COMMERCIAL ITEMS,

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1614, 4 December 1912, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS,

': ;■ INVESTMENT SHAKES. Investment shares wore in fair request yesterday.' Third issue Wellington Gas' shares sold at £11 125.-6 d.on 'Change, and a sale'of Standard Insdrance at 325. 3d. •was reported. The quotations • were as under:— ' , - Buyors. Sellers. ■ , £ e. d. £ s. d. Bank of New Zealand.;.... 10 16 0 — Equitable Building — ' 916 0 NiZ. and Eiver Plato ...' 2 1 ,0 —' . Well. Trust and Loan ... 7 2 0 7 7: 6 Feilding. Gas ; — -10 6 Welt Gas (third issue) ...14 12 6. .■ — Meat Export (525.' 6d.) ... — 219 0 N.Z. Shipping 14 0 0 . — Union Steam- 2 7 0 — Well. Woollen (ord.) 315 0 f r- ' Hikuraingi Coal : : 018 0 — Taringamutu Totara — .',OB. .0 Golden Bay Cement — . 1 11 N.Z. Drug .' — 210 0 Sharland's ordinary — . 1 ,1 0 Ward aud Co, 5 1 0 5 2 6 - 'QUEENSLAND INSTTUANOE COMPANY; The annual report of the Queensland Insurance Company for Iho period to September 30 last Ghows that the net premiums amounted to £201,831, as compared with £153,604 In the previous year. The losses totalled £88,292, against £65,092, and the expenses aggregated £64.809,- against £58,768. The income from interest and rent amounted to £10,022, against £8217, and the net profit wa-s £56,827, as compared with £33,958. The dividend for the year at the rate of 10 per cent, absorbs £10,000, and the bonus of 3s. 4d. per sha,re amounts to £25.000,. but. the latter' is to be used to pay a call of 3s. 4d. per share. Colonel Burns, who presided at the an/mai meeting of the company, explained that at the last annual general meeting the action of the board was coniir.inod in capitalising ss. 4d. per share out of profits on the 151, CM issued shares-of the company, making these shares paid up to 13s. 4d„ and It is now proposed in addition to the usual 10 per cent, dividend to pay a further bonus of 3s. 4d. per share, and at the same time to again cali ud 3s. 4d„ which will make the shares paid up to 16s. Bd„ and t.he iraid-up capital of the company £125,0C0. The appropriation recommended for .the year is therefore—the payment of 10 per cent, dividend on the capital of the company, wbioh will absorb £10,000, and the payment of bonus ot Ja. 4d. per shoM on HtMM tfuures ot tba wmpaar,

ing a balance in profit and loss account of- £7C04 to be- oarricd forward to ut-xx-year. ••••

