COMMERCIAL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 524, 7 December 1912, Page 5

COMMERCIAL.

NEW ZEALAND L. AND M. COMPANY. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Ltd.. will hold its annual meeting in London on the 12th inst. After writing oil bad debts and customary replacements, also a special sum of £20,000 off the premises account, and providing a further £SOOO towards the staff benevolent fund, also carrying an additional £IIO,OOO to the reserve, making a total reserve of £720,000, the directors recommend a dividend of 11 per cent on shareholders' paid-up capital, and an extra 2A cent, interest on third debentures, making on the latter a total of 7 per cent, for the year.

WOOL SALES. New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, have received' the following cablegram from their London house:— "As compared with last sales' closing rates, prices are higher about 5 per cant, for crossbred lambs, greasy merino super, scoured crossbred, scoured merino super, fine crossbred slipe, and fine greasy crossbred. Higher about 7J per cent, to 10 per cent, for medium greasy crossbred, medium crossbred slipe, merino medium and inferior, coarse greasy crossbred, and coarse crossbred slipe. Buyers are operating with spirit." The grain trade is in a very quiet state, with scarcely any business doing. A few oats are changing hands, mostly small lota. What shipments are being made to Australia are the result of sales made Borne time ago. The harvest in Canterbury and Otago is likely to be late this year, for, though the crops are Generally looking well, they are, except in the case of a few paddocks of oats, in a very backward state. A few weeks of fine weather would effect a change, but the summer, like that of last year, promises to be a wet one. Oatsheaf chaff ia again dull of sale and 50s at country stations is the outside price. The potato market is now over for the season. The new crop is coming on very slowly, and the chief local supplies are Auckland grown. PRICE OF BUTTER. New Plymouth, Friday. A cable received from London this morning gives 122s as the spot value of finest New Zealand butter, salted and unsalted. The market is firm, and has an upward tendency. Finest cheese, white or coloured, is quoted at 61s, with the market firm. WELLINGTON WOOL SALES. JHY TKLKtiBAril. I'RESS' ASSOCIATION.! Wellington, Friday. The wool sales here opened with very strong competition for coarse and medium crossbred Wools, which were l|d to 2d over the (prices of last HMD