COMMERCIAL.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2389, 19 February 1915, Page 8

COMMERCIAL.

LIVE STOCK SALES. MASTERTON" HAM FAIR. At the Moaterton Earn Fair to-day bidrtinj was brisk but sales were somewhat erratic. The highest price paid / ( 9 r " ram l was 61gne., for one of Mr. W. Perry s Romneys. Flock Romneys reached as high as 15/rns., Llncoms, Southdowne, ana other breeds will be fcoUl correspondent. •• The New Zealand' Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, report:—At Rongotea'salc on Wednesday we had a good average yarding of all' classes of stock, which mot w.itti a Rood sale at late rates. Pigfl. «lipe, lOe. 6d.; good stores, 155.; medium woolly lambs, good B.F. lambs, 7s. lid.; fair B.F. lambs, 65., 6s. Bd.j small lambs, 4s. 7d., 55.; aged cows. 225.,-325. 6d„ £2; store cows, £2 7s. 6d., £3 35., £3 7s. 6d„ £3 9s. 6d.; forward cown, « 1b to £5; light fat cows, £5 7e. 6d., £o 156., £5 17s. 6d., £6; bulls, £3 10s.. £6.

COMMERCIAL ITEMS

INVBSTKEHT BHAEB3. la the investment market a Bale of Westport CogJ. stares at ss. woe reported- Tho quotatiooa were as under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ 6. d. Baak N.Z. (old) ............... 10 f $ r , Bank N.Z. (now) ? ~~ ' Wit Tru6t, Loen, Ltd. ... 7 6 0 — . Qhch. Ges (£5) 77 0 ;- J Wtx. GB3 (pref.) 19 9 v . Meat Export (£2 125.. 6d.) 2 IS 0 ' ~~ Unioa Steam (ord.) 13 9 I 4 0 Union Steam (pref.) —• 1 1 :U •Kaiapoi Woolien 5 1 J ' ' "~ itoagicl Woollen 3 14 0 — ,Wn. Woollen (ord.) 4 8 6 — Westport - i .111 9 112 3 Golden Bay Cement. — _ 10 0 Sharland (ord.) 1 3 0 — Sharland (pref.) 13 0 — Ward and Co 5 M 0 — D.LC. (pre!.) 10 3 -p Haranaki Oil ' 03 9 .- 'Cum. dividend. BRITISH AMDBIOAN TOBACCO CO. . r)Tiring the yea.r ended September 30 l«wt tho British-American Tobaceo Company, Ltd.,' earned net profits amounting to J82,117,022, the total including £211,262 obtained. from the sale of sha.re6. The directors have decided to recommend payment of a final dividend on the ordinary shares, making 24i per cent.. for the year, as against 271 per cent, paid for 1912-13,. the total distribution on the ordinary shares for tho year 1913-14 being £1,532,308, afi against £1,719,937 for 1912-13.; In ; oonfiequenco of the Tver Gome losses will.be sofltained by the company in several of the belligerent countriea, and the directors therefore came to the conclusion that it would bo a prudent course to set up a fund out of which any such losses may be met. They accordingly set aside a' sum of £1;500,CI00 to a general reserve which can be n6ed for the purpose, though it is not anticipated that the JoS6es will amount to more than one-half of the sum so set aside, and probably will not reach that figure.! Notwithstanding the war, the business of the company in tic majority of tho countries in which it operated continued to be satisfactory. The earnings indeed justified a larger final dividend, but the directors prefer to continue their conservative policy, and the carry forward, after providing the amount transferred to general reserve and deducting the final dividend,'will atill.be £930,319, as againet £1,973,902 in the previous year. The directors also decided to. pay an interim dividend of 2i per cent, for the year, 1914-15 on the ordinary shares.

MEAT TRANSPORTS, OTD.' The registration. recently of a new shipping undertaking under the title R.M.B.P. Meat Transports, Ltd.,' with a capital of £1,000,000, indicated the I'fiuccesstul conclusion of important negotiations, which had been proceeding for. somo time past regarding the development of the, Argentine meat trade. Formerly the industry suffered from undue competition on land, whilst English ship owners who catered for freight of this class had to submit to excessive German rivalry at sea. With the increased supremacy which the British mercantile marine now enjoy 6 on all the great tTado routes,, the feeling had been growing among' the principal interests conoerned that the time had arrived when' a stronger . hold- fihouJd be established over the ■ Argentine meat trade, and - the company ■which has just been formed will play an important part in this connection. Its object will; be to work in clot'e co-operation with the stock-raising interests." In proof -that this, is so, stepß are being taken to increase the supplies of ohiUed and frozen meat•' which are being sent forward' from South America to the London market, anoh consignments representing the-creation, of fresh resources entirely in the hands of English interests. This means that a more determined opposition will be offered to the monopolistic interests which have established themselves in the Argentine meat Industry, and there appears to be every g respect that thi6 vigorous attitude will e successful. .

