With Investors on the Change

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 125, 17 August 1927, Page 2

With Investors on the Change

THE WEEK REVIEWED DEMAND FOR COALS The week just passed has been a lean one as far as the Auckland ’Change is concerned. Business has been most restricted, and even outside little of an eventful nature has taken place. Dunedin has reported approximately one sale per day. The most attractive section of the week has been coals. Most parcels continue to attract firm buyers, though a sale each of Westports at 34s 7£d, and Pukemiros at 62s 6d, is practically the only business. Hikurangis continue firm of tone, and buyers for ordinary shares have improved over the week. In timbers, the week’s feature has been the improvement of Kauris to see buyers offering 24s 6d, and sellers withdrawn to 25s 3d, at yesterday’s call. The tendency in the section is to improve, and undoubtedly wm i: present trend toward the protection of home industries it would appear that timbers should be good buying, as any .additional protective legislation would see a rise in this market. No sales have been reported over the week. New Zealand Breweries have proved one of the most popular investments, sales of both ordinary and debenture shares being recorded. From a sale in Christchurch at 23s 9d on Wednesday last the market eased to 23s 8d in Wellington on Monday for debentures. The ordinary shares have been done at from 43s to 43s 3d. Taranaki Oils provided the greatest attraction in the miscellaneous section for two or three days, rising from sales at 7s 6d in Auckland to one in Wellington on Monday at 9s 6d. The flutter was apparently only of a temporary nature, however, for yesterday buyers were back to 8s again, with sellers at 9s 3d. Auckland Amusement Park have improved slightly over the week. to leave the market yesterday afternoon with buyers offering 12s 4d. From a sale in Dunedin on Wednesday last at 11s 3d these shares improved to see one in Auckland on Saturday at 11s 6d, and on to 12s 7d yesterday afternoon on the local 'Change. Other miscellaneous shares are mostly idle, and command little attention. Wilsons Cement were dealt with up to 34s 7id. New Zealand Fertilisers are weak, with buyers practically off the ’Change at the present sellers’ quotation of £4. Mining tended to liven up at the beginning of this week, after a period of idleness, and greater interest was centred in several of the minor companies. Alburnias register the most appreciable improvement, coming back from buyers at 3s to 3s 4d. Moanataiaris are weak, buyers being as low at 2s for the paid. The whole section is generally depressed. In the loan and finance section Guarantee Corporation, as forecasted in THE SUN a few weeks ago. have improved slightly, and sales were recorded in Christchurch yesterday at up to 9s 3d. The debenture and Government bond section lias seen little business over the week, though vesterday at "Wellington and _ Christchurch saw better business in tins class of security. Gisborne Sheepfarmers 75 yier cent, debentures have slumped in investors favour, and Thursday saw a sale In Christchurch at £BS. Interest of investors in safer securities has centred mostly in the banking section, and sales of most shares have taken place at late quotations.

BUTTER AND CHEESE OFFICIAL LONDON PRICES Under date August 12, the London Office of the Dairy Produce Board cabled the following resume of London markets: BUTTER New Zealand. —Salted, 16Ss to 172 s a cwt. (164 sto 168 s); unsalted, 172 s to 1765, up to ISOs (168 s to 170 s); market quiet owing to some profit taking on resales, but position is good, with firm undertone. Australian. —Finest salted, 166 s to x7os (162 s to 1665); unsalted, 168 s to 174 s (l »4s to 1665). Argentine.—Finest unsalted, 164 s to 168 s (164 s to 1665). Irish Creamery.—Salted. 160 s to 162 s (156 s to 1625); unsalted, 166 s to 168 s (160 s to 1665). Dutch.—Unsalted, 168 s to 170 s (160 s to 1625). Estonian. —Salted, 160 s to 162 s (15Ss to 160 s); unsalted. 164 s to 168 s (160 s to 1645). Latvian. —Salted. 159 s to 162 s (156 s to 160 s); unsalted, 164 s (1625). Siberian. —142 s to 148 s, according to quality (13Ss to 1425). Danish.—l76s (166 s to 16Ss). Retail prices. Danish advancing to Is 9d on Monday; colonial, unchanged, Is Bd. CHEESE New Zealand.—White and Coloured, 92s to 94s (91s to 935), market quiet but steady. • Canadian.—White and coloured, 92s to 95s (82s to 84s), now quoted 93s c.i.f., but no business. English.—Finest farmers, 112 s to 116 s (108 s to 114 s). Retail prices unchanged.

N.Z. FINANCE NATIONAL BANK REVIEW HEAVILY TAXED COUNTRY New Zealand’s financial position was dealt with by the chairman, the Hon. Pember Reeves, at the annual meeting of the National Bank of New Zealand, held in London recently. The New Zealand Government had been able to show, rather unexpectedly, a surplus of £587,000, said the chairman. He did not, however, agree with certain New Zealand newspapers which had argued that, because there was a surplus, the Government should have reduced taxation, nor did he think they could do so now unless they could see their way to pull in their expenditure very much. The net public debt amounted at the end of March, 1926, to about £236,500,000, and since then the Commonwealth had floated two loans of £6,000,000 each in London. Both the London loan issues* went off very successfully, and rightly so, so far as the lenders were concerned, but from the point of view of the New Zealand taxpayer the piling up of interest charges on a heavily taxed country where there was little prospect of expanding revenue was a serious matter. As to New Zealand trade for the year, the exports had fallen by £ 3,000,000 and amounted to £45,682,000. Primary products under nine principal heads accounted for £42,000,000, dairy produce, wool, frozen meat and hides and skins them Providing no loss than £38,595,000 of the export trade The economic position of New Zealand was therefore easy to understand. When prices under all or most of those four heads tell nothing could prevent depression in the country, and that was the case now.

CHANGE OF NAME ers Port Macquarie and rvi up* v recently sold by the cun R. J. Thomas and Co. Ltd- n uu renamed Cambrian MarcMj Cambrian Baroness respe - these vessels have been Iretl itors to New Zealand.