THE WEEK REVIEWED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 270, 13 November 1937, Page 4

THE WEEK REVIEWED.

TOPSY-TURVY MARKETS. i VALUES FLUCTUATE VIOLENTLY. INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS. IMPROVE AS WEEK CLOSES. j The local investment market is still i largely dominated by international condition*, and theKe ai e about as unsettled as tan bo imagined. In London metals J dropped sharply to their lowest point of j the 3 car, only to rise again just as suddenly. Fluctuations were as follow:— Nov. 5, Nov. 8, Xov. 11. Per ton. l'er ton. per ton. *• s - u - £ »• d. £ s. U. < upper .. o*j « 3 ;ti> r» o 41 4 4 Lead li; r, 7 15 11 10 17 13 1 NM-lter . . 1.-i H 1 14 15 7 10 IS 1 liu lid II u 180 7 G 204 17 0 Such raw materials as these are the backbone of modern commerce, and the changes show n above are an accurate index ot the uncertainty of values on the worlds markets, either of goods or securities. So far as can be judged by the cables, the only sections wliicli have boeu free from violent fluctuations have been the gilt-edged ami gold. Both British and Colonial stocks have made further gains this week, and are valued higher to-day than they were a month ago. This, of coui>*e, may be simply a reflection of the I weakness of industrials. Gold shares have kept their price in London, possibly encouraged by the action of President Roosevelt in arranging for the repatriation of some of America's surplus. These international transfers are probably aceepted by the market as an indication that there is no disposition on the part of the Great Powers to take any action that will depreciate the value of gold. With affairs in the great financial centres still in a state of turmoil, investment in leading Australian securities was , greatly prejudiced, and on Tuesday there was almost a stalemate on the local exchange. At the first call securities that were commanding peak prices a few months ago were offered literally at bar- | gain rates without leading to business. I Buyers held off, each one waiting for isome indication as to where bottom would j !>e found in a topsy-turvy market. Broken I Hill IVoprietaries. which sold at the | week-end at £3 4 9. were on offer at £3 ! 1 '. and the rights, which had been valued at 30/ a few days before, had a market between 2.1 6 and 26 6. Electrolytic Zincs were available at 47/6 for the ordinaries, and 49/ for the preferentials, and Mount Lyells were quoted from 34/3 to 35,'6. All of these big concerns have within the last few months announced record profits, and for all the outlook seemed highly encouraging. This certainly seemed the time to buy. but investors could apparently see nothing but the falling trend of the metal market in London, and refused to bid. As metals recovered in London so did the prices of these seenritiox. La-t night Broken Hills, which had sold on Wednesday as low as 58 0. were back to 63 '!). and tile rights to 20 ft. Electrolytic Zinc ordinaries were priced at 50'. and the preferentials at 51 6. while Mount Lyclls had recovered to 36'6. While these and other popular industrials were as wobbly as a weather vane in a gale of wind, one or two others were only slightly affected. Australian Glass sold from 92'6 to 91/6. while Colonial Sugars moved up from £46 17/6 to £47 2 '6. more being on offer at the higher figure. Conspicuous on a generally weak market was the strength of British Tobaccos, which after sales from 48'3 to 48 6. had unsatisfied buyers yesterday at 49/6. Bank of New Zealand Firm. In the banking section Commonwealth irasues reflected general weakness from across the seas, and the small amount of business done represented concessions by holders. An exception was provided by E.S. and A. Banks, which at £5 14/, were 4/9 up on the last sale. New Zealanders had a good week, and with an improved inquiry values rose gradually from 44/ to 44/3. Nationals of New Zealand were slightly easier, with sellers at 58/ and no buyers. Insurances Wanted. There was again a strong demand for insurance scrip, and buyers advanced their limits to secure parcels of New Zealand** and South' British. The former gained 5d with business at 64 9. and the latter i registered an advance of 1/3 with final business at OS 3. It seems evident that the prnprn.il of the South British Cum- ! pany to rediic- the unit value of shares ; from 20/ to .V is appioved by investors. j Fixed Term Securities. i Comparatively little business was done j in Government stocks, and there was little or no change in values. A similar remark applies to local body del>cutur<«, of which only three sales were recorded, one each of Auckland City Council. Auckland Power Board, and Taumarunui Borough Council. Australian Mining Shares. Tn the mining section values of Broken Hill Souths, North Broken Hill and Mount Morgans, fluctuated with the base metal markets. The last-mentioned, after dropping to the comparatively low level of 10/9, rose