COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1561, 3 October 1912, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHAKES • The sales recorded yesterday w«re: TarToLirn- at 46-:., and Golti=n ]3ay Cement at ZOs.- 6cl. and 2!s. The Imyfnij and selling quotations were as under:— liu.vor.o. Sallern. £ s. (!. £ s. d. Dank Xew ZcaKiml 11 1 0 — Equitable Huilding — 9 17 6 Christchurch Uas 712 6 . — . Woll. Go.- (A' 10) - - in 0 n Well. Gas (prof.) 10 0 10 9 Meat Export <£',) — 5 2 6 Went Export (525. Cd.j — 3 10 Well. Woollen lord.) 3 14 0 - Ta-ringanuitu To'.nra 2 5 9 2 6 3 Golden liity Cement 1-0 6 110 N.Z. Con. Dental — 12 0 THE CONTINENTAL BOURSES. According to a cable 'lncssngo tho Continental Bourses are in a tt:!te of panic owing to the war preparations in Bulgaria, Sorvia, Montencg-ro, Greece, and Turkey. For the moment tho outlook is eerious. but it is. a nuastbn whether actual hostilities will result. Even as far an rnat.ters have gone a strain -will be put upon the Continental mor.-jy markets, and there must follow a disturbance! of trade. Tho exportation of hortec. cattle, and fodder has been prohibited by .Montenegro, and no doubt the earao prohibition applies to the other countries concerned. Tho callins out of the reserves must dislocate business, and the Continental banks must be suffering from withdrawals of deposits and failures of business hoiKcs. If the war scare is prolonged, the situation fo for as the money market is concerned will become very bad. A raid is sure to be raafc on London for money, and as a measure of protection the Bank of EnprlaTid will bo bound to advance its discount rate, which at present .stands at 4 per cent. There- was every prospect of raonoy being dearer durinp: the present cmarior, and tho war senre makes this a certainty. The wheat markets 3IIOIIW show snbrtantial improvement, as the calling out of tho reserves must imoede t.ho .'export of wheat from the Danubinn Provinces.

A3IEBHMN MOTOR-CAR EXPORT TRADE.

Some figures have just boon published which strikingly demoivstratc! the wonderful ,-deveUipmen''. that ha- , ; takon plaeo during the last f'jv.- years In tha roreisn trado ir. Amorican-buiSt n'.otor-cars aii'l parts. Thus, durins the twslvo montV, ended June last the shipir.rnt." of era's attained a-,iV(ilui-i-of £<i3lC.t-27, Ito which have to ha added r-'rl> to the extent of £821/31. Eivinsr n. couibin-d tetn! of no lc--s than"£5,131.158. as acainst only £3,101,8?5 in twelve, months ended June, 1911. and £2,233,C44 in 1950.

Looking at the details of the exports it is found th.it Chi'2<!a i;i fssv and away the largest customer for American cars, lioincr responsible for no !*sn than £1.512,131 of the total. Tho second place in the list in thkan by the "United Kingdom, with .-5850.559 end. in view of tlio largo number of cars of United States origin' that have recently been placed on the British market, it is. perhaps, not surprising to find thi« country showing; t.hj liwirs ,, , increase, the 1911 total lioin,? only £510.135. Australia and Ns>w Zealand form the markets in which the American cur is hnvins a Inrpe vo" , !' 1 thn fhipments thereto l)»in» Riven a:; ,€65<;.J97. Tiro ivholo. of fSo'ith Amcri-a. is credited v-ith fiP.m. Vwic; with £83,719. .ami the V/ost Indies with 670,533. A3 regariH Euvcr-™ countries. Pranr» ij responsible fir .".93.9W. Germany for £«.2-*5. Ttnly for £20£07, and "ether Europe," £20(1,265.

