COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1968, 27 January 1914, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

'. .■■■•• INVESTMENT BHAEES, r The ealcs recorded in investment shares recently wcru: i'n.iik of Ktw Zealand at £12, and Union fttewa, preference, at 15s. 9d. The quotations were ae follow)— I Buyers Sellers ; £ s. d. £ a. d. N.Z. nnd River Plate 2 0 0 ' Ohristchurch-Oas 617 6 619 0 National Insurance 2 11 0 — N.Z. Insurance 5 15 5 — S.B. • Insurance 416 — Standard Insurance 1 12 6 113 3 Christchurch Meat 15 17 6 — ' Gear. Meet (£4) 13 10 0 — I Gear Meat (£1) 3 7 6 — ) Meat Export (525. 6d.) 3 0 0 - Union Steam (pref.) 0 19 9 — ' Jfosgiel- .Woollen' 310 0 — ■ • Well. Woollen (ord.) 4 0 6 .4 2 6 ) Well. Woollen (pref.) 3 0 0 3 3 0 , Taupiri Coal .V. 113 ■ - I Ward and Co 417 6 — 1 W.F.C.A. (£1) . - . 16 0, I THE GOLD RESERVE. : Sir E. H. , Holdcn, chairman of the Loni don City. and. Midland Bank, Ltd., has . been a, consistent advocate of a gold roecrve. At tho meeting of shareholders of ; the bank of whiuh- ho ie chairman the : other day, ho insisted that tho gold ro- , servo of Britain, was insufficient to meet reasonable demands, and urgei the vari--1 ous banks to follow the American-Canadian • plan and publish their gold holdings. Ho . contended that of necessity, in case of , emergency, one third of tho currency should bo based on Bold. In an address ■ on the "Theory and Practice of Banking" . delivered in tho Birmingham Municipal [ School of Commerce on November 3 last. , he referred to this question, referred to ■ the Morocco trouble, and stated that tho i great obstacle to Germany's malting a fori ward move on that occasion was'the state, . of her finances—or,' in other words, her' small stock of gold. • Sinco that period tho Keichsbauk had increased its gold by i about £20.000,000 after £2,C00.000 had. been placed in the German war chest. In Great Britain it fell to the joint stock banks, tho Chancellor of tho Exchequer, and tho Bank '. of England to take up thia question. Tho ! joint stock banks were working silently to thedesiredcnd.and ho belioved that they would satisfy tho'country-that they wero doing their- duty if they would carry out tho suggesiou to publish in their balancesheets once n. year the amount of gold, they held. Tho Admiralty and the Minister of War year by year increased expenditure, but no attempt wag made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to provide tho cold necessary for. operating thefo two arms of tho Service in case of emergency. If he would gradually pay off the Government debt of £U,COa,CCO iu the Issue Department of tho Bank of England, this amount, togeher with tbe increasing amount of gold held by tho joint stock banks, nnd the averago amount held by the Bank of England, would in two or three rears aggregate about £100,000,000. CUSTOMS: REVENUE. '.' Customs-, dutie-s collected at the port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £4813 14s. lOd. LONDON WOOL SALES. . . By Telegrapli—Press Association— Copyright London, January 25. At tho wool sales, "Thistle Tool" clip realised 13Jd., with a;i average- 6£- toea. During tho salos 60,000 bales were sold for tho Home market, 55.C00 for the Continent <ind 6000 for Ameriar; and 6000 wore held over, The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency--Co., Ltd., have received the following cablegram from their London houso •uitJsr date January- Z';:--Lon<ton Wswl Sales: Tho Eales closed' stock; IZJ.COO bales of wool wero Bold'at the wool sales, 55.WX) ol which wero taken for the Continent and 53C0 for America; -60CO bales' were hold over. 'As compared with last ■ Bales' closing rate' 'prices are higher ,by about 6 per cent, to 7* per cent, for medium greasy .crossbred and fino greasy crossbred, and lower by about par to 5 per cent, for crossbred slipc. Messrs. Murray. Roberts , , and Company have received tho. following cablegram, aated January 24, from thoir London friends, Messrs. Sanderson, Murray and Co.:—London Wool Sales: "Sales have closed firm. 7000 bales hold over. Market shows no material change." ' Messrs. Dalgety and Company, Limited, nave been advised by their London office by cable, dated January .24, as follows:— "The salee closed firm and activo, with brisk competition. A3 compared with last sales closing rates, super merinos, creasy and scoured, arc unchanged; greasy merino, good quality and condition, and medium sorts, 5 to 75 per cent, higher! medium sorts, good finality and condition, scoured, 5 per cent, higher; heavy earthy and wasty greasy, irregular; fino crossprods, 5 per cent, higher; medium cropsbreds, 5 to 7J per cent, higher; coarso crossbreds, par to 5 per cent, higher; fine crossbred, ecoured, pa.r to 5 per cent, higher: niodiuni and coarse crossbred?, scoured, unchanged; slipo wools -jn. changed." FKOZEN MEAT. London, January 25. Tho Incorporated Society of Meat Importers' Smithlield market Quotations for tho undermentioned classes of frozen meat are based on actual sales of not loss than ono North Island,, best • ■ . • . twenty-live quarters of beef of fair avorago quality. The quotations aio not for selected linos, but for parcels fairly representative, of the bulk of-tho shipments now on the market. ■ The prices whluh follow are on the average a. larthtne per lb. more than the values ex ship, this difference representing tho 'average cost il expense, handling, conveyance, and celling tho moot:— ■ ■ Jan. 17. Jan. 24.. Mutton— ■ d. d. Canterbury, light * • Canterbury, niodium • • ■ . , Canterbury, heavy * *. Southland ■ * • North Island. bc3t 5- • North Island, ordinary Ai . 42 Australian, light 4 5-16 4M6 Australian, heavy 4 546 41-16 lliver Plate, light 4} 44 ' River Plate, .heavy 4j 43 New Uoaland ewes * • '. Australian ewce 4' 4 River Plato ewe 3 '' ■ • Larab— Canterbury, light * * Canterbury, medium * * Canterbury, heavy • • Southland * * North Island, bost * * North Island, ordinary .. • • • Australian, bost 511-16 511-16 Australian, fair 511-16 511-16 Australian, inferior 511-16 5j Jtiver Plate, llrst :.... il bk ■ River Plate, second 5J 53-8 JSecfNew Zealand, oi fore? * * New Zealand, ox hinds.:. * ' Australian, ox force. 4 41-16 Australian, ox hinds 4 5-16 4 5-16 River Plate, ox fores 4 4 River t'late, ox hinds .... 4J 4i . River Plate, chilled fores 41-16 4 River Plato, chilled hinds 413-16 413-16 •Nono offerinc BABBITS. Pripo.s for rabbita are unchanged, and tho market-Mβ inactive owing to the doi clino in tho valuo of Bkina. WHEAT AND FLOUR. London, January 25. Tho wheat market is firm on account of higher American and ' Argentine markets and oxpocted smaller world's shipments. A slight-advance is asked, but thero is quiet demand; 355. 7Jd. is asked and 355. 4{d. bid for Australian January-February shipment; 17,500 quarters per sailer, March shipment, sold at 355. 9d. Tho wheat and flour afloat for the United Kingdom totals 2,595,000 quarters; for the Continent, 1.623,000; Atlantic shipments, 245,000; Pacific, 25.M0. The total Ehipment/5 to Europe during tho week amounted to 1.155.0C0 quarters, including 164,000 quarters from Australasia.