srteadily to 12/2. Future of Martha Mine. A hearing at the Arbitration Court during the week in which new awards were sought for workers employed by the Martha Gold Mining Company and the Golden Dawn Mines, was chiefly of interest to investors by reason of the evidence given by Mr. R. G. Milligan, local director and attorney for the former company, as to the probable life of the Martha mine. It was, he said, an undeniable fact that the company was now working a mine which was on its final run towards exhaustion. Operations in the Grand Junction area would cease altogether in a few weeks and indications were that the ore reserves in the Martha area would show a further depletion for 1937. There was no marked reaction on tho Stock Exchange to this disquieting statement. Investors had evidently taken to heart earlier warnings of a similar nature from the directors find had become reconciled to the possibility of the famous mine br-ing closed down within a comparatively short period. Buyers for Grand Junctions remained in at 2/8. and' for Marthas at 14/6. compared with 2'9 and 15/ respectively earlier in the week. Investors evidently appreciate the fact already emphasised in these columns that both the Martha a.nd the Grand Junction companies have relatively substantial liquid assets, which in the event of their New Zealand operations ceasing, will be available either for division among shareholders or for the prosecution of new ventures possibly in other countries. At last balancing Grand Junctions' outside investments were £60,000. and j Martha's investments and bullion totalled £374,000 against outside liabilities of £123.531. Exchange and Gold Tax. Mr. M. H. Wynyard, who appeared for the Golden Dawn Company and Thames mine owners, made the interesting point j that the benefit from exchange depreciaI tion was considerably less than was generally supposed. Even with gold at £7 an ounce, said Mr. Wynyard, the exchange I addition of £1 1/ was divided into 15/ which went to the State, and 6/ to the producer. Dominion Issues. Activity displayed the previous week in Dominion industrials and miscellaneous issues was not maintained. Apparently there was some reaction from external conditions, and recorded sales were less than half those of the former period. Values, too, showed a generally easier trend. Auckland Gas shares dropped back to 21/6, j and sellers of Wilsons Cements lowered I their limits to 19/ without attracting a counter from buyers. The brewery section [ was quiet. Dominions eased slightly with two sales from 40/9 to 40/6, and New "■ioalands, on offer at 49/, were without buyers I in the latter part of the week. Woolwortie

(N.Z.) share* responded to the announce- • merit of increased profits and aold from £5 1/6 to £5 4/6. SanfordY Mooting. Additional evidence of the problem which faces our industrialists as a result of increased wages, shorter hours and higher cost of working materials was provided at the annual meeting of Sanford, Ltd. According to the chairman of directors, Mr. A. F. Jagger, these additional cost* made it necessary to increase the company's charges for fish exported to Australia by 30 per cent. Naturally this restricted demand and stocks accumulated in cool store in Sydney. These stocks have since been worked down, amd, according to Mr. Jagger, are now reduced I to manageable dimensions. Discussion at the meeting brought out the fact that the management has built • up a very effective organisation for the I Australian export trade, and it jfas stated : that the company is represented in practi- _ cully every town in New South Wales. A Shareholder who questioned the effect upon the company's operations of trawling that is proposed by an Australian concern fishing in New Zealand waters, but outside . territorial limits, was given a comforting I reply. The chairman pointed out that I efforts in this direction had been tried | before and had not been satisfactory to ' the interests concerned. Even if they were more successful in the latest venture he - did not think Sanl'ords' would be materi- ! ally affected. The directors and the man- ! agenient were entirely confident that the - organisation, equipment and experience •' which the company had at its disposal would be equal to any competition that , might be forthcoming. Profits and Taxes. i Accounts issued during the week i showed a fall in net profits by the West- - port Coal Company, and a slight increase ; by Leyland-O'Brien. Hopes for taxation ; relief were voiced at two annual meetings, ; namely, of Dominion Picture Theatres, in • Auckland, and of Sharland and Co., in ; Wellington. 'Wie chairman of the latter . company. Mr. A. E. Mabin, said its tuxa- ; lion at £3000 was equal to 80 per cent of - what was returned to shareholders. ' Trend of Market. 1 Th« following table indicate* the • fluctuations in the value* of various ' securities: — BANKS. J Dec. 22, Nov. 5, Nor. 12, I 1936. 1037. 1937.

