COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1498, 22 July 1912, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHADES. . A sale :of National Insurance shares at 39e. was tho only transaction recorded in investment 1 , shares on •Saturday. The buying and soiling quotations were as under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. <]. £ s. d. N.Z. and liiver Plate 1 19 6 — Well. Investment : 0 11 9 — Well. Trust and Loan .... 7 0,6 — 01iTir-il.dui.rch Gas ■ — 9 0 0 Feilding Go-5: 10 6" -" Well. Gas'lpref.) .1 0 0. - Mofsiel Woollen 3 6 6 3 8 0 Well. Woollen lord.) 3 9 0 - Well. Woollen'-(pref.) 2 18 (1 2 19 0 Taupiri Coal 12 6 — Lcyland-O'Brien — 17 0 'I'aringumutu Totarn.- - 2 B'3 Donaghy Hope and Twine 14 9 — f?oldsn Bav Cement - 1 1 C Ward and "Co 5 2 0, BRITISH INSURANCE BUSINESS. ■ The Blue Book, of the Teturn of. assurance companies doing business in Great Britain in 1911 deals with 180 companies. It contains all insurance statements with the exception of those re-latins to life and finking fund'business. Of this number 135 report a. firo income, although -in E,ome cases of only nominal amount, and the aggregate fire premiums written mostly during'the year ended December 31, 1910, are given as £29,157,78-1, of which three-fourths rotates 1o 11 British companies and one'colonial, with - premium revenues exceeding one,million sterling. The outso in claims was £14.039.900, or <0.15 nor cent,; in commission £4,809,368, or 16.49 per cent.: iji expenses of management, £5,849,726, or 20.C6 per cent. The unearned premium reserves were increased during tho year, from '£11.802,508 to £12,282,411, and the

'"additional reserves" of the fire department from £12,033,932 to £13,320,961. The summary of personal .accident business gives the. figures-of 94 companies, tho m'cmiums written amounting to £1,829.710. Tho approximate claim outgo was £877.512. ur 47.95 per cont., commission took £365.718, or 19.93 !per cent., and expanses of management £362,084, or 19.78 per cent. In the homo employers' liability section there ts reMon to .belicvo that a fairly' accurate idea, of the profit-iblone-s or, rather, unprofitableness of the business is obtc-irablc from the summarised results presented. The total premiums earned arc found to bo £8,557,840, and, calculated in regard to those, the claim outgo of £1,844.117 rc—csonls 72.09 per cent., the comroiifion (£357,735) 13.98 nor cent., and expenses of management (£575.3051 22.49 per cent., showing a loss of fully 8* per cent.

LAI'SED INDUSTRIAL ASSURANCE. Industrial assurance is uneconomical, and is dear. That is acknowledged by oil infiiirancs offices,- and it is only because no better means of insuring lives for small amounts iu sums whic-li, given weekly, arc hardly felt by the insurants ha." been deviled that it still liolds the field. Because it is dear there is a ftenora! belief that it is also extremely profitable to the companies encased, especially' when policies lar.'M. But ttt.3w?h the profits on the original capital of the companies may bo lorcc, yet wlien compared with the amount

of business done those profits are small. It was evidently this idea of the lame profiNs made through lapses that inspired a member of the House of Commons last month to ask for a. return of the lapsed and (surrendered policies with industrial life oflices. The idea behind the demand was apparently th.it these, were a source of tremendous profit to the companies, the extent of which was, in a gcncr-il .way, to be measured by the difference between the money tvhich had been slot in and the sum, if any. which was repaid on the transaction beim; closed. But this impression is totally erroneous. A man, wo will suppose in sums of threepences, has con'jibu'.sd. say, £25 in all for art assurance of .£l2 over a lons period of years. On this wasteful system of collection it port at least W per cent, of the premiums for working expenses. This is evidently (roue beyond recall by anybody. Now, tho remaining £15 has Inrne the death risk up to the £12 Far many years, and (his sum would have been paid had death occurred when a, mere trifle o[ premiums had been received. The lona-livor must nay for the sJiort, as there is no other fund from which the loss could be met. and if Mils be allowed for a considerable further sum is wiped off. Then, when a policy-holder drops out, a new man has to be found to replace him. and petting now bufiittps is more expensive than rc.tn'.nins what is already on the books. Again, a policy-holder in .seriously bod health maker, every effort to continue his assurance, while the robust, man thinks he can enter aeain at any time. Thos* who retire are probably, on the nvoraite. better lives than this.o who remain, and are not entitled to onite a full slhare of the Konernl reserve. In actual fact.-lapses are no!, welcomed: and. indeed, it is a defect of the existing iuclii.d.-.-.hl system that the :i.«tcnt is undulv rrofvd to prevent br;o? ft stands to rcavm, the '•Financial Times" writ-", that a l ; fr offl'c (.h-.n'd ml make a loss by a vc-li>->i->ritv rr' : 'ii!'- ?neml''"'. Where an exact line cannot be drawn the k .company would naturally ices itsell on