• LONDON MARKETS ' The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency. Company, - Limited, have received the following • cablegram from their London hou6e, under date February 17' Hallow: We quote the present spot value for the .following descriptions:—Pine mutton, 41s. 9d. per owt.; good beef, -JSa. 9d. per cTrt.; mixed, 365. 6d. per cwt. The market is strong. ■. Oustoma duty collected at the port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £1609 ss. 2d. 'AUSTEALIAN PEODUOE JIABKETB. By Telegraph—Prees Association—Copyright !Eec. February IS, 9.55 p.m.) Sydney, ■ February 18. Oats, Tasmaman Giante, sa. Ltd.; Algerian, se. 6d. to ss. 9d.; New Zealand A grade Gartous, se. Id.; B pradc, ss. Barley, Oape feeding, ss. 6d.; English, fe. Maize, 4s. 7d. to 4s. lCd.'; Potetoee, Tasmaniaii, £5 to £6. : Onions, Spanish, £8 10s. to £9; Globea, £6 to £7. Butter, selected, 1205.; secondary,- 112s: to 116e. Cheese. 6?d. Bacan, 9d. to 10a. ~ • Adelaide, February 18. Wheat, Bs. Flour, 10s. to £17. Bran, 2s. ' Pollard, 2s. 4d. Oats, Se. , MELBOURNE HIDE SALE.: (Bee. February 18, 9.55 p.m.) Melbourne, February 18. ; At the hides eale there were moderate Buppliea, with active competition. Stouts were unchanged, others were l-6d. to Hlower. . •WHEAT. ; ' By Telegreph—Preaj Assooiatlon-Oopyrighl ' London, February 17. Wheat.—The American visible supply of Wheat is set down at 92,857.000 übshels. The Ohicago market is. firm. May options, 160 cents and 163 7-8 cents; July optiona, 135 cents and 1374 cents. The market Is ilrm, but Quiet. LINSEED OIL AND TUBPENTINE. ' Linseed oil, spot pipes, £30 per ton; turpentine is quoted at 425. 6d. TALLOW SALES. London, February 17. At the tallow sales 552 ccsks were offered and all were sold. Prices: Mutton, fine, 435. 6d.: medium, 38d. Beef, fine, 40s. 9d.; medium, 37b. • The New ■ Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, have received the following cablegram from their London house under date February 17:— • "Tallow—We quote the present spot valnea for the following descriptions: Fine mutton, 41s. 9d. per cwt.; good beef, 38s. 9d. Eer ewt.; mixed, 365, fid, per cwt. The maret is strong.". . . WOOL SALES. London, February 17. Only the arrivals to the 2nd instant are included in the wool sales, reducing the balee available to 103.000. Hobart, February 18. . At the wool sales there wa6 keen competition. Prices were twopence to threepence better than in January. ' . SYDNEY WOOL SALES. (Bee. February 18, 9,55 p.m.) Sydney, February 18. The week's wool sales have closed with a general keen demand for all classes, particularly crossbreds at the best prices of the season. Japaneto buyers were very active. i ■ MOUNT MOKGAN CO. • (Bee. Fobruary 18, 9.55 p.m.) Brisbane, February 18. The Mount Morgan Company has declared a dividend of a shilling per share payable, on March 31. TIHAKU WOOL SALE. (By Telegraph—Prese Association.! Tlmaru, February 18. At the third wool eale of the season held to-day 4460 bales wore offered and 4290 sold. The wools comprised a large proportion of dingy, sandy, and heavy conditioned, and 80 p.c. of fine wools from the hack country. The attendance of buyers equalled previous Bales, and the purchases were well distributed. There wos an excited demand for coarser crossbred for Army purposes, which advanced Id. t0.2d.; half-brods par to Jd. better. Jterinos met with fair inquiry at parity of London; scoured elicited keen bidding and realised 171 d. for crossbred, to 20id- for half-bred. , Prices to-day and at January sale (givon in parentheses) were:—Merino, Eld. to lOd. (7,! d. to 10d.): halfbred super., 12Jd. to 14d. (113 d. to 133 d.): medium, 10id. to 12d. (lOd. to lt*d.);.inferior, BJd. to.lOd. (Sid. to 9Jd.); and crossbred super, 12(1. to 14d. (lOJrt. to 12.', d.): medium, lOid. to 113 d.) (91d. to iOjd.); inferior. 9d. to lOjd. (7Jd. to 9d.): best pieces, lOd. to 12d. l9Jd. to Hid). Medium «Dd inferior and boll Ice and locks showed similar imnrovemcnta.