COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1504, 29 July 1912, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHAKES'. The sales recorded on Saturdav were — Meat Export, 525. Gd. paid, at 635,; and Mosgiol Woollen, at Cte. The buying and tolling quotations were as pnder:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ s. d. ff.55. Loan and Mercantile 0 9 0 — Well. Investment Q 11 9 — Well. Trui?:. and Loan ... 7 15 0 — Chri'tchurch Ga:i 8 12 6 8 16 0 Feilding Gm i " '■ Well. Gas (prcf.) 10 0 - Moat Export (625. 6d.) 3 a o ' — Mosgicl Woollen — 3 8 3 Well. Woollen lord.) 3 10 0 — Well. Woollen (prcf.) - 2 IS 3 llikurangi Coal 0 18 6 — Taupiri Coal ~i 12 6 13 0 Leyland-O'Hrien — 1 6.9 Taringamutu Tc/.ara ... — 2 8 0 Donaghy Hope and Twine 14 9 — (loldcn Day Cement - 110 Manning and Co — 4 3 0 HONEY STRINGENCY IN THE GERMANIC EMPIHES. The stringency of the money y market? continues in Berlin and Vienna, "and discount rates are high, although not quite", so high as when Hie mail left. .-'.Spcaiuns ' then in t.lio Prussian Iterrenhnu'F, the director of the Deutsche Bank,, Ilerr von Gwinner, was moved to make a declaration of thy unlikelihood of a continuance of the good trade conditions of the last two years. The si»bi»ct before t' ! o wan the Budget deficit, and he took leave to doubt the belief of the t'ina.'.ee innislar tliat it wDnld bo the la«t deficit. Germany conld not count upon an unbounded continuance, of good trade. Two years ago he had said they were in a. good period. To-day be bad bis doubts whether the pood period could last much longer. The times were electrical, ebb -"d a-,-..- '■"'*- reeded each other more quickly.than here'toforc. Now the sign> were that the ccst of the wave was about to curl over. Emphasising this point, the director stated:— "I point to the fact that the receptivity of the stock markets has undoubtedly diminished. I point to the fact.that there are undoubted symptoms of excess in evidence on the Stock Exchanges. The Royal Government. Commissary here in Berlin has f'4i called upon to issue a warning on the. point, and it was only to-day that I <va« asked by one of my colleagues In Huh House why a certain security, a security of the very flr.--t cl-?s, consisting of aFlia.ro ' in ona of our largest and most prosperous industrial comrimics,.had riren to .such an extraordinary .degree. Tin answor. gent'emen. in vnrv simple: it is because the nubbad set the bilH movement in operation. . We have now industrial securities that p.av lei than 5 icr cent., on fnir ci'-atcd cardtal. to such an *xccs;i have t.hn shines been driven inwards. . Signs of that, sart must al-<-.a.ys make one su=nieioiii-. and I should "fee t"> n!.t.«r a. we-ning against, tba taippnritJon that *.Ka eo''di' ! :CJ> of trade can remain a« as it has been for several years still." DIFFICULTIES OF BORROWERS. Australasian borrowers are not alone in failing to secure the support of the public for their loan issues in London. The Danish Government ott'ored £2,£00.CC0 in 4 per cent, bonds at 97, with an annual sinking fund of £70,000 to commence in 1914, of which 55 per cent, was left on the hands of the underwriters. The City of Moscow loan in 4J per cent, bonds at 96J failed to attract investors to the extent of 45 per cent., while the underwriters of the Agloma Steel Corporation's 5 per cent, bonds at 93 had to take up 93 per cent, of the total issue of £1,139,CC0. Such results are, of course, no reflection upon the character of the loans themselves, but it is simply a case of too many good things being offered at once. The investment market, in fact, is suffering from an attack of indigestion, and for this borrowers are primarily responsible. There is another .factor in the business, however, to which one London financial journal calls attention, and that is the eagcrnie-« with which issuing honees compete for the privilege of soliciting the support of the public for new investments. The cost to" New Zealand of the £4,500.000 loan at 99 is only a trifle under 5 per cent, per annum, when the underwriting, commission and other exnensefi are taken into account. This is regarded by many in the city jus a. price which colonial Governments and municipalities should pay for borrowing in London at the present time. Considering that the six months ending September are regarded as the period when the money market is easy and thus favourable to borrowers, applicants for monetary assistance will have to readjust their ideas considerably. LINSEED OIL. Users of lineoed oil, more especially those enga.ged in ' the floorcloth trade in England, have been put to much'inconvenience during the last two years by the high prices they have had to pay for the oil. The last "squeeze," which occurred towards the middle of the year, took the London price np to £46 per ton, and speculators "on the wrong tack" were in some instances rather badly hit. It is hoped that this market pinch will be the last of its kind, as efforts are being made to increase verv materially the supply of seed in America. Growers have been stimulated to improve their output and to add'to the arena devoted to this crop by the enhanced rates, and it is considered that the result will beneiit. consumers, as there is likely to be plenty of seed available for the crushers when the new crop is gathered. The phort supply in. the United, States in 1909 and 1910 led to the extremely heavy demands on Argentina, and prevented England getting its usual amount from South America. The import figures show this very cloudy. In 1909 Argentina contributed to the requirements of the United Kingdom 873.617 riuorters. whilst in 1910 the total fell to 390.C62 quarters, and last year lurthc.r declined to 331.464 quarters. As com-peiii-ation for the diminution in the imparts from Argentina England drew more cxtcr.flively uuaii India for seed, but this rMd not completely make good the shortage. ]n 1908 the Kaut'i American Republic w.a* responsible for 60 nor cent, of the total importations into England, whereas in 1911 the proportion was a little less than 25 nrr cent. The movement jn values lately has been in favour of ronsniners. and if North America does in; again rennirevery large nuaiililic.'- of Southern . seed, tin trend of prices should continue to bo downward? -i

Til K BUTT Kit MARKET. Messrs. W. Wetltlbl ami Co., Ltd., in their "Dairy Produce Circular," dated June 14, say, with respect to butter:— The gopd rains that have lately fallen all over the country are sufficient for the present, and now warmth and sunshine are required both for the pastures and for haymaking. The Australian and New Zealand butter soason, 1911-1912, ifi practically over, and it is difficult, owing to the strike, to induce rotailers to continue using two kinds of butter on the counter. For Now Zealand biuter of quality there is & good demand for storing purposes, but for Australian, of which there is a very small proportion of" finest quality, the demand is not ■;;> keen. Prices of Australian ran are from 106s. to 110s. per ewt. for salted, with 112.-. for an occasional lot of "fancy" unsalted. New Zealand sal tod ii* making: 112=?. to 1145., with Jl6s. for anything extra fine. Ununited New Zealand is bringing 116s. to 118*. Arrivals this week ccnfist of 5830 boxes from Australia, and 1200 boxes from New Zealand. Shioments a.ro confined to 90% boxes from Australia ou the Wiltshire. The Copenhagen oflichl quotation hr*s been dropped to its position of >a fortnight ago, viz., 100 kroner. The inclusion of three kroner rise last week has thus proved a. mistake. The Hoard of Trade returns show tint for May the imports from Australia, France, Holland, and Russia are much greater thev n-cre in April, while from New Zealand. Denmark, aud Sweden there is big decline, the total increase for May over April being 32,558cwt. PAPAROA COAL CO. The latest circular issued by the Paparoa Coal Company statos that on July 5 ia final circular was issued to share and de-benture-holders stating that, unless tho balance of the £35,006 required was subscribed by July 20, immediate steps must be taken to wind up the company. An active canvass for subscriptions has been carried on amongst those at present interested in the company, and the general public. There are 320 share and debentureholders in the company, and the result to date is:—s2 have subscribed to the now debentures; 20 have declined to subscribe; and 248 have not replied to the final circular. Total subscribed, £21,600. The, agreement '-vit.h tho debenture-holders allowed the company four months in which to rai?e the £35,000 required. This period will expire on August 23 next, and on that date, unless the balance of the £35,0C0 is forthcoming, the agreement will lapse, and the company, therefore, will be compelled to go into liou.idation. A meeting has been called for' August 21 at the Chamber of Commerce, the business of which will be:— (1) To receive the report of the director:? as'to the financial position of the company, and to decide whether the shareholders are prepared to find the balanco of the total amount of £35.000 renuired under the agreement with the debenture-holders, which agreement expires on August 23 next, viz.. £13^00. (2) If thought fit, to pass the following re-olutinn, which will be proposed as an extraordinary resolution, if no satisfactory arrangement is arrived at for the raising of the balance of £13,<00 Jabove referred to:—"That it has been proved to the f-atin-faction of tins meeting that, the company cannot by reason of its liabilities cintinv* it* business, and that it is advisable to wind up the eamo, mid accordingly that the company be wound up voluntarily." CUSTOMS. Customs revenue collected at the port of Wellington on Saturday totalled £1C62 lis. lid., the amount for the week being £11,291195, Id. The returns forcachof the past eight weeks, compared with the figures for the. corresponding periods of last year, show as under;— 1912. 