COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1894, 31 October 1913, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. There were no transactions in investment shares yesterday. The Quotations wcro a3 under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ s. d. National Bank 5 7 0 — Union Bank 55 10 0 . — Wellington Investment. ... — 011 9 Well. Trust and Loan ... 7 4 0 7 7 6 Christchurch Gas — 7 0 0 Gear Meat. (£■!) J 13 0 0 — Gear Moat (£). 3 9 0 — Union Steam 14 9 — Well. 'Woollen (ord.) — 4 1 0 Westport-Stockton — ? J 3 Golden Bay Cement — " „ W.F.C.A. (£1) - 16 0 WELLINGTON WOOLLEN SALES. The Wellington woolbrokors aro to meet this morning to considor. wlicther it would bei adv,ieablo to abandon tho «xlo fixed for Tuesday in view of the strike situation or endeavour to go through with the sale.It is practically , certain that "tho 6ale will bo abandoned, because there is very littlo wool available; and furthermore oven if tho sale is held the attendance of buyers will bo disappointing, because those buying for England, tho Continent, and America will bo unable to ship their pur-, chases, and without shipping documents the lotters of crcdit could not bo drawn against."

THE INDIAN BANK FAILURES. The suspension of the People's Bank of India, reported by c<tblo about a> month agro, appears to have been duo to causes similar to those which brought, about tho downfall of the Bank of Burma. In other words tho managing director had been employing almost all tho funds of :the bank in his own speculations, and according: to tho advices to hand by mail the eiispension of this institution may involve an industrial crash ni tho Punjab. The People's Bank of India, Ltd., was founded in 1901, and at tho time it closed its doors it had a paid-up capital of £83,2(50, a reservo fund of £22,0C0, and deposits amountins to £850,CC0 4 It had 72 branches all over India, was largely patronised by the wealthy Hindu® in Bengal, and was regarded' as a triumph of Swadeshi enter* prise. The Amritsar Bank was on appanaso of the People's Bank, and of course shared an the fat© of the parent concern. A run'sot in on other mushroom institutions, of which there are no fewer than 24 in Lahore alone, nil with high-sounding names. In commenting upon this financial crisia, "Capitol" states that tho need of a new Companies Act in India is tolerably obvious, and apparently tho Government is seized with the necessity of placing restrictions upon institutions which desire to include the name of bank in their title.' All local Governments and chambers of commerce luive btfen asked by tho authorities to make suggestions, with a. view; to prevent, a repetition of the failures described. What ia going to be tho # moral effect of theso disasters on tho native investor remains to bo seen.

CANADIAN BANK ACT. Ono of tho conditions of the TeviEed Canadian Bank Act, which came into force on July 1, relates to certain, alterations m the returns issued monthly by banks. Ono of the most significant innovations to tlie separation of loans to municipalities from those to the public, in which they have hitherto been includod. For a Jong time past- Canadian banks have lent very citansively to municipalities in anticipation of permanent issues of etock by these corporations. Latterly, however, in view of tlio difficulty of placing such securities on, tho market, tlicso facilities havo been rigorously curtailed. The extent to which civic borrowers have, been helped by tlio banks may be gauged by. tlio return- for Julv. which shows municipal and school loans amounting to £8.750,000. For tho first eight months of this year the total loans issued In London by Canadian civic authorities was £9,m,6C0, and the rapidity of tho indebtedness under this head is causing considerable comment both m Canada and elsewhere. It has been proposed by a convention of Alberta municipalities that the Government of tho province should exercise supervision over city borrowing anllogous to that possessed by tho local Government Board of England. Another Suggestion is the creation of an institution on tho lines of the crodit foncier of France, which -workrf Admirably, by issmng its owii bonds to the investor, and lending to small towns and communes all over tho republic. The fact that it. has its own capital involved ensures care'iil n , iana " ClUC ® t '^ a thus safeguards both tho borrower and the lcjuier. GERMAN ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY. Though there is still considerable activity in the various branches of the German clcctrical engineering industry, new contracts aro said to bo increasingly difficult t.o (htoin. The consequent competition is resulting in. roduccd priccs. There nave be-n reports that tlio Berlin General Electric (the A.E.G.) and the Siemens Schnckert Works have recently dismissed large numbers of workmen, but. these liavo been omCinliv denied by tlio Arms in question. Ilio A E.G. state that some hands liavo been dispensed- with, but this is entirely owing to'imnrovcd methods of production, whilst tlio Siemens Schuckert Works assert that, owing to tlio pressure of work, it has been nccessary to cngago more workmen. Tho Bergmann Company etato that the number of contracts still on tho books Is larger than at this time last year, but. tlicv ngrco that new business is not coming forward ,1= well as could be dcr-ired. The turbine department is not so well cmplbycd as last yeaT. SPELTER. The position of snclter k now attracting some attention. The price has been con«ir!.crnbly below the average value slnco May last-, and consumers are beginning to think that there is nothing further to gain, by waiting. This fooling led to a very considerable buying movement recently, and although there appeared to be plenty of metal to meet the demand there Is little doubt that another movement of tho kind would cause a Tisc. The chonccs of spelter fnllimr miieh below the present, prico arc remote; whereas the margin for an ndvnnco is wido enough to attract speculators. V'e luivo to go back to 1908 to find cheaper spelter tho,n is now to bo had. ..Tho usual oauao of low juice* in. tia Mist,

