COMMERCIAL.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16932, 6 September 1920, Page 7

COMMERCIAL.

J SUMMARY OF HOME MARKETS. ; By Cable—Press Associa'ion—Copyright.! [ (Australian and N.Z. Cablo Association.) . j (Received September 6th, 12.i0 a.m.) LOJVDQN, September 4. A feature of the money market during tho j past fortnight has been that the scarcity has j not diminished aiter the turn during the : month as was exnicted, though tho Government alone has disbursed twenty millions in J dividends. Tho outlook it is considered will remain uncertain in view of tho forthcoming . autumnal demands, and the talk of a- higher j bank rate. The renewed danger of a coal strike and other industrial troubles overshadow all the markets. The Stock Exchange is quiet, industrial stocks beins? principally affected, but its influence es'.entls abo to many gilt-edged securities. Tho comparative steadiness of tho exchanges during tho past week, after the fluctuations in sterling in Franco tho previous week, is attributed, mainly to tho belief that arrangements have been completed to redeem France's American ; ioan.. j The wool trade Togards the improved to no ; and the- enhanced values at the recent nuc- ' tions as an indication that the downward ; tendency has been arrested, the leading fac- ' tor being tho increased American and Continental buying. Moreover, Homo suinnors ■ and manufacturers need further supplies after the cautious policy pursued for several months. Tho trade considers that while cau- , tion is still noeded, tho latest developments ' prove that tho earlier pessimism was ■unjustified. Better auctions are likely to react jon the wool trado generally. At tho same | time, well informed circles do not consider I that a true basis of values has yet boon I reached, as supplies must continue for a I whilo to bo an uncertain factor. Much de- ' pends on the rato at which Australian and j Now Zealand supplies aro marketed ar.d i transported. Tho industrial outlook continues to rostrict dealings in metals. Copper possesses a firm undertone, but tin ia somewhat depressed. Tho industrial uncertainty is inclining speculators and other holders to realise _ little fresh business. Fair business is passing in lead, tho Continent offering freelv. Hit is a poor market for spelter. Freights aro firmer under the influence of tho conl freight l * from America. A British ooal strike would bo an adverso factor, but the market believes the "rain and cotton movement in fi" antnnrn will more than counteract that, justifying' tho hope thnt freights will continue to .advance. Shipping circles await with' interact tho prices realised at Lord Inchcape'fl forthcoming sale of enemy ton- , nag© on behalf of tho Government, as the . punplv of tonnage for sale far exceeds tho i demand. « 1 BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS, r LONDON, September 2. 1 Tho "Bank of England returns for the week ending September Ist afford tho _foii ]<>wing comparison with those of the previous t week; — . nii Aug. 20. Sept. 1. t £ £ Coin and bullion - 121,5*3.000 121.552.000 • Repervo •• •• 16,585,000 14,099,000 - Proportion of reserve to „ , Government deposits 15.864.000 JG.433.000 Other deposits .. IOO.oJU.CrO 113.340.000 - Government securities 41,F50,000 5/,408,100 9 Other securities .• 75,833,000 / 5,467.000 1 Short loans, 5J to 5J per cent; three months' bills, GJ per cent.' i GOVERNMENT SECURITIES. LONDON, September 2. 1 The following ara the latest quotations for ' Government securities, with a comparison 3 with those ruling last week:— _ 5 Last week. This we*k» 1 ■ £ B. d. £ 6. d. • 5 per cent. Imp. Wot f Loan .. •• .84 17 6 84 15 0 3i per cent. Imp. War c Loan •• •• 81 17 6 81 15 0 r N.S.W. 4's, 1933, Jan.July .. .. 76 10 0 la 15 0 •' N.S.W. SJ's. 1935-50, April- ' „ t Jan.-July •• 63 15 0 G2 1G 0 9 N.S.W. 3'«, 1935, ' April-October .. GO 10 0 60 10 0 Vic. 4's, 1920, Jan.-July 100 0 0 99 15 0 - Vic. Si's, 1921-6, Jna.9 July .. •• 83 10 0 83 5 t 1 Vic. 3J'a, 1929-40, Jan.July .. .. 