.AUCKLAND ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS. At the' meeting • of shareholders of the above company, held' in London en Octobor 21', tho chaifmnn, O. G. Togetmeier, in moving the adoption of the report and nccounta, ; remai*Ued ..that the history of the company had been one of continuous expansion capital expenditure. Ten years ago they startsd with 45 cars, and k.w. of plant, which at that time was considered an •extravajc&nt scale for remunerative employment. In succesive years •large, sums had been spent in providing increased facilities, and now they had 136 cars and a. generating: plant of 4900 lt.w. capacity The capital expenditure list : year -amounted to £85.551, of which .S3B.CCO was upon cars, £JI,OCO upon power-station plant and machinery, £?CCO upon duplica-tions-«f the. permanent way, £12.GCQ upon the new car shed at Epsom, ad - the reI mainder upon various .capital purposes. 1 They had spent £5567 on the purchase lof the "freehold of their power-house cite, j Then their stores and material on linnd j were £II,CCO more than at June 20, 1911. 1 sundry, debtors £5700 more, and cash £36,010 . more. To provide the necessary funds they ! had issued during the year £50,C00' of preference share* and £50,C00 of debenture stock, o.nd for eoqic time nasfc. they, had been using the reserve funds for':-the'pur-poses of -capital outlay instead of issuing further capital. The capital outlay on the undertaking was largely in excess of the share and debenture capital. They had' considerable further capital exnenditure in' view. To meet the needs-, of. developing'. :suburbs, they had agreed, to construct, revcral short extensions, and were .increasing their rolling stock by 25 more cars, , and extensions of. car .works and equipments would be nccessaT.v. They propofed Ito make' an issue of £50,000 in preference shares to provide the necessary, money* and, ■ although. the pvesent preference shares were, at a considerable premium, they , proposed .to offer the new shares to the existing preference, and ordinary shnre-. holder*, at*- par. That issue would enable .them to issue £ICO.CCO of' 4 "debenture stock, , which placed them in a- sound position- with, regard to -future capital requirements. N.Z. .LOAN AND IIEECAIfTILIiI. The New Zealand' Loan and Mercantile' Apency Co..'Ltd.. will hold its annual racct- ■ ing.'in London. on December 12. After writing off bad debte and customary renlacp-. mcnK a-lso a speciM sum of eff premises, and nrovidin* a further ££CCO towards the benevolent fund, and carrying an additional £110,000 to reserve (making a total reserve nf £720,000). the directors recommend a dividend of 7J per cent, on shareholders' paid-up capital, and ."•n extra 2i per cent, interest on third debentures, makinr on .the latter a total of 7 per cent, for the year. ■ THE WELLINGTON WOOL SALES. The local wool salos are fixed to com-; mence at 9 a.m. on Friday, and as far ps can be asrertain-ed the catalogues will comprise about 94G0 bales, as compared with 6565 bales at the corresponding sale of last year, and 8250 bales in 1910. It is needless to say the values are expected to .show a substantial improvement. TRADE TN ALLEN STREET. . "Vegetables.—Heavier supplies of green ne ; as are now reaching the market, and. lower rates are ruling. Hothouse-grown tomatoes are coming in more freely from t.be Hutt and Nelson .districts. French be£ns are in more plentiful supply, and prices' have declined, since last week. Parsnips and carrots are realising excellent rates, while cabbases .aiid' cauliflowers : mi*2t with fair inquiry. v .Fruit-.—The Mouowai, with transhipment* iof pineapnles .ex the steamer from tho •Friendly Islands, renehed port; yesterday, I nn'd the fruit realised extremely low rates. I The Aorangi, due to-morrow, from San I Francisco and the Cook Islands, is brinej jiig apples and naval oranges from California, and baaanas, . pineapples and kui meras from the 1 Cook Islands. The jtfaungav 1 nui is dne from Sydney to-day with coni ste'nments of orantes, apricots, nlums, and 1 cherried; weekly sl>inraents" of chcrrie* ate ■ Mso .coming from Melbourne, vja the Bluff. 'Heavy consignments of 6trawberrieg are reaching the market from Auckland and Motucka, and moderate prjros ruling. The. next'steamer from. Fiji is due.here, about December 19.' . Poultry.