COMMERCIAL.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 17016, 13 December 1920, Page 9

COMMERCIAL.

' BRITISH FINANCE 1 AND TRADE. FORTNIGHTLY SUMMARY. J H3y Cubic —Press As?ociation —Copyright.) ( \A::£U'a!iau and X.Z. Cable Association.) f LONDON, December 11. c \'icr a diiinnl v.-eek. tho Slock Exchange t lrii)Tt)vcd yesterday. There has ' fccon considerable fcrctd wlJir.?, chiefly in * |ndii*ln"l oils, but this has abated somewhat in tho r.£.?t fen- days. _ The offering * f ; .irlv wei! absorbed, particularly in in- ' vestment' sections. The news that the coal c irir.ars were i-icrc-asing the output hßd a 1 ciod ofTtcf. pivinsr a more- hopeful tor.e, but < th°ro i* still " f- ,ir t ' 3at fur'.ner pressure- to fell may b? exerted before the. positions are entirely cHmiraUd. Foreign eschars movements have been bdft»y adverse t:> Grc-nt Britajn, c-s;-,eciilly Scandinavian, c owing to the slackening ot imports from the ( Ui.ited Kincdom. Tnc severe decline in Ets- , Itrn currencies :s dccidedly unfavourable to { (Vvclopment, preventing purchuf.o on our ( jnarkc'i which arc der-irabio to relievo our j trade depreisr.m. Denre.-.sinu i« still tho outstanding feature of ths v.-00l end textile industries. New < order* b.ireiv .'.uißcc to keep tlio machinery lunniiip c-ven f::r short-time operation. The ]>iecc Frsd-? fho'v.s ro improvement. Stocks continue to accumulate in spit& of a drastic icduci ion in r r i CGS - Business in •wheat is very o.uief, supplies 1 extcc-ding tho requirements of who ' jiro holdintr off expecting a further reduction. 'Ihero have been few sale?.- of Australian 1 •pare*!?, but the Australiaa Committee is not 3 offering- much. Tlio freight market? generally are depressed o>vir.g to ilia oVer-Mtpply of tonnage. One exception U Australia, for which tho prices :'f.l;ed {or Jar.uary-May charters range from K'j3 to 110 a per ton. though prompt fteam<ro are- obtainable at 100?. The "Statist's" mor.th!y index numbers of tho wholesale prices of commodities show 3. Eteady dccline rince April amounting to 18.9 per cent., but they are still 163 per cent, above tho average of 101". The "Statist" points out that sinae April tho cost to consumers has been lowered on eonie lines, j.otttblT textile?, but in many cases the retail prices liavn actually increased. WbJle the general Tetail level ehows no fall parallel v.-ith tho wholesale fall, the present dccline ia due to tho restriction on -banking credits, prcatly helped by the marked abstention of consumer?. Thi* may be regarded us ft invtu- . rsl reaction. a;ul is normal and largely nrtifieial. Tho enhancement of money -values j vhicli began toon after the armi-stic will continue till prices are reduced to a level which will make the banking l resources again sufficient for tho requirements of the trade. 'Iho che-c-se market is dull, an<l supplies aro very lirge. It is estimated that tho Government, holds twelve thousand tons, while the j-tocks of Canadian here <md afloat ajnorint 1o ten thousand tons. There are also large stocks of home-made, consequently rotailera aro refusing Government cheeeo and eellinp h.mne-ma<le, which it cheaper. It is slatod <Ht retailers refused eighty per ccnt. of the last allotment. LONDON WOOL SALES. (riJESS ASSOCIATION' TELEGJIASI.) WELLINGTON, December 11. Th« High Commissioner cables under (late •London, Bth inat., as follows:—The ■wool galea commenced yesterday. There ivaa a largo attendance from all parts, but competition waaf unsatisfactory. A largo proportion o£ tho merinos and fine crossbreds catalogued v-aa withdrawn -without bids. Medium ' croEebreds met with fair bidding, and a few superior lots sold at 3s_ to Is id per lb. Buyers purchasing to satisfy urgent requirements paid tho Government limit, irrespcc- , live of the market value, which in many tttsc» was lower. Tha New Zealand catalogue .includod C 07.1 halos, mostly slipos «nd pcourfid, -which met with a' poor demand. Average prices Are: —60'» to 64's (merino) 19 30d to 2q fid per lb, 50's to GG's (halfbred> la 6d to 2a per lb, 43' a (flno crossbred) Is 3d to Is 5d per i!