58 2 6 58 5 0 . Vic. 3's, 1929-49, Jan„ ■ f Jhly .. .. 62 0 0 61 15 0 s Q'land 4's, 1924, Jan.- „„ „ „ t July .. .. 87 7 6 87 0 3 ? Q'land 3i'», 1921-24, _ „ t Jan.-July .. Si 0 0 84 0 0 Q'land 3's, 1922-47, Jan.. - July . - .. 54 10 0 54 2 6 s Q'land 3i*s, 1921-4, Jattr July .. .. 94 0 0 94 0 0 N.Z. 4'o, 1929, MayNov. .. .. 84 10 0 84 5 0 N.Z. Si's, 1940, Jan.July ... 67 7 G 67 50 j N.Z. S's, 1945, 'April- ■ October - • 58 5 0 57 5 0 S.A. 3J'fl, 1916 or after 66 17 6 67 0 3 S.A. 3'e, 1930, Jan.July .. .. 49 5 0 49 15 0 Tm. 3|'s. 1920-40, Jan.- ° [ July .. ..6700 67 5 0 Tm. 3's, 1920-40, Jan.- > . July .. .. 61 10 0 61 5,0 " W.A. 3j's, 1920-35, Mayi November .. 70 15 0 70 15 0 W.A. 3's, 1915-35, MayNovember 63 5 0 C 8 0 0 FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES. L LONDON, September 2. Tho foreign exchange ratos on London J afford tho following comparison:— Par. Aug. 26. Sept. 2 i Paris (fr.) .. 25.22J 50.85 51.35 i Christiania (kr.) .. 15.159 24.20 25.17 Stockholm (kr.) .. 18.159 17.64 17.51 Calcutta (rpe.) 10 to gold bov. 22|d 22Jd Montreal (dol.) .. 4.86 4.04 3.03 New York (dol.) .. 4.86 3.58 3.56J Yokohama (yen) .. 24? d 33Jd 332 d ENGLISH MARKETS. LONDON, September 2. Wheat is quiet. Australian parcels on i passage, 965. Flour is in good demand. Bedins aro" qiliet. f Peas aro steady. Sugta is unchanged. » New Canadian cheese is quoted at 15Gs to 9 1625. ' . _ (Received September 6th, 12.10 a-m.) LONDON, September 4. , Cotton—September shipment, 18.7 Cd per n>- • , Sultanas—The market as firm and un--3 changed. . „ „ , .. Jute —Tho market is firm. September e-hip--3 ment, £49. . Hemp—The market is quiet. Augnst-Oc--5 tobe-r shipment, £53. ' Rubber—Para 21d, Plantation 20gd, smoked ' 19d - « i. Copra—The market :s firm. Septembe:3 November shipment, £53 10s. Linseed Oil —£60 per ton. s Turpentine—l4os 6d per cwt. s LONDON WOOu SALES. LONDON, September 2. 3 At tho wool sales merinos were unchanged. There wore occasional withdrawals of in--3 ferior sorts. Croesbrcds were firm. Ashl?y Downs 25d. 3 The Bradford market is not rcflcc'.i::.activity of tho London sales, and hi.n'-'.ri 3 on the new basis is practically nil. Topmakers, generally, are maintaining their j 3 quotations. , . | (Received September oth. 5.5 p.m.) s TyONDON, September 3. I The wool sales closed firm. Fino merinos I • wero 10 per cent, higher than at previous sales, Yorkshire oombings 5 per oent., good 3 XJnited States wools fully 10 per cent., and fine cro3sbreds fully 5 per cent. Values ' of medium and low sorts wero unchanged, but thera was nn improved tone. There J wero the usual withdrawals in. low sorts. Fine slipes were fully 5 per cent, higher, and other sorts unchanged. Ninety thousand bales were offered, and 70 p;r cent, sold. Tho nest sales open, on tho 21st inst. UNION BANK OF AUSTRALIA. , LONDON, September 2. ' > The Union Bank of Australia has declared an interim dividend of 40s per share, with ' ' a bonus of 12s. J i [We print this cablo message as received, ' but ns tbo Union Bank paid the usual " interim dividend of 8 per cent, at the end 5 of July, further light on tho mcssago will be J awaited with interest.] ' j AUSTRALIAN WOOL SALES. t SYDNEY, September, i. ! The opening of tho wool salea season u ! ' fixed for October 4th, in Sydney and Ada- , • liiide, and for a later dato in Melbourne. [ PRICE OF CHEESE. I (sVECLki TO "THE PRESS/') > DUNBDIN, September 4. The public of New Zealand are now having l to pay higher prices for cheese. It ia not > being released by'tho Government very pien- . tifully, and wholesale men cannot buyi it at lees than Is 2d per lb, an increa-so of 3d. A=s • a result the retailers have been compelled to ' I raise their prices to is 3d and Is 4d, and even at those rates, there is not much in it for them, as tho figures show. It seems amost crtain that consumers must bo pro- ' pared for a further rise. At the back of tho ■druioe, so far as can bo learned, is the i expectation of big prioes in the Homo Conn ■ I t*T.

