FINANCE AND TRADE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5203, 10 December 1895, Page 3

FINANCE AND TRADE.

Specially cotjipllcd for iho '\Valrara|i.i Dally Times

WELUNOTOX wool/ SALE. Tlio opening salo of tho series of three which tho Wellington brokers are to hold this season, look placo on Friday last, and must be regarded as a success. The eatnloguo comprised 1900 bales, principally in'flft ferior nnd faulty sorts. The attend- « ance of buyers, both Foreign and Colonial, was good, nnd the competition active throughout. Nearly all tie lots submitted, were sold under the hammer, and of thuso passed in, ready sale was found at prices slightly below the reserves, , Compared with the opening sale of last year, the prices show a general advance of 10 per cent., while for ► . the better sorts, the improvement was equal to 15 per cent. Good, greasy cressbreds, ranged in price from 7}d to 9d; medium and inferior made 5Jd to 7M; bellies, pieces and dead wool, 3d to s|d; locks ljd to 4jd. Tlio selling brokers were the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co'y, Messrs Laery , & Co., Ltd., The United Farmers' Co-operative Association, Ltd., and Messrs Levin & Co.

POOII CATALOGUE Taken on tho whole, tho catalogue submitted at tho Wellington sale.

was poor in point of quality and in the number of bales. In less favoured centres, the wool salos are on a larger scale, and Wellington's show of 1900 bales, is poor indeed, Viowed from another point, the small catalogue presents a good feature, for it shows that the farmera in the Manawatuand Wairarapa Districts, are less in the hands of wool-brokers, than in other parts of the Colony. The farmers prefer sending their clip home, to selling in the local market, and being independent of the brokers, are able to do as they please. Most of the wool shipped at Wellington, leaves under Banker's lien, and the forwarding to London is beneficial to tho woolgrowor and tho Banker. The next wool sale will be held in Wellington, on Friday, tho 17th January, 1896. TIIF, MIXING MARKET. The mining market continues depressed, that is to say there is not that mad rush for stocks as was the case two months ago, Shares keep changing hands, but prices nro at a low level. Tho northern mining

district, where most oi the speculahas been, is being developed, "and, notwithstanding that- there is a lull in the market, new ventures are being brought out almosteveiy week. To speculators in Wellington and district the flatness of the market is exasperating, as most of them bought oil a rising market, and missed the! opportunity of selling out lit a profit, notwithstanding that in most instances a very handsome profit could have been made. What has caused the collapse? is now the question troubling speculators. Tho slump on tho London Stock Exchange, has, vvitlioutdoubt, injuriously affected us. The immense loss, amounting to .-£80,000,000 sterling, has curbed the gambling propensities of London speculators, and Maoriland Companies stand a poor show of being floated at Home, and many properties the plans and details of which have been in London for months, are being held back for a favourable moment. On the prospect of selling to English capitalists, shares were bulled on the Exchange, and reached boom prices, and now that these prospects are obscured for the moment by tho collapse of tho " Kaffir Circus," as the South African Mining Stocks were termed, tho bottom has fallen out of the northern boom. WILL THE MARKET RECOVER ?

If wo had to rely upon ourselves thp question could be answered promptly with No! but fortunately tjie mining market is not dependent on the Colonial capitalist, and there- ; fore | am inclined to think that the market will recover, and recover very shortly. The slump in London is looked upon as a temporary affair, and when the Home market revives, 1 New Zealand mining ventures will not need to go a-begging for capital, Those who can afford to 1 buy into the better class of mining 1 shares, and pay for their purchases without the assistance of the bill broker and money louder will reap a rich harvest —it, howover, requires a good deal of pluck to venture in the present state of the market. The effect of the slump in 1 has been to shake out the but moneyless speculator, and also to brand the wild-cat mining ventures. In the Auckland 1 fixojiapge, the same thing is to b(S iiofe'i ' seak holders who take 1 flight at a drop of sixpence, while a shilling fall brings on palpitation, |

have forced their shares on to a depressed market, and have thus 1 helped to prolong tho depression. Tho wild-cat ventures on the north- 1 ern goldfields, are now pretty well known, and as soon as the Directors and legal Managers have scrambled through with the few pounds raised foir development work, thSse' mid-cats will cease to exist. [Their Successors, however, will tak'o watching. ■ : "A lUPIH movemekt. X'hero appears to be a kick still left in t(ie apparpntiy lifeless mining markot, for last week the market wis cleverly rigged for the benefit of some person or persons unknown. The Kapai-Vcrmont sliaros wore the objective, and they advanced from 8s fid to 12s 6d in 48 hours and as quickly receded, When one conies

v Jfclnnk into it, and endeavour to disTuss what caused tho rise and fall, we fail to find anything beyond a rumour. A statement of a favourable character is quickly passed round, and on this the shares rise to fall again when the statement is foundjtohave no foundation in fact, Those who started the ball rolling iiiusji' have had' n desire to sell, and A ho doubt 'did ii'nloail 'at' a! -thumping Wtyjood profit. These sa'md sellers can fao\v buy back th'eir shares at' several fold, Tricks of this character, are peculiar to the mining market and are regarded as legitimate, although in effect themoiwsoferamUii simply the "confidence trick" in thin disguise. MONEY, Loanable mofi'ey continues plentiful' with a continued scarcity of acceptable securities. There is, however, b variation in the rate of-inter-est. 1 • The Ofjjce Savings Blank fountain's ite'high''rate of I per cent winch bars tho way for ihffbanks 'to reduce their deposit rates, the couptiy is paying very dearly for the money raised through the Post Office Savings Bank and it undoubtedly would bo befe for us if the Government sought to replenish the Treasury by borrowing in the ■.. open market. Until the Loan Bill, : which must o£ a necessity make its appearance next year, the P.O. Sav- . ings| Bank will pay 4 per cent., as

the Government canuot curry on apparently without this monoy. STOCKS. British 2f porcont, Consols have inproved to the extont of 10s, and nro now quoted nt 106|. Colonial Government \ per cent, stocks show iv slight improvement in threo denominations, the other three registering a decline. This week Now Zealand, Victoria and Queensland 4's are on a level with ono another, the lot standing nt 110. The tablo of comparison is as follows

. In the 3| per cents the most noticeable feature is the quotation for New Zealand's stock, which is the lowest of all tho Colonial stocks, Tho quotations compare as under

Nov. 28th. Dec. 4th. Moi men:. New Zraland 1929 1091 110 Rise 1 )s N.MVatos 1933 1151 114 J Kail !.!•« Victoria 1920 109} 110 Rise lis S. Australia 1930 .110$ 111 J Risc2J3 (Juccitttal 1924 W, Australia 1931 111 110 Fall® . 123} 123 FalllOa

Nov. Dec. Move28tl>. 4th. meat. New Zealand 1940 103-1 102} Fall IBs 105 105S Rise 10s N.S. Wales 102-1 Victoria 11123 103 1031 liise 10s 3. Australia 1938 1074 108} Rise liis Queensland 1921 1044 1034 Fall 20s Tasmania 11110 lOli lOti — Peer Pkklyn.