ciwd fair.isrndc Epoi. per toil. £22: Xew Zealand, fair grade, ,L„0 i*s Forward shipment, about Mo .-ftm*. Manila: The market i* stpndy at prenons nuotations. vizi-ripM, £21 15.5. per forward shipment, C 22. I ne output Jtoin Manila for the week was 35.000 oales. block New Zealand hemp, 268 ions. Wool.-The market remains firm. FROZEN' MEAT. The Zealand Loan and Mercantile Aeencv Co.. Ltd.. have , received the. following cabberram frruu their London house under date May 10:-- . Frozen Meat.—The demand for mutton ).-> improving, the market for beef is hrmcr. and show? increased hrmness for jamo. LONDON" MARKETS. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London ( May 12. Copra.—South Soa. in bags, j>2s 10s. Ncr Hemp.—Market quiet.. May-Jitly shipments, £22 10s. per ton. .Jute.—May-June, £22 per ton. Cotton.— 6.3 lid* Per lb. Rubber, 4s. 7Jd. per lb. W" II EAT. i London, May 12. An Australian cargo of wheat sold at Mf. sd.