PRICE OF WTJEAT. (press association telegram.) TIMARU, September 4. Tho executive of tho South Canterbury Farmers' Union passed a resolution that the Government be asked to fix the price of tho • 1921-22 whent crop. It was urged that the prico should bo tixod before October so as to give full time for preparation of the land. A BIG SHIPMENT. IPECSS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) "U'AXGAXTJT, Sopember I. I The steamer Abndcso, which will arrive her© on Sunday from Sydney direct, will load , GI.OOO carcases of mutton and 5000 boxes of baiter —or.o of tho largest loads lifted iroui die rrnrt. ARMOUR AND CO.'S LICENSE. (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) GISBOKNE, September 1. Tho largest meeting of fanners ever held in Poverty Bay took placo to-day to consider the meat trade problem. It wn3 convened by the East Coast Sheepfanners' Association. and the president, Mr W. G. Sherratt, moved:—"That in view of the congestion at Home and in tho Dominion it is desirable that free trade in frozen meat bo permitted inside tho safeguard of tho Slaughtering and Inspection Act." An amendment to the effect '"That it is detrimental to the interests of producers to sn~ant licenses in any shape or form, either to Armours or anv like enterprise," wns carried by an overwhelming majority. It was «l<>cided to telegraph the decision to the Premier. At a meeting of sheenfarmers held at Timaru on Saturdiv, the following resolution was c.trricvT with only two di^entients: "That this it essential th«t free competition bo allowed for our produce, and that, tho action taken by the executive of the Canterbury Shcepowners" Union and She©powne>'«' Federation, regarding tho frrantinfr of a licence to Messrs Armour and Co., bo fully endorsed." 6 EMGLI3H pv'wrvo- COTTON DIVIDEND. j Tho English Sowing Cotton latest dividend was announced in July at 12J per cent., making 15 per cent, for the year, and £300.030 is placed to reserve _ This is equal to 30 per oent. on the old capital, the shar<K holders Jmvins- received a bonus of 100 ncr per cent, in shares in the past year. lor 1918-19 tho dividend was 25 per cent. , MILBURN LUCE AND CEMENT CO. j The thirty-second annual report of th© Milburn Lime and Cement Co., Ltd., to bo | presented at tie annual meeting; states that the profit and loss account, after_ writing off depreciation and making' provision for income tax for the current year, shows a credit balsnco of £14,183, including the sum of £2232 carried forward from last yoar. An interim dividend baa already been paid for the six months ended January 31st, 1920, at. tho rat© of 7* per cent, per annum, amountitt" to £3009, leaving a balanco of £10,274 to°be dealt with. The directors recommend that this be> appropriated as follows: —To pavmei:t of a. dividend for tbe six months ended July 31st, 1920, at tho rato of 7* pel* cent, per annum, £4397; to bonus for tho year at the rato of per cent, per annum, £2931: and balanco to be carried forward to next yoar, £©44. The report goes on to state that there has been a great increase ! in tho demand for cement and lime during the year, which the company have endeavoured to meet; but the output has been Hampered bv tho difficulties of obtaining a legular supply of .wal and trucks for transport. Tho balance-sheet shows that tho reserve account stand* at.£3.000, and assets at £163,823. FARMERS' FREEZING- COMPANY. The sixteenth annual report of the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company states tnat after providing for depreciation and tax the profit for tho past year was £27,835. The amount brought forward from Inst yoar was £6228. making a to.al of £34,06J, which the directors propose to deal with as follows:—To pay a dividend of S pcr c ont. on A and B shares, absorbing 710 'J° add to this reserve fund £20,000, and to carrj forward £3353. HOWARD SMITH, LTD. Tho directors of tralian shipowners, havo decided to piy aI! interim dividend for the half-year ended June 30th last, of 3 per <=ent. on the cumu lativ© preference shares, and of 5 with a bonus of <3d per share on tho ordinary shams. TATTERS ALL'S HORSE SALE. Messrs H. Matson and Co. had anentryof 47 horses on Saturday, including ft good num ber of young working draughts, * or sales were readily made, and practically th tholo entry of this claes of hands -under the hammer. A ™" nfe V s £„w