—Farmers . are strongly recommended to market thei"-birds early, ami i,not' to' bo caught in the Christmas glut;. Tiie o.uotationfi are: Hens, 3s. 6d.,to 4s. a pnir; cofkerclr, 3s. t--> 6a„ aceording to dxe; PMrin and A.yle«-bury ducks,, | f'3. to 65.; Indian runner ducks. 4s. to ,55.; ducklings. <-s. 6d. to 6s;j turkey eobThiers, lCd. to lid. per lb. live-weight; hens, 9d. to lOd. , v • I Potatoes.—CMifoTnian,. BurJjanU,. pot-atoes are due in a day;, of thp f, prisc''is expected to rule" 5 at about £13 1 per' ton. Very few New Zealand-prrown old potatoes aro now on the irorket. Supnlies of new potatoes -arc steadily inereasinif. Onions.—A • further consignment of new Avon's Australian is due to arrive on Friday, and theoe will come on to a bare market. - Flour is ruling at £8 10s. to .£8 15s. per ton. le?s the' usual- and a fair tra-do -is doing. - . . ' Pollard is in good demand at £6 10s. to £6 15.?. per ton, \ I Bran.—The market is easier, and sales 1 arc being* made r.t £5 to £5 10s. per ton. Make.—South. 'African is quoted at. 1 lOrt. per bushel: New Zealand. ss. to.ss. ?d. Oatmeal ,is dull of sale at £13 to £13 10s. ner ton. , .Oats—The .market continues firm; short. 1 and dun oats rule at 2s. Sd, +/> 2s. I lid. per bushel;, wed Algerian, 3::. 3d. [• .Fay.—Prime quality, pood ouality, is o* £4 10s. to £5, with medium quality at £3 • ICS. to £4. j! Chaff.— I The market is bare prim*' oatenshc'af chaff, the current value is '£o •ner ton, with-medium quality at £4 to £4 55.. nil sacta in. Fresh cgrs are frmer, and are selling at Is. to Is. M. per dozen.* • 'Bu.tter.—Th" 1 . mn.rket is easier; primo .milled in bulk,' lCd. to'lCJd. per'lb.; good, 9d, .to 9id. 'Margarine in ?-fllb: tir", Scottish manu-fd-v.ture, Bd. to BJd- per lb. ..Jjhees-3.—The market is weaker, best facmedium size, is quoted at 7d. per 'lb'.: loaf. 7Xd*. ' I?-icemcal is slow of. sale at -£5 15s. per ton. "Split pca«.- : -New Zealand, 175.; English, 19^.. • Partridge meet with fair demand at 3s:- 9d. to 4s. 3d. per bushel. I , Whole linseed is quoted, at 17s. to 18s. per 1 cwt. ! ". Linseed n«ts, 13s. 6d. per cwt. Crushed linseed cake,. 14s. per cwt. Customs duties collected at the port of "Wellington yesterday amounted to £5G22 3s, sd. NOTES. ; The increasing uses to which aluminium is put, especially as a substitute For copper in clectrical work, mentioned recently, have directed attention to the white metal, a.nd some further particulars of its employment in electric lighting should prove of interest. Aluminium cable for electrical purposes is just at present ou. the boom not only in England, but in Australia. Nearly every electrical town lighting plant of any size that is at present in 'course, of construction will, 'it is stated, use aluminium cable for their overhead cable. One firm in Sydney has three..tenders for town lighting plants, and the. total weight of •'<aluminiu*n cable for these three plants is just, over ICO tons. To make a comparison with copper, an order from Victoria for one mile .of aluminium ra.ble is taken as an illustration. This cable, it is pointed out. is equal in current capacity to one mile of 37-16 copper cable. The nlu&inium weighs 124 Mb., and costs £80. The copper cable weighs 24961b., and costs £116. By the a-dvocatea of aluminium it is asserted that 49Jlb. of that metal has the same electrical conductivity as ICOlb. of elec- • trolytic copper, so the latter metal must not cost more than .495 x 80, equal 16 about £40 per ton, to compete with aluminium at £80. comparison is for bare conductors. When insulation is employed another nhase of competition between the two metals is brought about. The aluminium is the thicker and uses more insulating material, so that each,case must be ? decided on its merits. The world's production of beer in 1910 is stated at- 8,003,754,765 gallons. Tho United States led the way with 1,908,010,377 gallons, Germany wa6 second with 1.703,t'66.460 gallons, United Kingdom third with 1.479,- ' 352.280 gallons, Austria-Hungary fourth, Belgium fifth, France sixth, and Hucsia seventh with gallons. The remaining countries were muoh smaller producers of the beverage. '