1911. June 8 15,564 9,164 .lune 15 18,429 15,570 . Juno 22 8.254 9,565 June 29 21.73?. 9.087 July 6 10,382 21,442 July 13 22,931 27,889 July 20 9.C67 13,426 ' July 27' 11,292 21,343 117,651 127,486 The beer duty, for the ' week totalled £239 £"■„ as compared with £196 18s. for the corresponding week of last year. FEILDING MARKET REPORT. Mossrs. A. ii. Atkinson and Co., Ltd., report a good market for all entries on Friday. Pigs, of which medium quality only wore offered* sold well, and there is a keen demand for good weaners. Poultry prices ruled high, but no cockerels were penned, for which many buyers were present. Quotations: Weaners: Inferior, 6s, to Its.j othcivs, 12s, fid.' to 14$. 6d.; slips, 14s. to 155.; stores, 17s. 3d., 18s,, 205., 225., to 245; porkers, to 41s. In poultry, hens mhde, per pair, 2s 9d., 35., 3s. 3d., os. 6d., 45., <s. 3d.; roosters, 4s. 3d., 4s. 6d„ to 75.; ducks, 3s. 3d., 36. 6d., 45., 4s.' 3d., 55., ss. 3d.; 'geese, to 75.; turkey liens,, lis. to l?.s. Dcs.sert apples, 7s. to Bs. 6d, case; potato.es, 10s. to lis. 6d. sack, £5 10s. to £5 15s. per ton; cauliflowers, Bs. sack; cabbages, 3s, 6d. to 45.; carrots, 2s. to 2s. 6d.; parsnips, 2s. 6d. small bag; pumpkins, 4s. to ss. 6d.; onions, Bs. ewt.; pollard, 12s. 6d.; bran, 6s, ' „ . GRAIN AND PRODUCE.. ' Illy Telocraph.-Pre6s Association Oamaru, July 28. Since the opening of the season no week has been slower iu tho grain market than the present one. Millers do not need to coiue ou the market, having full stocks. Very few sales oT x wheat have been made, and prices are lOightly lower. The biggest transaction during the week has been the pale of 800 sacks of a mixed lino at 3s. 6d. net at a country station, but for both straight and mixed lines sales have been made at 3s. 6d. and 3s. 6Jd., less commifi* sion. Oats are also slow of sale, and business has been confined to small lines at Is. lid. not for A grade Gartons and Is. lOd. and It?. IOJd. for B grade. In sym'pathy witli the drop in the Sydney potato market, prices have come back here ,&lighl]v during the week. Prices hove ranged from £5 2?. 6d. to £5 10a. net on trucks at country 'stations, the top nrice being paid for a very prime lot. The hulk of the bu«in°«-s lias been done at £5 55.. 'and this may be taken as the full market value. FROZEN MEAT. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, and Reduced, have received the following cablegram from their London house, under date July 26:— "The market, i<s firmer for mutton, slightly weaker for beef, and inquiries are slackening for lamb." LONDON WOOL SALES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, July 26. , At the wool sales there was a good selection of greasy merinoa. Competition was verj* keen. Orossbreds are firm. (Rec. July 28, 5.5 p.m.) London, July 27. The following are the' prices realised for the fleece portions of the clips named:— Amarac, top price 9Jd.,. average price 9?, d.; Ilrookdalc, 10£ d. Un<l 10J,d.; Waipoa, lid. and 9£d. LONDON MARKETS. {Rcc. July 28, 5.5 p.m.) London, July 27. Copra.—The market is very active. South Sea is in better demand on the Continent, aud is quoted (in bags) at £24 ss. per ton. Hemp—The market is steady and unchanged. Cotton.—July and August shipments, 7.11 d. Jute.—The market is quiet and unchanged. Rubber.—Fine hard Para is quoted at 4s. lUd. MINING NEWS. WELLINGTON SHARE MARKET. The sales recorded on .Saturday were:— Talisma.n, two sales at 395. 6d. each, Waiiii at 355.. and Waitangi at 7d. The buying and soiling quotations- were a.s under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. ds £s. d. Kuranui Caledonian 0 12 0 14 Now Big River 4 9 0 — Progress 0 5 6 0 5 9 Talisman 1 19 6 2 0 0 Waihi 1 14 6 1 15 6 Waihi Reefs 0 0 10 - Waihi Grand Junction ... 1 1 6 12 0 Waitangi 00 7 00 9 | The course of sales duriug the past week was as under :— New Sylvia, oa. New Big River, £4 9s. Ross Reconstructed, 6s. 3d. Talisman, 395., 395. 6d., 395. 6d. Waihi, 35e. Woitansri. 7d. Tim Wellington Stock Exchange received the follow.fiig telegram on Saturday from the Work€op Dredge:—Return, 690z. sdwt. for 87 hours. STOCK EXCHANGE. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Auckland, July 2*7. Tho following sales were effected on the Stock Exchange to-day:— Waihi. £1 14s. 9d. Grand Junction, £1 R 9d, T«.li«mi9-n. £1 19s. 6d. Waitangi, 7d. New Zealand Insurance, £4 16s. 3d. Dlt EDGING RETURNS. Dunedln, July 27. Drcdeing returns:—Rife and Shine, 3toz. Idwt. for 136 hours: Olrig. 84oz. JdvvL; Rising fi-u-n, 410z./ 3rlwt.; Sailor'a Bend, 41o?:, 14dwt.