COMMERCIAL ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2357, 13 January 1915, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS

INYESTMENT SHARES.' • ': The business done in. ■ investment shares yesterday consisted ol sates of Bank of New Zealand (old) at £9 18e. Sd. and £9 195.; Sharland's ordinary end preference at 225. The quotations were 66 follow:— Buyers. SolleM. £ s.d. £ s/d National Bank i 1 I — Bank N.Z. (new) 15 5 0 — ■ Wn. Gas (£10) 16 2 6 N.Z. Insurance 5 17 6 —, South British 4 6 0 — Christchurch Meat — 16 10 0 •Union Steam (ord.) 10 9 — Union Steam (pref.) 0 19 9 — Westport-Stockton, Coal — 0 5 0 Toringamutn — 2 3 0 Manning and Oo 4 2 6 ■ — Ward and Co 5 2 6 — •Ex di-v. WELLINGTON TRUST AND LOAN. The report to be presented to shares holders at the 42nd annnal meeting of tho Wellington Trust, Loan and Invest.ment Company shows that the sum to the credit of profit and loss on the year's working, together with the amount of £1871 Bs. brought forward from tho previous year, amounts to £16,003 la., from which £5625 las been paid as interim dividend. The directors recommend that a further dividend of £5625 be declared on the paid-up capital for the half-year ended December 31, 1914 (making 9 per cent, for the year), .and that £2000 be added to the reserve fund < from the profits, making the latter £66,000, which leavos £2753 Is. Prom the depreciation account of £500, appropriated two years ago for this purpose, £300 is written off for depreciation; the balance, £200, is added to the sum, £2753 Is., making a total of £2953 Is. to be carried forward. The retiring directors are Messrs. James Lookie and Walter Scott Eeld, who offer themselves for re-election. Messrs. 0. P. Powles and E. W. Hunt, retiring auditors, also offer themselves for re-election. CLEARING HOUSE RETURNS. ' The total Melbourne -Clearing House returns for 1914 wero £299,667,684, an Increase of £2,411,384, or barely 1 per cent., as compared with 1913. Tho Sydney total to £353,068,040, an increase of slightly over 1 per cent. Considering the conditions ruling for the past five months, that there should be any advance at all testifies to the activity of the first half of the year. The following is a comparison of the total clearances in each 'city for tho past seven years:— Melbourne. Sydney. , 1908 221.353,675 227,736,243 1909 :... 239,663,607 240,645,737 1910 261,383,434 274,343,665 1911 290,113,099 304,438,435 1912 303,462,723 330,621,122 1913 297,256,200 348,741,175 1914 299,667,584 353,068,040 It will be noted that from 1908 to the end of 1914 there was a steady expansion in the Clearing House figures, but a continuance thereof in the ourrent year can hardly be anticipated. LONDON WOOL SALES. Messre Dilgety and Company, Ltd., have received the following cablegram from M-eir London office, dated January 11:— "The list has closed for the January series of wool sales. The gross arrvials amounted to 250,000 bales; 97,000 bales were forwarded direct to manufacturers. Old 6tooks carried forward amounted -to 13,000 bales, leaving a net quantity of 166,000 bales available for sale. SOUTHERN GRAIN • Christchurch, January 12. The only inquiry in the local grain market has been for oats, and this appears to havo eased off somewhat, for ths only line reported to have been offered; 3s. at country station was asked. No samples of new oats have yet been placed upon the market, but some new oatsheaf chaff is nowready. For old chaff the domand has cased off, as North Island buyers decline to pay the price that is now quoted. In view of the new season's produco being shortly available old chaff has been ruling at £4 10s. at country stations, but buyers say they can not now do business at this figure. The recent rain will do the growing cereal and root crops a great, amount of good, as it has not so far been followed by parching winds as was generally the case with rains that fell during December. Customs duty collected at the port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £1919 18s. 2d.