: - GKAIN AND PRODUCE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) Chrietchurch, December 3. The grain trade i's in a very quiot state, and scarcely any business is doing. -A few oats are changing hands, mostly small lots. What shipments of .oats are heme made to Australia are the result of sales some time ago. The harvest in Canterbury and Otago is likely, to be late this year, for though the crops generally are looking well, they are, oxcept in the case of a few paddocks of oats, in a very hackWard state. A few weeks of fine weather would effect a change, but the summer, like that of last year, promises t-o ,be a wet one. Oatsheaf chaff is again dull of sale, and 5Js. at country stations is the outside price. The potato market is now over for the season. • The new crop is coming on very slowly, and the chief local supplies are Auckland grown.

HIGH COMMISSIONER'S OAISLEGIUM. The Department of Agriculture, Indus: tries, and Commerce, has received the following cablegram from the High Commissioner for New Zealand, dated lioirjon. November 30. ' (Quotations, unless otherwise specified, are average market prices on S% T $ rtn? fe ;s°r to ' , iani-Esa jnaim It Aim. Oa&fcsrbra,.

53d. per lb.; other tlian Canterbury, 5 3-Bd. Jiosf.—The market is steady, with an improved demand. N.Z. hinds, 3id. per lb.; fores, 3d. Butter.—Tho market is very unsettled and speculative. There is a better demand tov best Quality, but tUero is little demand for second-claE3 quality. Choicest New Zealand, per cwt., 115s. to 118s.; ordinary quality, New Zealand, 110s. to. 1145.; Australian, 110s.; Argentine, 1095.; Danish, 1295.; Siberian, 107s. Cheese,—The market is steady, and a fair business doing at lower pricw. White, 595.. 6d. per cwt.; coloured, 60s. 6d. Hemp—The market is steady, with an improved demand, N.Z. pood fair grade, per ton; £33; fair grade, £31 10s.; fair current Manila. £33 for any nositions. The output from Manila for the week was 21.CC0 bales. Wool.—The market is strong. LONDON . WOOL . SALES. V By Telegraph—Frees Association—Copyright London, December 2. There wa6 a good demand for all clashes at the wool rales. Merinos are unchanged; crossbred firm. . • The . Oastle clip realised' 14|d. top price, the 'avera-ge working out .at 12Jd.

Mesrs. Dalgety and Company, Limited. Wellington, have been advised liy cablegram from their London office, dated November 29, as follows:—"The sales continue firm and active, with brisk competition. Bradford top quotations up to November 29 are as follow (the figures in parentheses being t.bose at October 31);—36's, 15d. (14id); 40's. 153 d. (lW;'«'s, lSStf. (15d.); W'sT 17d. fl£>d.): EO's, 20M. (183 d.); 56's, ?3d.. (2Ud.); 58's, 25d. (23d.); 60' a. common, 275 d., (26d.);. 60's, suner. 2sd. (265d.)j M'a, 29d. (27£ d.); 70'b, .30d. (28d.). '

The Now Zealand Loan ■ and . Mercantile A genoy Company, Limited... have received ! the following cablegram from their London house,' uiider 'diate December. 2:—"Buyers are operating with 1 spirit. As compared; with last sales' 1 closing rates prices are: 1 higher by about 5 per cent, for 'crossbred, lambs, greasy merino super, scoured; crossbred, scoured merino .super, fine cross-, bred slipe, and finie gneasy, crossbred; higher by about 5 per cent, to 75 per cent: for lambs, medium 'greasy crossbred. arid medium crossbred slipe; higher by about 7jj per cent, to 10 per, cent, for' medium and inferior merino, coarse greasy crossbred, and coarse, crossbred slipe." " AUSTRALIAN WOOL SALES. .. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright | Sydney, December 3. The wool sales in' Sydney and Melbourne opened strong. There is keen comiKitition | in all classes at full rates. The late weakness has disappeared. ' > I WHEAT. I Sydney, December 3. j Owine to the lcrge quantity coming forward there lias been a big .break in the price of prompt delivery wheat. Buvers are declining to go 'beyond 3s, 9d. a bushel. METAL SUPPLIES. (Bee. December 3. 9.15 p.m.). ! London. December. 3. Conner.—Supplies total. 38,768 tons; deliveries,' 41,829 tons; stocks. 40.71G, tons; afloat, 67C0 tins. Tho total European visible sumly is 43,281. tons. ' ! Tiri.—Stocks, 13,697 tons; on sint ,1573 tens; afloat, 46CS tons; deliveries, 2870 tons. TALLOW. : 7 " (Kec. ' December 3, 9.5 p.m.) London, December 3. The tallow stocks total 3225 tons; imports, 2057 tons; deliveries,. 2764 tons/ , . . BILTER. ■ ■ London, December., 2. > Bar silver is quoted at 29 9-16 d..per ounce standard.

CONSOLS. London, December 2. Consols aro at X 75 12s. 6d., an advance Of 30s. since Thursday last.