Latest Sales. Sales since the last review have been as follow: — Banks.—New Zealand, £2 4/ (4), £2 - 4/1, £2 4/2 (2). £2 4/3 (2); Commercial, J 17/6, 17/4 (2); E.S. and A., £5 14/; New ! South Wales, £33 15/, £33 7/6; Union, ' £9 7/. Insurances.—New Zealand, £3 4/9 (4); : South British, £4 17/3 (.2), £4 17/6 (2), 1 £4 18/3. ; Government, etc.—Stock, 15/1/53-57, W* '■ per cent, £99; 15/9/41-43, ZVt per cent, £101 15/; 15/2/43-46. 4 per cent, £102 17/6, £103; May. 1939-52, 3V4 per cent, i £104 5/; Auckland City Council, 1/1/44- [ 67. £104; Auckland Power Board. 30/4/45. ' £103; Taumarunui Borough Council, 1/ ' 11/41-44, £100 10/. Mining.—Coromandel Gold, 1/; Golden ■ Crown. 4/3; Martha, 15/; Waihi Investment. 10/6; Broken Hill South, £1 17/9. I £1 18/, £1 18/3, £2. £2 0/3: Mount • Morgan, 11/, 10/9, 11/9, 11/10, 12/2. 12/1. r 12/2; North Broken Hill, £2 12/; Rawang i Tin, 10/7%. „ Australian, ete.—Aiwtrattan Glass, £4 12 6. £4 11/9, £4 11/6; Australian Iron and Steel (pref.), £1 6/4H; British • Tobacco. £2 8/3. £2 8/4%, £2 8/6; ' Broken Hill Proprietary, £3 4/. £2 18'9, • £3 I'. £3 2'. £3 1/9 (2). £3 210. £3 1 3'3 £3 3'9 (3). £3 4/: Broken Hill Pro- ' prietarv frights). £1 9 10 (2). £1 7 6. I £14 9 £1 B'. £1 B'3. £ 1 93. £ 1 9,4. ci ft 6. £1 9 10. £1 9 9; Colonial S"<rar. CO 17'6 iio n f47 Ofi : E'~-t'-olvtic Z^n--1 fn-e? \ ft M«• K••<!-« Tini'w. £1 rC • (31- Monnt I.'"11. £1 I*' 3. £1 14 4. £1 13'. £1 16'. <M 15'6. £1 '"9 £1 W 16'6- Woolworths Holdings (S. U<ica>. 14'. 14 4%. ! Domitvon. Auckland Gas. <*1 I' 6 (2>. (con.). |."'i. I.V (3): R>nown foal (pref.). ' 2 6 (3): Wcstport Stockton. 2'4: Farmers' 1 Auctioneering (£5 pd.l. £4 8/; B pref.. £1 2'3 (21: New Zealand Guarantee Corporation. 4'B: Northern Steam. 4/1; Devon port Ferry, I«'7M» (2): Dominion , Breweries. £2 o'9. £2 0/6: Consolidated ttnVk, B'3 f2): Farm<W Trying. *1 0/8i M.K. Mi" : neT, 12/10: New Zealand . Fnrn«"V Fertilizer. £1; Tamnaki Oil. ■ fi'. S« 56: Wo"lwnrM; 6 (N.Z.), £5 1/6. £5 8 6. £5 5/. £5 4/6. OVERSEAS MARKETS. METALS SLIGHTLY EASIER. RISING TREND CHECKED. (Received 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, November 12. Following are to-day's quotations on the ' London metal market, compared with 1 those of November 11: — Xov. 11. Nov. 12. Per ton. Per ton. £ s. d. £ s. d. Copper, stan., spot 41 4 41 41 1 3 • Copper, stan., 3 , months 41 10 71 41 6 3 . Copper, electro. . . 