COMMERCIAL ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2358, 14 January 1915, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS

INVESTMENT SHARES. A; sale of Bank of New Zealand shares, old ifsuc. at £9 195., was the only transaction recorded in investment shares yefiter- , day, Tho quotations wore as under:— .

NEW ZEALAND LOAN AND HEEOANTILE AGENCY. The report of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Ltd., for the year ended June 30, 1914, submitted to the meeting in, London on December 10, states that after paying interest on the first and malting provision for bad and doubtful debts and' towards meeting the abnormal conditions prevailing since the .close of the year, there' ' remains a balance of ■ net revenue/of £137,216. To this has to be added the balance brought forward of £14,238, making'a. total of £151,454. The directors recommend a dividend at the rate of 5 per cent; jer annum on the ordinary stock for the year, lets income-tax. In view of the abnormal conditions created by thi war and by the drought in Australia and of the special provision which will be available next year for reserves and 'premises account from the liquidation of the New Zealand Land Association, Ltd., it is proposed to carry forward the whole balance of £55,279. ' In some districts of Australia drought, pre? vails, which will result in losses of stock and lead to a shortage of crops. In Now Zealand on the whole the weather pro* pects are encouraging. The markets for wool and other colonial products have been good throughout the year under, review. The liquidation of the New Zealand Land Association has been practically completed, by the sale Bince the close of the year of the last of its properties. The sum to be received from this', source ...will exceed the amount estimated in last year's report. THE EMBAEGO ON WOOL. \ The embargo placed on the exportation of wool by the British Government ap--pears to have hurt, the woollen, industry of the United States rather severely. "Dun's Beview" of December 19 says:— "Leading wool manufacturers of . the United States are endeavouring to secure the assistance of the Government in bringing about a modification of the embargo placed upon, the shipments of wool from Great Britain or its colonics. The situation has become 60 serious that. some i of the largest mills dare, not undertake' the acceptance of large orders tendered for clothing to be used abroad by armies. "The State Department has already made representations concerning the matter and has been able to secure a statement of certain conditions under which exports .of wool from London or Australia will be permitted. In brief, these consist of guarantees to he given to the effeot that '..the wool or its products will .not be exported for the benefit of-- the enemies of Great Eritain. The difficulties .'of giving such guarantees are numerous, but, they lie chiefly in the fact that the wool is purchased through or from dealers and they do not know to what uses the wool, may be put. Many manufacturers oTe making blankets and other, wool products for customers . who are "known' only to : them through certain banks or financial interests, so that they cannot give, absolute' guarantees .as to the ultimate destination of the merchandise. ' "The embargo has already resulted in very high prices being asked for certain grades of foreign and domestic wool, and while these prices would not be wholly prohibitive of profit under certain conditions, many of the l wools cannot be shipped.after. they. 1 are bought: This'condition pTeventsd! American" buyers from ■ bidding at'•'the'l-re* cent London auctions, and it has also prevented ' manufacturers . from bidding for wools at., Australia that sellers would like to. dispose' of, if. arrangements, could : - be made .for transportation to the ' States." .-" • ■."■'•" :' was'' and mange, •■ ; In the-course of an, interesting survey of the offecte of .the wai, upon finance Professor Chapman,. of 'Manchester University, in an address to members of the Bankers' Institute, divided, the monetary and credit problems which had been created into two classes—the first, those of the currency, and the'second the problems of the financing of production and exchange. Tho former difficulty, ■■ he declared; had been solved for the time being and theTe should be no trouble in keeping It continuously solved. The new paper currency had helped to relieve the strain, but it. had not yet completed its work. With less than £40,000.000 £1 and 10s. notes in circulation,. It was evident, there was much'gold still in the hands of the people. It was -significant that' of the £10,500,000 drawn from the Bank of England between July: 29 and August 5, less than £3,500,000 . wont-abroad, and .that the gold obtained from abroad, between August 5 dud October '7,' exceeded' by about £2,000,000 tho increase of the. gold reserve. Possibly somu extra gold was being held by other banki, • and: some £5,000,000 wa6 lying to the credit of the Treasury Note Issue Redemption Account;, but, allowing for this, it was evident that the amount outside banks must be ' considerable. One thing that non-combatants could do to furnish aid in ; th« national crisis was to pay their gold into a bank and take' paper in exchange.' A sovereign in the Bank of .England was worth a, hundred in tho pockets of the people, mid probably worth several that were publicly unrecorded in the coffers of other banks. He questioned the necessity of e high bank rate as a normal thing for new business in the future, suggesting that by a system of differential treatment, based as far as possible on a line drawn at the outbreak of the war. new business should be afforded the facility of cheap credit. It might be necessary, too. from time to time in the future, to discouraee payment of debt* abroad In gold, and this would he effected by a hieh discount rate on foreign bills: hut it the fan>e time it might he desirable to continue the encouragement of home t"nde. and the substitution of home division of labour for international division of labour, and a low rai-e for the financing of tho home trade effected this. EQUITABLE BUILDING CO. The report and balance-sheet of the Equitable Building and Investment Company of Wellington, Limited, for the post year have been circulated. The directors in their report say:—The profit and less account shows a credit of £11,286 19s. 7d. An interim dividend of ss. per 6hdre has been paid, and £2000 carried to the reserve fund, leaving a balance of £6286 19s. 7d. to be dealt with. The directors recommend a further dividend of ss. per share, absorbing £3000, carrying forward a balance of £3286 19s. 7d. Notice has been given of the following resolution to be proposed at the meeting, in substitution for the resolution passed at the general meeting of shareholders, held on February 2, 1909, viz.: "That so long as the profits of tho company admit of tho declaration of a dividend, at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum and provide for the transference of not less than £1000.to the reserve fund, the directors'be paid a b6nu>of £150, to be allocated as they may determine." Mr. Leonard Stowe is the retiring director, and, being eligible, offers himself for re-election.