tci* market is competition from America, <iml it looks now* a* though this couso was in course of removal, American business is gradually becoming more active as commercial men on that fide .are bettor able to Range tho effects of the Tariff alterations, and there is clearly large scope for an increase in tho activity of commerce in the States. Tho probability, therefore, is that American spelter producers will have little or no inducement to compete in British markets, and the opportunity will then arrive when the syndicate can- safely advance ito prices to European consumers. JIOTOIt SPIRIT. One of the most interesting products at the moment is motor spirit, the imports of which into the United Kingdom slioy an 1 increase of 25 per cent, as well over 1 fiO.COO.OCO -gallons. Mexico figures in this category for a comparatively small quantity, the bulk of the supplies, or 38 per cent, to bo more exact, being contributed by the Dutch Indies. This represents an increaso of 7 per cent, over laet year. About 8 por cent, of, the total supplies also come from the same source via llollaiid, the shipments by this route ehowing an increase of nearly 18 per cent. Russia lias increased its contribution by fully 41.4 per cent., and is now responsible f or Q bout 17 per cent, of the total. Tho United States remains a, substantial contributor, supplying 25 per cent, of the total, and recording an increase of nearly 18 per cent, as compared with the corresponding period of last year. Despite tho rather easier tendency of general trade, tho fihipments of lubricating oil are wetl maintained, the total for the ymr to date showing an increaso of practically 7 per cent. The United States contributes over 70 per cent, of the total, this representing a- fractional increasa as compared with the corresponding period of last year. Tlienext largest contributor is Itufsia, which, has £hipped rather loss than. 25 p«r cent., but shows tho very .substantial increaso of 110 per cent., as compared with the corresponding period of last, year. The other countries which figure as shippers of lubricating oil aro obviously only in tho. position of intermediaries. LONDON MARKETS. The Now Zealand T/oan and Mercflntile Agency Comnany, Ltd.. h?.vc received the following cablegram from their London house under date October 29:—Tallow: "We ouoto present spot values for tho following descriptions of tallow:—Pine' mutton, 365. 6d. per owt.: good beef, 6d. per ewt.: mixed, 33c?. 3d. per cwt. Tho mutton market is aulet. We sold an Australian cargo ot 355. c.i.f. The market is quiet, but steady. Good harvest. General market prospects ore Jiot likely to improve at present. LONDON WOOL ITAB-KET. The New Zealand Loan and JrercflntHo A?encv Comnany, Ltd., have received the following cablegram from their London house under dat* October 29:—'Wool: The market is ilrm, with an upward tendency. LONDON SHEEPSKIN-SALES. Messrs. Dalgety and Company, Ltd., Wellington. have received tho following raWegram from their London office, October 29:—London sheen,skin sales: The bulk of the offerings consist of New Zealand At nre*ent crossbred*? are id. to sd. higher. Competition is good. SILVER. > By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, October 29. Bar silver is Quota;! at 27|d. per ounce standard. LINSEED OIL AND TURPENTINE. Linseed oil, £22 10s. Turpentine, 313. 4Jd. TALLOW. London, October <19. At v tho tallow fnles 825 casks were offered and 657 sold. Prices were unchanged. . AUSTRALIAN PRODUCE MARKETS, {Rec. October 30, 9.55 p.m.) Sydney, October 30. Wheat (old). 3s. 5d.. 3s. fid. Plour. £8 15s. On.t*. Algerian feeding, ?s. Id.. 2s. iOd.; milling, 2s. lfld.; SpaiTowbil!?. 3s. 2d.. 3s. 3d.: friants, 3 1 ?. 3d., 3s. <kl.; New Zealand "A" Gartons, 3s. 4rt. Maiae. 4s. 5d., 4s. 6d. Barley, Capo maltlne, 3s. 3d., 3s. 6d. Bran and pollard, £4. Potatoes. Tnsmanians, £4 10s. Onions, Victorian, £8 10s., £9.: Japa« ncse, £9. Butter, selected, to3s.; secondary, 955., 98s. Cheese, 6d. Bacon, 10d., 10£ d. Adelaide, October 30. Wheat, 3s. &d., 3s. 6d, Elour, £7 155., £8. Bran, and pollard, 16. HIDES. ■ (Rec. October 30. 9.55 p.m.) _ Melbourne, October 30. At tho hides sales good catalogues wcto offered. Kips were £d. lower; others were steadier.