46 0 0 46 0 0 to to 47 10 0 47 10 0 | Copper, elec, wire bars 47 10 0 47 10 0 Lead, soft, spot . 17 13 11 17 13 11 . Lead, soft, forwd 17 15 71 17 15 71 Spelter, spot 16 18 11 16 14 41 Spelter, forward . 17 1 101 16 18 11 Tin, stan., spot . . 204 17 6 198 15 0 Tin, stan., 3 mos. 204 2 6 107 15 0 Silver, stan., oat., spot 19 13-16 d 19 13-16 d Silver, fine, ot., ■ spot 21|d 21Id Quotations for other metals, with last ' week's prices in parentheses, are:—Pig ' iron: Home trade, £5 6/ (£5 6/). Antimony: British, £88 (£93); foreign, afloat, £64 10/ (£7O 10/). Molybdenite: £2 5/6 ■ (£2 5/6) a unit. Wolfram: £3 12/6 1 (£4 7/6) a unit. 1 DAIRY PRODUCE. BUTTER IS WEAKER. '• Messrs. A. S. Paterson and Co., Ltd., • quote:—Butter: Market fallen, prices ■ nominal. New Zealand, 136/ to 138/ per cwt; Australian, 135/; Danish, 150/. : Cheese: Market steady. White, 73/6 per cwt; coloured, 72/; Australian, 71/6.

£ b. d. £ b. d. £ 8. d. * A'asla ... 12 8 6 11 7 6 11 7 6 Commercial 010 0 0 17 6 0 17 4 " E.S. and A. 0 1» O 5 12 0 5 14 0 ■ Nut., N.Z. 340 2 18 3 2 17 9 - Nat.. Aug. 7 7 fi 7 5 0 7 5 0 1 X S.W. . . 3.*> 0 0 33 5 0 33 2 6 , I X. Zealand 21fi 24 0 243 , Union ...10 76 9110 870 i MISCELLANEOUS. 1 £ >. O: £ 8. d. £ ». d. 1 N.Z. Iimur. 3 0 6 344 349 : S. British 4 14 3 4 17 0 4 18 3 - Golds., M. 1 13 0 1 14 6 1 13 9 1 British Tob. 283 285 2 99 . Broken Hill 426 350 33 9 , Eler. Zinc. 2 10 0 2 10 0 2 10 0 J (pref.) 2 12 O 2 13 6 2 11 6 J An». Glass 490 4 12 0 4116 • Mr. Lvell . 1 16 9 1 17 6 1 16 6 I Col. Sugar 43 5 0 47 0- 0 47 0 0 I Auelc. Gas 136 11 11 116 t Wilsons C. — O 1I> 3 0 18 9 i N.Z. Brew. 2140 289 289 Do m. Brew. 1189 209 207 GOVERNMENT STOCK, l £ s. d. £ s. d. £ 8. d. . lore*-", ioi r> <> ior. 7 6 105 7 a 1939-32 102 5 0 104 7 6 104 7 6 1 19D3-07 — »9 0 0 98 17 6