\ Others were neglected. This week'a offerings consist of Australian zccrincs, greasy 13,050 bales, ecouted 8650; crosabreds, greasy 2950, scoured 750; New Zealand crorabreds, greasy 1900, ecoured 2350, aliped 1700. LONDON, December 10. At the free •wool ealo tho oßcrirtg consisted chiefly of wools from Pitata Arenas And' tho j • J:"alklands, -with a small quantity of West Australian merino, -which was mostly Bold at j prices about ten per cent, below those ruling at tho Government sales. Four sales of frco -wool have been fixed for the January Mries. Cargoes arriving -up to the Gth, will W available. WOOL REALISATION SCHEME, V ."YOfiKSHIEE COiIMUNT. ' v -' LONDON, December 10. "Uetails of tho wool loalisation schema lave not disclosed. Tho "Yorkshire Obs-erver" states that'the sthomo would bo regarded seriously iti Brad- - ford if it wcro conarJered probiiblo that the Dritish Government -was likely to cassnt to the project, which amounts to a that tho Realisation Association should bo ' aided in Cotablisliing A monopoly in Australian wool. "It is regarded os incredtblf,'-' it snys, "that Cabinet would he to jhoLt-sighted as to connive nt a plan which aims at malting v,-00l artificially dear it the very tlmo -when it is becoming cheap and reaching ita true economic level of value, and so becoming capablo of restoring- tho confidence which js an eesantial prelude to ' improved trade. The whole of tho trouble in tho wool •trade is traceable to the mono- ' poly of Australnaian wool whicu arose ; th-ronsh the ISrilish Government'e ownership. . Mr H|tghes's Idea appears to 'bo to , hold tip the wool'until a high price can bo ".obtained, but wool u-ill continue .to grow, ond the cvontusl roscult of Mr Hughes's policy v;ill bo a biggv*u accumulation than ©vei-, and - it'inore difficult problem than before." Tho "Yorkshire Post" 'says:—"Strong re- ; mirks wevo made in Bradford at it'liia astounding- proposal to victimise our wool ttsers and' industries for tlwi be-oefit of tho Aua- . tralian wool-groweis. . It is very bad tnsto * after !th» manner in -which the. Australian Cfowors were rescued from what looked like certain ruin by the Imperial Government purchasiiiff their clip during- tha war, when ■the growers could havo neithar shipped noisold the greater part of their wool by. any other means." , : • ENGLISH 3IABKETS. LONDON, Dcc«mber 11. vCattoa— Tanuary shipment. 11.37 d per lb. ..Jute—December-January shipment JJBB. markst is quiet. llecember,February shipment i 3 quoted, at £52 pet ton. "'Hubbcr—Para 13id, Flflntition Is, emoked t lid por lb. • Copra^—l>ecembcr-J anu-ary shipment is _ quoted at £45 15s per ton. , Linseed Oil—£4s per ton. , .Turpentiue— por cwK SHARES. LONDON. December 11. P. and O. (def.),. buyers £110, sellers £430. . COMPANY REGISTRATION. • . LONDON, December 10. One thousand and thirty-four companies, Capitalised to £575,000,000. were registered in th®. United Kingdom in the past eler.-en esoeedir.™ the total of 191H, the . figures for which v,ere hitherto unprece- .. dented. .v>" ,J. AND P. COATS AND 00. (United Sefriee.l . ' • ■ LONDON.' Decemhsr 3. - . ,J. and P. Coa)a and Co.'s annual report ". "commends the payment of a. dividend of 17J per cent. It states that the "profits wcro I ' over £1,000,000, but doea not indicate any I ifflirraliata reduction in the price of coition ( goods. 1 ; FOREIGN CREDIT PLAN, . NEW YORK, p«*mVer 10. v -9 11 ® hundred of America's bi<«Vfit husinoM M4n ond ban!tor3 hold a conference at ii Chicago to cons>d«T tlw Anterican Batikei*' J Atsociation's billion dollar foreign «-<>dit . pl*n, «nd a. committee was appointed to prcIjt P l *® organi3;ilion plans. It was started that

many millions "wer* already * c 7 iho ' Country Manufacturers' Bank. Mr Hoover, in a speed;, said : "It is vital to every working man in the United States fh:it Kuropo should recover her ezohang-2." ; ' fA message published in October said:— ! Pjyeafers fit a meeting of -the American ' Isankor=' Association declared that the farmers of trio United State.? a:c facing n in pric-e«, compared *ith 1910, eg- ' gregatir.g moio *hnn 2.300.000.000 dollars, • or nojriy 17 cent. Tlii-i year's wool clip ; -2.;£,307,001iib, an*l at th'j prices prevailing in September. 10-2U, would liave 133.000,090 dollar®. On lit"* ba=is ' o f nr.:c-:nt price"? it will Tiiily 73,000,000 doilar 1 !. In the same manner vhe farmers ' v.iil ioso 1,000,000,000 doners on c>m arid 333,000,000 on, cotton. Tiia Convention is ' considering the organisation, its auspice?. of International trading corporation J, capita'iscd at 100,000.000 dollars.] RECORD HARVEST I;" AMERICA. WASHINGTON, 10. ' Tli'J a nr. mil report of the Secretary of Agri- ! culture- states that in the faco of enormous ! QKEIc-Uif i-=-.t ■ he American farmer lias produe-'.".: the hirge.it harvest with a single i>xOrption :n the country's hi«tc.:-y. The- value oi il..