According to the bnlance-sheet th© amount invested in mortgages, together with interest,, totals £359,099; the College Street Estate has been'continually written : down, and its value appears in the l;nlance;sheet at 20*.: deposits with the. bank amount to £15,000, and credit balance at bank £1313 17s. 7d.

BRITISH BANKS AND THE WAS. ' Whatever may have been the programme of German financiers with the object of 'overthrowing British credit, they tan claim to have effected no real damage. In an address which he delivered at the opening of the Institute of Bonkers in London in November, Mr. F. Jluth Jackson, director of the Bank of England, eaid warning was given before the war that when it broke out Germany would make a raid on tho institution's gold reserve, but the facts did not support the assumption. In five weeks, including the first week of tho war, apart from France, Belgium, etc., the Continent (assumed to be Germany) only took altogether £862,C00 in gold. During those same weeks the arrival of gold from South Africa and other sources was between £3,500,000 and £4,000.000. The bank had continued to receive large amounts of gold, and then held the unprecedented figure of £69,50f1,cc0. Lord Inchcape, president of tho institute, in his opening address said he believed the commercial community freely "admitted that tho banks had done all in their power, with a due regard to that prudencc which they were bound to exercise as the custodians of millions of their customers' monoy, to facilitate atid help the trade of the country, and he believed they would eventually emerge from the grave crisis with o. higher reputation than they previously hold. The notion of the Government throughout had been worthy of all praise, and the trade of the countrr wae under e- deep debt of pratitude to Mr. I.loyd George for the courageous manner in which he had tackled the situation. Thtte.mufit womanly. Jw ft

heary burden, of taxation on Europeans for many years, and a. setting back of international • trade, but., given the success which the Allies would cvcntuoJiy achieve, they would in course of time rcgajn a. good deal of the loss. FROZEN MEAT. Meters. Gilbert Anderson and 00. (Messrs. Mellsop, Eliott and. 00., local egents), reporting on the meat * market under data London, December 4, stato:— Heavy arrivals of home-grown and Dutch selling at about same price as frozen, end often at less, leave the market very depressed. The- general feeliiip is that prices will eneo more yet. Home-grown—Beef: Scotch sides, 7d. to 71d.; English, 6d. to 7<1.; Iri-sh, 6d. t to 6*d. button: Scotch, 7d. to 7Jd.; English, 6Jd. to 7)d.; Trish, 6£d. to 7d.; Dutch, 5Jd. to 6&<l. Tegs: Scotch, 7id. to Bd.; English, 7fd. to 7id.; Dutch, '5Jd. 'to 6Jd.; English ewes,. 51d. to 6d.; Scotch-Hill lambs. 6?d. to 7Jd.; pork, 6d. to 7d.; veal, 7jd. to Bd.; secondary, sd. to 7id. Frozen Muttoii.—There hae been "very little fradc with so much Dutch meat about. Prices have, fallen also on account of fair arrivals from New Zealand and Australia. Canterbury, 481b. to 561b., 5 11-16 d.; 561b. to 641b., 5 U-16d.; 641b. to 721b., s£d.; Southland, 561 b. to 641b., 5 9-16 d,; ordinary North Island, 561b. to 641b., 5Jd.; best, sgd.; ewee, s£d.; Australian, 401b. to 601b., 'sid.; 361b. to 551b., 51d.j ewes, 301b. to 501b., s£d.; South American, wethers, 401b. to 551b., 5Jd»; 561b. to -721b., 5 3-Bd.; ©wee, Sid. . Frozen Lamb—New Australians are being sold et 6d. to 6id., According to quality and size. .New are not much in request,. and prices are falling. Canterbury, under 361b., 6 9-16 d.; 361b. to 421b„ 63d.; 421b. to 501b., s}d.; second-quality Canterbury,- 5Jd.; selected North Islands, ?81b. to 421b., 6£d.; ordinary, 6 3-Bd.; Southlands,' 6 7-16 d.; South American, 281b, to 361b., 6id.; 361b. to 421b., 53d. Beef.—The general market trade in' frozen beef is extremely email, and prices are only at their, present high, level on account of Government requirements. New Zealand fores, 52d.; hinds, 6 3-Bd.; Australian' crops, 5?d.; hinds, 6id.; Argentine fores, 53d.; hinds, 6 6-16 d.; Uruguay fores, 53d.; hinds, 5Jd.; arrivals include 56,000 quarters of frozen Argentine beef shipped, from New York, .where they had previously been landed.' Chilled fores, 5 3-Bd.; hinds, 6d. Customs duty collected at the port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £4745 18a. -sd;

Buyers. Sellers. • £ s.d. £ 6.d 1 National Bank 5 2 6 - Bank S.S.W. - 41 10 0 Union Bank ; 53 0 0 — Equitable Building ....... 9 5 0 — N.Z. and JUver Plate 118 0 - 1 Well. Trust. Loan, Ltd. ..776 — Christohurch Gae (£5) .... 77 6 — Palmerston N. Gas — 12 0 0 Well. Gas (£10) 16 3 0 - South British. 4 6 0 ' — Ohristehurch Meat - 16 10 0 Meat Export (£2 12s. 6d.) 2 14 0 - Union Steam (ord.) 110 - Union Steam (pref.) 0 19 9 — Manning and Co. 4 2 0 — Ward and Co 5 2 6 — Crown Brewery 117 0 —