BRITISH SKA FIKHEMKS. Exclusive of shell flsh, the quantity of fi&h landed in 1911 U4.4l!),'C'jewt.) was greater than that of any other year, beinc 9.9 -ocr cent, higher than the figures for 1910, and 8.3 per cent, in excess of the mean for tbo .years 1306-1910. states the report unou the Koa Fisheries of England and Wales for the year 1911. The report continues that the rarrospondins value (£8,051.C0O). however, stows an incrai-e of only 1.1 per cent, on the previous year, but of 4.1 per cent, above the mt-an for tho five years 19064911). The value of shell iltU (£J73,C00) represents an increase of 19.7 prr cent, on 1910, whilit the to'.cl value of all fish landed exhibited an increase of 3.7 per cent, .ou tha mean of the five years, and of 1.6 per ecu!,, as compared with 1913. ■With regard to the varioue specie:- of fish, it is mentioned that thnss r-howinsr a definite decrease were hake, Kiirllurds and ling, whilst -a. tendency to decrease was tils-u evident in skates, rays, and megrims. In sole-" there hid'been a vsry confirterabln ri-o i:i tho total. attributable to the yield ol steam trawlers, but halibut and turbot exhibited very little chur.ee. Thn total unnnlity of herrir.gs landod in England and Wales in 1911 was <.SJs.S76cvrt.. which w.is a li idler ligu.ro than in ohy other jear, and an iii Teas-? of 30.5 per ceii't.. as compared with 1910. Mackerel showed a falling off, tho unanlity Innrii-rt being 373.357(!".vU. of tlie value of £179,414. as comp-aretl with 438.133cr.-t-. valued at .-6190.294 in 1910. The t-otn] number of fishinr boats .in 1511 was 7«1, of which total 2739 were cmployed exclusively in trawling. The total number of men and boys regularly or oc-i-."i?.'oiially employed during the year was 102,906. NOTES. ' The London "Times" states that owing to the high level of freights a considerable amount of insurance is now being tecured on thn profits earned by oil tank vessels in addition to those estimated and effected a few monthsoovav v a year ago; It i« understood that vessels that were commissioned in 1910 hn,ve already paid for the cost of construction.

Consular reports from China confirm the earlier assurances that the wearing of European' "store clothes" and tho cuttinc off of the nueue are now tl'2 outward and visible sign* of inward invisible prace. The latest of such advices comes from Chuncking. It says that tailors' shops, producing crude, ■ fcmi-forcign apparel, have sprung up ir., almost ovorv important street, and that the local demand for tewing machines exceeds tho available supply. Ready-mad" clothes, hats, boots, shoe?. Kloves, and the like, have been ordered from the United Kfhgdom. All Uiimrs considered, there should bo a Rood openinc for bu-iness in the Flowery Land .new that the Celestial is bet'inniiiK to adopt Western l Karb ami luxuries.

In a consular report from Odessa, it is stated that the Russian taste in tea has undergone ar. extraordinary chance i'n tlio Inst (bendc. Formerly the Russian preferred China tea, now be prefers Indian or Ceylon tea—so ranch eo, that the chief wholesale firms are now-, selling blends of pura Indian or Coylon ten. Ronuhly Rpenliini. tlio importation of China tea, lias fallen in the last 20 years from 60 per cent, to 40 per cent, of the total imports. Recently, however, owfng to the dwirness of Imlinn ten, thore has been a sliitht resuscitation in tiro imporM or Ghinn, te-a, which is not so dear. linnortation via London is diminishing. The r.ew compulsory Insuranoe law for salaried employees in Ocnn.-uiy. which comes into force this year, will fmpofe on extra burden of .£IS.CC-I,CfO per annum on employers and salaried (as distinct from wa'-'e-carnins) employes'!. A report on the trndo and eommcrre of the Cnisiilm , District of Dusscldorf rtat«s Unit the employers have expressed their s.iti.'Tac'ion with the law in the internes of their ehfplo.vi.cs, hut the latter s(i!l re?ent fhe id-.-', of liavins wcr'lily or monthly contributions deducted from their salaries. Italy's war with Turkey is proving of doubtful' benr.nt to l.!ie former. Tcriff-pro-(acted indubtrice, whirii had been st.'ivtcd in various parts of Italy, and notablv at Naples, with the additional benefit of exemption from taxation lor 12 vcars, and.

other advauiHft'js. wer? at onre afi'ected. Some o[ these, mid especially textile factories, turniiiff out more Ko-.ids than the Italian market could absorb, had hc-ii fiiifliiiß an outlet in Xorth Africa -ami the Near Kavt. The textile industry had lin'ii in difficulties for ■■ome ycur>. The war has added to its'troubles, and should the war cease at once, i! will he. some ye'iiM before Italian industries nn regain the ground now lost. On (lie other hand, the war has brought a considerable amount of trade to Southern Italy, which beeaino the prim-iiial hn.--o rcr the Tripolitan campaign. Supplier and ttorr* of all kimls as well as e.aitlc. were bought and t-hipnrd at Naples. Ouarters for extra forces had to bo provided. Shipping was largely enRaged as transports, and the industrial loss has thus to a certain extent been counterbalanced. The trustees of the ,«a vines Hank of South Australia, it is stated by th<> "Adelaid? Itcgistcr." have decided to allow depositors to withdraw, on demand,, at, any agency of the bank, any sum not ctimiding £5. Similar withdrawals may alto be made at the head office, or any branch, by depositors v.-lioso accounts are kapt at some other office of the bank. The system of paying amounts without notice at places where, the depositors' signatures arc not registered was introduced about foxu" years aKo. when the maximum amount was fixed at £2, and the system having proved a great convenience to depositors, with whom it has become very popular, the trustees have decided on the increase to £5. Customs diiti»s collected at the port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £5037 6s. 3d. THE WOOL SALES.

