TRADING CONDITIONS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 258, 28 September 1940, Page 10

TRADING CONDITIONS

STATE OF MARKETS

(By “Pcnloo.”)

All markets are dislocated and trade between countries is being carried on witn considerable difficulty. 'llie snipping movements cannot bo relied upon ana mails are erratic, making contact by letter somewhat hazardous, Tlet in spite of all the difficulties the British Empire still continues to do a certain amount Of importing and exporting. In our case exports are going lorward fairly regularly, because we are sending essential' foodsluils to Britain. But the importing problem is not so easy, much depending upon the ability of British manufacturers to deliver goods. The industrialists in Britain know the value of maintaining trade, and on the whole they are succeeding very well with delivery. That they ieel they can meet increased demands is proved by the fact that. a British Trade Mission is now in South America to beat up trade in that part of the world. Importers in New Zealand now know 'the extent of their import quotas for a whole year, and it they are able to obtain delivery of the goods they require in reasonable time, the Dominion should be fairly well served with imported merchandise. The people here have the money to spend just as they have in England, but it is just as desirable here, as in tho United Kingdom, that people should save as much as possible for lending to tho State. 'I he trade conditions at the moment arc not 'unsatisfactory, but whether they will get better or worse , is anyone’s guess. A calm view of the situation shows that conditions in New Zealand are as good as can bo expected. A market that was very much disturbed at tho outbreak of hostilities was the share market. And the disturbance was emphasised when restrictions were placed on dealings in Australian industrial shares. However, the market has since adapted itself to the situation, .and business is.now steady, although much loss than in peace times. It has to be noted that investors .show u partiality for Government stocks and bonds. It is probable that this demand conies from the larger companies with resources to invest. And most companies are showing commendable caution in building up reserves against the time of difficulties which many people believe t 9 be inevitable. The bonds of* local bodies are not in such keen demand, or rather it should ho said that holders of such bonds arc nos keen to sell because of the higher interest yield. Any of such bonds howcvei, coming on the market are quickly sold and at good prices. Now and again a sale of such bonds is reported by one or the other of tho main stock exchanges. Certain classes of companies, like those of hanks and insurance, are in constant and steady demand and prices are high but not higher than they should be under present conditions. Some of the trading companies also command attention. Most of them are doing a large turnover and gross profits are big. but costs and taxation make the net profits look very small, and dividends are not lai-gq. Just as the share market has adjusted itself Vo suit the prevailing conditions so should all the other markets provided there arc.no ficsh disturbances. A WONDERFUL METAL.

Aluminium is the wonder metal of the day and we have entered • the aluminium age. This light aSd unbrcahable metal can be boosted because it stands alone. It is cheaper than glass. It can be thrown away after use. For a long time now brewers in Britain have. used aluminium for vats and fermenting vessels. Because it resists corrosion. it is partly responsible for modern food storage, observes an authority. 'the aluminium saucepan has largely replaced the cast-iron pots and pans. It may soon displace the glass bottle. A new factory bus been established in Britain for producing coloured aluminium. By dipping the metal in a bath which converts the aluminium surface to an oxide, and subsequently dyeing it. a beautifully lustrous surface can be produced in any colour. It is being used for decorative purposes in hotels and cinemas. Bedsteads and bath tiles are but two of the uses of this latest alloy. Alloyed with magnesium aluminium bocomcu duralumin, the light-weight_ substance, which is revolutionising aviation. Warmed just a little, the metal produces an oxide which can be transformed into artificial rubies and emeralds, almost identical in chemical composition with the real gems. Mixed with germanium, an aluminium as strong as steel is being produced. A new form of aluminium mixed with chromium and steel renders tanks obsolete in war. because bullets made from this metal will pierce the toughened petrol tanks like cardboard. It can be niado into drills that cannot wear out. Yet fifty years ago, aluminium seemed so rare—at £2 an ounce—that the Baris Exhibition had a show case of the metal labelled “silver from clay.” To-day it is known that aluminium is the commonest of metals, and comprises a tenth of the earth’s surface or crust. It is found m rocks and in clay. It lies in the bricks with which wc build _ houses, ill teacup* and paper, as well as in knite-powdci and oniorv. Once it was impossible to get together a ton of aluminium in all me world In 1931 Britain alone used 1 000 003 tons. The transformation was brought about by a young man named Charles Hall. In the eighties of the last century a was lecturing to hi* students. He explained that no one hud found a method of extracting aluminium cheaply from the earths crust. If one of you can find that way,” •ho added, “you will soon become a millionaire. Youn" Hall was fascinated, and for throe years he toiled vainly to reduce the earth to its component parts. At last he decided to send an e’cctric shock through the clay as it lay in the crucible. But this was not altogether satisfactory. One day when a transmitting substance known as cryolite was mixed with the clay and sand. the clay melted away and aluminium emerged. Hall was only twenty-two years old when success came to him, and his old professor’s prophecy came true. Hall died worth £5,000.000. Within a few years the price of aluminium dropped to 3d per. pound. Thanks to the electric furnace a clay Called bauxite—and found in largo quantities in fiance—yields a pound ot aluminium for two pounds of clay. Wires 250th of an inch thick, and rivets the size of a matchhead, toothpaste tubes, giant aeroplanes, fifty-toil cranes, bicycles, and racing yachts are all made wholly or in part of aluminium.