Finance and Trade.

Hokitika Guardian, 17 March 1923, Page 4

Finance and Trade.

CONDITIONS IN BRITAIN

LONDON, -March 3. In the absence of any striking pohical events, and with the foreign exI Hinges comparatively steady, the, dock Exchange is experiencing a period j ,f calmness. There is a fair amount of j ►usiness passing, hut this is chiefly , loLiceable in industrials, buyers hav- • ng transferred their activities from , 'ilt-edgeds, which have becomequieter, hough quotations are well maintained. ( L'he activity in some industrial stocks ippears to have been largely specula;ive, as the air is thick with rumours jf absorptions and amalgamations, ' , which mostly have not materialised. j A satisfactory feature is the continuance of good reports from textile companies and drapery houses and stores. Due large West End store shows doubled profits, and Cookson and Comnanv, wholesale drapers, have transformed last year's loss of £ 100,000 into a profit of £31(1,000. Other con, _ corns show similar, it less outstanding j results, which are apparently due to their having some time ago badly raced | the great fall in wholesale prices by; u rilin', off losses on stocks ill hand. | RISE IN WHOLESALE PRICES. | Among other industrial stocks show-j in,r good improvements are tin and copper shares following the rise in raw, materials, and rubbers have hardened from a similar cause. The wholesale prices of commodities rose in I'ebruaiy to the highest point since December, lpo|. chiefly due to the advance in coal, iron, stock non-ferrous metal*, and sugui. The rise would have been "renter but for the declines in a nuiiK her of food values. This increase in wholesale prices is regarded as a sign of hotter trade conditions ,and is likely to reawaken confidence in the outlook for the great slump in commodity prices that followed after the Armistice boom disturbed confidence and checked enterprise in business circles to an extent that groatlv retarded a trade recovery. metal markets FIRM. The metal markets continue linn. , Yesterday’s slight reaction in tin was i due to profit-taking. There _ «'as "" i groat reason for the sharp rise early I this week, except in anticipation ot I favourable statistics at the end ol I'cbi marv ; but those did not turn out as I good' as bad been expected, stocks beh," mi 1 v ltd toils below those of hie : nreviou's Mi. The general opinion

I previous* iim'ii. i«. * ■ is ihat the position is intrinsically so ' 1 strong that, though reactions may 00-1 1 1 cur, the tendency is towards a higher ! 1 price level. The consumption ol cop. | per in America continues to he euor- ! nums. Values there are rising stonil- ' ’ ilv, and there is no sign that the top S has been reached. Sales during I'oh--1 j niary were estimated at about 90.000 . ! toils' of copper. Spelter shows great | firmness, and American cable advices ' ! indicate that a further advance is pro- , j balile. Britain is now largely depends i ! cut on American supplies, so the mlS lvalue is reflected hole. Imports ol . I spelter during Eehruary into the i ! IJiited Kingdom amounted to N<>U 1- i tens, half of which came from America. I Galvanisers here are buying freely. '. ! SLUMI’ fN EGOS. - j There lias boon a great slump in -' e■ "s, and a further decline in prices | is probable, as supplies greatly exceed • |!>- demalid. Australians, which early i in ilu* tear made about 21x 'per 120, are I now only worth 12s. The import s durt ’ i ; ■ - T. 122 were much larger than m 1 1 ;>*>l and nearly double those of 1020. i Mn-t countries are exporting larger quantities ol eggs, notably Denmaik. I China, and Egypt, and as Australia, the Argentine. America, and Canada I are also sending, the absence of eggs ' from Russia, once our principal source ! of supple, is more than compensated • for. ’While the recent high prices have - ' greatly stimulated home production, - new-laid eggs are now retailing at 2s • to 2s ;li| a down. In this state ol , ; affairs iL is not surprising that a Bill ■J has been introduced in the House ol ; Commons providing for the compulsory ! marking of foreign eggs. earni paign for marking is being run in the ! interests of British egg producers, who j contend that fraud is perpetrated on Ihe consumer bv mixing stale foreign I P gg, with English eggs, and selling I them as new-laid. I his piactiee is ' vei'v prevalent, and the only way to 1 prevent it is not to allow eggs to enter Riilain unless indelibly marked with the country of origin. Hie ' Croeei 1 newspaper opposes the proposal as hei in” against the consumers’ interests, i ;l , i| would divert supplies and entail J prohibitive prices for home-produced eggs.