TONIC FOR PESSIMISTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 376, 9 June 1928, Page 12

TONIC FOR PESSIMISTS

MARKET ON ’CHANGE BAROMETER OF PROGRESS. Saturday, 9 a.m. Stock Exchange price movements over the last 12 months provide an effective reply to pessimists. Few mediums, in fact, give a truer indication of a country's internal prosperity. The aggregate volume of busines recorded on ’Change at the moment is considerably greater than that recorded over the corresponding period of last year. In addition, as far as Auckland is concerned at least, there has been a decided swing from the purely, speculative scrip to that giving reasonable prospect of returns. Whereas at this time last year mining occupied up to half the sales lists, today banking and insurances are featured. The last three months have seen a substantial revival of interest in well managed industrials; surely an indication of increased faith in the future of the Dominion’s internal trade. Business on the market has been particularly healthy and there is no lack of funds for investment in first-class securities. The following list of representative undertakings provides eloquent testimony of the trend of prosperity:—

Banks are enjoying a particularly prosperous time. The demand for advances is in keeping with a healthy state of progress and, where worthy of accommodation, is being satisfied from additional capital that every bank has issued in the last IS months, and from continually increasing deposits. New Zealand coals, unlike their friends in many overseas countries,, where production costs are not too high, are in a very healthy state and meeting with a steady demand from investors. The insurance world boasts record premium income annually, and, since this is written in a competitive market, the steady increase in business must be taken as a reflection of increased volume of trade passing through the mercantile houses.

Increased business by all life houses must also be taken as an indication of the thrift of th® people, and the trend to lay by portion of additional earnings in safe investment avenues.

The loan and agency section, featuring concerns mostly dependent on the primary producer for existence, has maintained a fairly steady market over the year, with any movement upwards. Balance sheets, generally, show considerable improvement in turnovers.

Primary producers have seldom experienced such a favourable season. Industrials, as reflected by coals and represented by such concerns as sugars, cements and Whittome Stevensons, where there is good management - and ordinary trading conditions are met with, record healthy business. Every week sees mining fall more and more out of favour, and where a year ago several of the smaller Thames saw weekly and even daily sales, to-day they are not even quoted. That, to a great extent, is satisfactory, as the majority of these concerns have proved but sinks for the surplus cash of the guileless investor and never showed the least prospect of returns. The speculative element is now looking to oils, and geologists consider their anticipations are justified.

LONDON MARKETS

BANK OF ENGLAND RETURN (United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) (Australian P.A.—United Service) LONDON, Thursday. The Bank of England returns for the week ended June 7, as compared with those for the week ended May 31. are as follow:

Short Loans and Bills Short loans, 3£ per cent., same as last week; three months’ bills, 3 13-16 per cent., compared with 3 29-32 per cent, last week. Consols and Colonial Stocks The following table gives quotations for Consols and Colonial Inscribed Stocks, compared with those of May 31:—

(Quotations on June 4 in parentheses.) Spot, £64 6s 10£d (£64 0s Is l^d) 11 * 66 months ' £64 6s 1 9 3d (£64 Electrolytic Copper.—Spot, £6B 15s (£6B 15s); three months. £69 5s (£69 ss). Wire Bars.—Spot, £69 5s (£6B ss); three months, £69 5s (£6B ss). Lead.—Spot, £2l 8s 9d (£2l 11s 3d)* three months, £2l 13s 9d (£2l 16s 3d) Spelter.—Spot, £25 17s 6d (£25 17s 6d); three months, £25 12s 6d (£25 13s Tin.—Spot, £225 13s 9d (£223 18s 9d); three months, £225 16s 3d (£223 8s 9d) Silver.—Standard, 27 9-16 d (273 d) per oz; fine, 29£d (—). Wheat, Flour, Pulse, etc. Wheat.—Cargoes are fully steady and unchanged to 3d dearer, but buyers are pausing. Parcels opened firm, occasionally 3d dearer and later quietened. Ex Foredale, 53s 6d: Liverpool futures: July delivery, 10s 4?d per cental; OetoberDecember, 10s 8 5-Bd. The spot trade is quiet with prices easier, Australian ex store, 565. Flour.—Slow. Australian ex store, 37s 6d to 38s 3d. Oats.—Easier. Australian and Algerian 33s to 345; A grade Gartons, 36s to 38s. Peas.—Slow. Blue Tasmanian, £2O to £2l; New Zealand, £l9 to £2O. Maples.—Tasmanian, 80s to 82s; New Zealand, 72s 6d to 755. Beans.*—New Zealand. 46s to 495. Sugar.—Granulated, 27s 9d. Bradford Tops The market is quiet- Spinners are finding business increasingly difficult, but top-makers are confident and optimistic. Quotations are unchanged. 5.. oflz 4t!; ;Jm;;

CHICAGO WHEAT MARKET

(United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) (Australian Press Association) Reed. 9.5 a.m. CHICAGO, Friday. Wheat. July, 1 dollar 41 cents a bushel: September, 1 dollar 42| cents; December, 1 dollar 443 cents.

June Security. 1927. i928. BANKS— £ s. d. £ s. d Nat. Bank of N.Z. 7 3 6 Bank of N.Z 0 6 3 Bank of N.S.W. .. INSURANCE— 45 15 0 48 10 0 N.Z. Insurance.. .. 1 19 6 9, 9 3 South British .. ., COAL — 2 IS 0 3 1 6 Pukemiro 9[ 19 0 3 5 o Taupiri. MISCELLANEOUS— 1 3 6 1 7 6 Colonial Sugar.. .. 51 5 0 60 10 0 Wilsons Cement 1 14 6 1 IS Kempthorne Prosser 3 4 9 9 6

June 7. May 31. Note circulation . . £ 135,662,000 Coin 164,080,000 Reserve 48,168,000 Govt, deposits . . 8,852,000 Other deposits 110,273,000 Govt, securities . . 36,187,000 Other securities .. Proportion of re52,570,000 53,984,000 serve to liabilities 40.40 41.70

Consols, 2J per cent. . . Price. £ s. d. Variation, s. d. British 5 War Loan . Conversion Loan, 3J . . 78 0 Com’wealth, 6, 1931-41 102 17 3 9t N.Z., 4, 1929 N.Z., 3£, 1940 86 17 N.Z., 3, 1945 N.Z , 6, 1936-51 . . . . 108 15 0 3 9f tHigher. The Metal ♦Lower. Markets