Prices continue to be well maintained at the London wool sales, and there is a possibility that the war scare may enhance values. The various arinie; must be clothed, and c.s wiiiic is coming on, woollen clothing will be imperative. If there is any reasonable prospect of war, -wool is certain to be favourably a fleeted. Up to the present the trade has had to rely for support mainly upon Yorkshire, and the Americans appear to be doing little or nothing..

Writing from New York upon the commercial outlook early in August last, the coVroEiionrlcnt o! a ls»rce Sydney house, stated:—"Should Mr. Woodrow Wilson be elected President, and the Democratic party come into full power in Congress, we anticipate that some radical' chances will be mafic in our tariff, placing it on .i lower hasis. This will without doubt include the duty on wool. It is expected that tte rat? will b« very much reduced from that ruling at present. In that event, we anticipate a dccii'cd increase in business lietv.jen Australia ar.d New Zealand and tho United in wool," and a reciprocal trade, should aJso create a lareer demand for American n'-anufoeturc/l jirwp. P.imnoss CTTierally all over this country is active, with practically all manufacturers running up to full or nearly full capacity. s,v/i iii many instances orders cannot bo f"!;cn unless for d?!ivcry at a lite pm-iccl. There ar? more advances than declines, and a general upwards tendency is observable .on nil our markets."liy Telc-rraph-Press Associaiion-Copyricht London, October 1. At Ui3 wool sales, a very miscellaneous selection was offered. Prices \v?re : fully maintained for all sorts. McEOT?. Murray, Boborts. ar.d Co., Ltd.. have*this day received from their London friends, I'c.-srs. Sanderson, Murray and Co., the following cablegram, doled October 1:—"Wool market strong, with a hardeniP!; tendency: scoured merino, medium, showing i>r. advance of five per cent. All other descriptions of wool have advanced a shade." Abraham and Williams, Ltd., have rereived the following London cablegram, dated October I:—"There waa a, larire attendance, at the sate today, including Americans, who are operating moderately. Competition was active, and the market is very firm, with Rood prospects. Merino:*, fine and medium rrossbreds. show an advance of 5 per cent., and coarse crossbred Vj. per cent., as compared with the closing rate of last sale." (Ecc. October 3. 0.2S a.m.) London, October 2. The following- are the prices realised at -(.he v.'onl sales for the fleece portion of the undermentioned clips:—"Thistle." top price lid., average ICJd.; Wakarua,' 12d. and IOJd. - ' . ' J BANK SHAKES. AND DEBENTURES. London, October 1. Yesterday's eloping quotations were:— Union Bank, .£57 (buyers), and .£53 (fellers): Paul; of .New Zealand, £11 lCs. and £12 ICu.; New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency, £97: Melbourne Trn™, £101; Melbourne Board of Works, ,£99. WHEAT. (Ecc. October 3, 0.25 a.m.) London, October 2. The wheat market is firmer, owinn to tl" unfavourable outlook in Hid Baiknin. Th« American vi-iKo supply is c.-timated at <;2,257,CC0 quarters. I , THE METAL MAIiKETS. ] (Rcc. October 3, 0.25 a.m.) London, October 2. Coppcr.-On spot. £79 17s. 61; throe month;, £79 15s. per ton; electrolytic, £82 ss. The-ennper-supplies total. 33,152; deliveries, 35,549 tons; stock, «,ZO3 tons; afloat, 523) tons. 'Pin.—On spot, £227 155.; three months. £221 ss. The stocl-.s n.i-c 15.1E5 tons: on fiiot, 2275 tons; afioat, ffiCo tons; deliveries, 5907 tons. SILVER. London, October 1. Bar silver is quoted at 29Jd. ikt ounce standard.