tho safe side, but with respectable oflices there is none of the over-reaching which perir-lc wJi-o do not know are so fond of sneaking about. sores. . I Tables recently published relating to the eoal shipments of the Tinted Kingdom for the years 1910 and 1911. show that the quantity of coal exported from all the ports of the united ■ Kingdom- last year totalled 64,599,266 tons, as compared with 62,085,476 tons the previous year, an increase of 2.513,790 tons. The amount of bunker coal shipped for use on foreisrn voyages was 19,264,189 tons, against 19,525,735 tons the previous year, and the shipments coastwise itiiched 22.U05.021 tons, against 21,676,715 tons the previous year. The outlook in Queensland for the neit suprar crop is said to be promisinK, the suw belt from Cape York, in the north, to the Clarence Hirer, in the south, having greatly benefited by the recent timely rains. One particularly noticeable feature since the advout of the raoiMure ha.s been the temperature, which has been much higher than could reasonably bo expected at this period of the year. As a result, the cone crops have benefited to a great extent, and it is certain the result of tho 1912 crushing will not he as poor as was anticipated a- short time ago. The "Sugar Journal" slates that from all quartern came most glowing accounts of the prospects for next year, the outturn in many centres promising to be a record. It is to be hoped that these lonc-distanco forecasts .will prove correct The Jlutual Life. Insurance Company of Now. York has entered upon its seventieth year. Duriiiß 1911 ihe amount paid in death claims, according to the report iust issued, amounted to £4,(184,512, a decrease of £15,136 on the previous year. In 1911 new insurance, including restorations, amounted to £28,955,72-3, an increase of £4,164.518. tho total amount in force at the end of the year being £309.029.705. Payments to policy-holders include .£2.799,149, paid as "dividends" or as bonuses, as they are oallci in Australia. This was an increase, on tho amount of the previous year of £273,119. Premium revenue for the year was £11,302,463, interest and rents £4,997,093. CUSTOMS. Customs revenue collected at the port of Wellington on Saturday totalled £613 12s. lid., the amount for the week being £9067 Is. lid. The returns for each of the past eight weeks, compared with the figures for the corresponding periods of last year, show as under:— , 1912. ■ 1911. \ S. £ June l ; 10.224 . 15.011 •tune 8 15.564 9.164 •Tune 15 18,429 15,570 .Tunc 22 8,254 9,565 ■Tuno 29 21.732 9.097 July 6 10,382 21.442 •Inly 13 ' 2-2.931 27,889 July 20 9,067 13,426 £116,583 £121,155 The beer duty for the week totalled £242 65., as compared with £267 IBs. 6d. for the corresponding week of last year.

NOKTH OTAGO MARKETS. !By Telocra-Db—Proßp As«oc!atlon.: Oamaru, July 21. Business in the wheat market has again bscn dull. Millers have a. sufficiency of supplies, and arc not anxious to buy, while growers are not disposed to sell at the reduced values, bcvksving that the drop will not be permanent. The present general quotation is 3s. 6d. net to farmers at country stations, and what soles have been made have been on this basis. Oats havo also weakened. A grade Cartons hive sold at Is. lid., less commission, and 11 Gartons have, boon disposed of in small lines at Is. lOd. and Is. IOJd. not at country stations. Allhout-h potatoes have come back v. little in Sydney they have shown an advance here. At the beginning of the week salos were ma.de at £4 net at country stations, and the week closed with prices at £5 ss. and no to £5 10.-. Rvjyefi; 'are now. however, holding-off, as the margin ia not sufficient for Rhinmfvnt to Sydney. The shipments by the Waihora to Sydney from this port have turned out all riclit, and there are further inuuirios for shipments at the end of the month by tho Waitemata, but sto'dt have alroady been Eecured for this vessel.

~ FROZEN MEAT. New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Archcv Company, Ltd., have received the following cablegram from their London house, nn dor date July 19:—Pr07.cn Meat—The marUe.t. is steady for mutton, weaker for lamb, and tho inquiry for beet is limited. LONDON MARKETS. By Telegraph—Press AsEOciation-Copyrizht (Itcc. July 21,- 5.5 p.m.) London, July 20. Conra.—Owinc to the larce supply, the irregular, with little business rtoins. South Sea. in bass, afloat, £24 2s. 6d. per ton. Hemp is active at a lush point. July-Sep-tember shipments, £24 ss. ner ton.' Jirtc is linn. 'August shipment, .£22 per ton. Cotton.—July-August shipment, 6.98Jd. ner lb. • ' Rubber is quoted at'-. 103 d. per lb. Hides.—At the sales there were insignificant offeriji.^s. ■ Leather, first sides, Wellinaton, 123 d„ seconds 12.\d. ■ Basils advanced a. farthing to halfpenny. Wellington firsts,. 162 d. LONDON WOOL SALES.' London, July 19. At the wool sales there was a good selection of Victorian and Queensland wool. Prices wore firm at recent rates. ..Messrs. Levin and Co.. Ltd.. have received advices from t.hcir London a?ent.s that the following clips have bron sold at the £*alos now current, on their account, the prices jiameil In'hiK the averap:o prico realised for the lloece wool in each instance"DC. frlondhu." East Coast, 9M.; "FO over N." Nelson, 9d.: "TeUamru," Makorn. 10 13-16 d.; "Mount View." W.mganui, 9 13-16 d.; "Dunsinane," Marton, lOd. FURTHER FALL IN CONSOLS. London, July IJ. Imnerial Consols are quoted at £74 2s. 6d„ a fall of. 12s. 6d, on the. quotation of. the previous day. KAURI GUM SALES. London, July 19. At the'kauri pu'm sales 260 cases were offered and 180 sold. There was fair demand at full rates. SILVER. . London. .Tuly 19. Bar silver is quoted at 27 13-16(1. per ounce standard. ,