cipal transactions were:—For J. , bnaw, Timaru, four-year-old geldmg £03, _ six-year old gelding £35, five-year-old gelding £50, seven-yea4ld gelding jet 3, six-year-old gelding JL i HickTakamatua. eix-year-old gelding £30. son, Linwood, seven-yoar-old gelding £26, • Chappel, Killinchy, six-year-old marc iij. client four-year-old gelding £17, four-year-old maro'£22; W. P. Smith Christchurch,«*• yeor-old gelding £11 10s; E. Anderson, Styx, foux-year-old mare £2-1 10s; F. J- Moarso, Prebbloton, eeven-yeax-old gelding £12; client, six-year-old gelding £34. Aged horses soldjat from £3 7s Get to £5 10s. ASHBURTON MARKET. There is practically no alteration in tho positions of the various markets from that of last week. Oate—lf anything there is a slightly firmer ton© in these, but this no doubt is reflected by the fact that several merchants havo been covering their September requirement** duringthe past week. Once this demand is covered tho position is expected to weaken again. Values, are puroly nominal. Chaff—Sufficient is coming forward to enable merchants to fulfil orders, but lafk of shipping facilities, together with tho fact that wo havo experienced a mild winter, has had' tho effect of checking business Values are nominally £5 to £5 5s for good, bright quality. Potatoos—There is little improvement m the position of last week, although growers aro evidently as optimistic as ever m regard to the Australian position. Offerings have not been of a large volume, nevertheless sufficient to cop© with tho orders in hand. Values are nominally £2 5s to £2 10s per ton on trucks country stations, sacks extra. Spring Sowing—Merchants report an improvement in the demand for seeds, but the cold weather has militated against growth of any description, with tho result that farmers aro delaying thoir sowing_ down -until more congenial weather is experienced. THE PROPERTY MARKET. Jones, McCrostio Company, Ltd., sold by public auction in their rooms on Saturday, on account of Mr W. Dovenish Mearo®, section of 27 perchea situate on Clifton Hill, m the Bello Vuo Estate, to Mr J. W. K. Lawrence for £M 0; ecction of about 27 perches eituate on Clifton Hill to Mr G. H. Waller, for £135; and ecction of 20 peTches situate on Clifton Hill, to Mr N. Wcsforman, for £10. CRADDOCK'S AGENCY CO., LIMITED. PROPERTY AUCTION AND CLEARING SALE REPORT. i Craddock's Agency Company, Ltd., snb- , mulled two properties by auction at their ■ rooms on Saturday, both of -which they sold. 1 Particulars are ae follows:— l On account or i£rs E.-O'Malley, No. 59G Casbcl afreet, Lmwood, comprising J-acre and. house of fivo rooms, etc., to Mr C. D. Dallison, for £800. On account of Mr Robinson, No. 19 Hanmer street, Linwood, comprising 15 perches and cottage of fivo rooms, etc., to Mr rord, for i £200. Amongst tho company's numerous acI tivities during the past week may be mentioned tho following sales:—On account or Mr G. Atkinson, superior residential property situate Brougham street, Sydenham, to Mrs G. Pratt: on account of Mr A. MacKonzie, residential property situato Exeter e ' rcc *: Lyttelton, to Mr Bourner; on account of owner, superior residential property situate Canterbury street, Lyttelton, to Mr» Cannon; on account of Mr J. Haigh, hia fine bungalow property situate Stanmore road, Linwood, to i Mr Muff; on account of Mrs McNeilhe, her first-class bungalow property in Dublin street, Lyttelton, to M!r Ings; on account of R. Ashirorth, Esq., tho contents of his mx-roomed residence, being No. SQ Springfield road (rocently sold bv th© company). The total realisation outside of kitchen ntonsils, cutlery, glassware, crockery, bedding, etc., which wor© not included in the sale, reacncd nearly £GSO. 2800 SATURDAY'S POULTRY MARKET. Me? Bra J. B. Merrett and Co, had a largo entry of poultry on Saturday. Prices were good. Tablo chickens realised 8s Cd to 14s 9d hems 6s to lis lOd, ducks Se to 13s Gd, pullets 9s to 17s, gees© 9s to 12s, turkeya 283 to 625, all per pair. < EGG MARKET. Eggs aro ooming forward more freely, and the demand is good. Canterbury Egg Circle's fiict grades btc 3s, eeconda Is lOd per dozen. STOCK EXCHANGES. AUCKLAND, September 4. Sale on 'Change—New Zealand' Inauranoe, 30s. Reported sale—Union Bank, £13 12s 6d. DUNEDIN, September 4. Sales, on 'Change—Goldsbrough Mort, 4Sa Gd (five parools), 47» Bd, 46s 9d (two y®c*!a), 47*+ Union B«ak< £13 Ha.