> r.ro'pa at tl;c current prices is thirirt:7i billions tluoj thousand million dollars, 1 The yield of tho ten principal crops is 13 1 per cent, above tin average for the five year- before the war. THE "WOOLLEN INDUSTRY. MELJjOL'HNE, Doccniber 11. Mr Hughes had a conference with repre- \ sentaiirca oi ths woollen industries. He , 6tre="cd the urgency of the Commonwealth vigorously promoting manufactures, and so id that the Government would aj-siat in obtaining; machinery and tht> work of organisation. ! ALLIED DEBT TO AMERICA. WASHINGTON, December 11. TLs Senate Finanoe Committee i« considering how ths Allied debt to the. United State.', tpproxirnalinj; ten million dollars, can bo used to case tlio demand on. tho United States Treasury. LONDON CHEESE MARKET. Tlio "Wairnrarsn correspondent of thi "I'resa" writes: —itr T. Slofs, chairman o-f tho Newman Cu=e;e Company, slates that, in regard to tho rumours of i serious slump in cheese, ho could not ttink thero- was any justification for thisi Ha preferred to think that there was a '"bear" in the market on tho part of those firms, which h.td purchased chw:*;2 at high pric--:. A large quantity of che-e-io whs bcin.'j font to England on ov*:n consignment, i>nd i; the price of this was forced down it would average with tlio purchase ot high figures Ha was of opinion that tho factories ware being mad-9 pawns in. a. big game. In thM connexion the factories themselves were to blame, us t'uoy Lad failed '.o Organise their own selling •when opportunity offered. DEMAND FOB AMERICAN TIMBER. American timber will bo in great demand in New Zealand during tli =■ coming year, according to a despatch received by tho Anglican Department of Commerce, from A. A. Y/inslow, Consul-General for New Zealand, unva tlio "San Francisco Commercial News."" There is a great shortage of all kinds of buildin? material in New Zealand, especially timber, eaya the despatch. It seems clear that large quantities must be procured from the West Coast- of tlio United States and Canada of building construction is to be carried out as contemplated within tho ncrt few years. There a. great shortage of liotnes for tho working people. *> s a3 offices and other business 'etruc tares, warehouses, nnd schools. The accessible forests of the Dominion nro exhausted, and little other than tlio Tougher material for construction work are available. A largo corporation has been organised with headquarters in Auckland, and. lias cent a representative to the- West Coast of the United States and Canada to arrange for a supply of timber from there. It i? claimed that New Zealand, within tho next two or tliroft yeara, could con-umo 40,000,000 feet or 50,000,000 feet of timber from. America. FARMERS' BUTTER. EQUALISATION DIFFICULTITS. Questioned regarding 1 tho matter of paying : equalisation on "butter made !>y f;;rmora, and sold direct bv them to storekeepers, , the Prime Minister (Mr W. F. Massey) Btat- , ed that the Department had been going into , this matter very carefully, but there eeomed to bo insuperable difficulties in the way of i cstablulrin? n. ev=teni under which euch 1 butter could he included' in tho equalisation scheme. This butter was not graded, and therefore there waa no leliatl© grndo as to ils relative""value, moreover, the fact of tho business being done direct between fanner oad storekeeper prevented the Department from being ablo to keep tJio | necessary check and control over quantities, etc., a.9 could be done ill the (case cf bntter paEaing through the grading Etores. : Mr Mssssy aleo stated-, that_another important point was contained in the fact that, unde'r the conditions of sale tho Imperial Government, the price for milled butter wa9 row a. very good one, an 3, wherever circumstances permitted, farmere alvrayfl dispose of/* their better for. export iu the j milled form, thus enabling them to reccivo J its valu© on the export basis. I'qt tliese i 1 reasons . tlie Prime Minister regretted that | any extension, of; tho equaliration fund in the direction, suggested seemed to bo im- i pxactica.blo. | PIuICE OF PETROL. j Motorists - generally aro interested in theprice of petrol, ana any schcmei by which ' cheaper fuel may ba obtained commands 1 their attention.' Tlio 'Wellington Automo- ' bile Club, at its last mtoti'ft", was addreased by Mr L. Pickering, who, in fur* ' thfirahc© to Mr T. M. Vi'.ford's Remarks at ■ the annual general meeting with regard to ' inrporlirg petrol at a much lower prico than 1 ootild be obtained at present, put a proposi- ; tioh befoi-e the club, with.- a, view of dm- ' porting 500t) cases, which would probably t ■Bhow a considerable saving to members. Tlw matter wa-» fully discussed (6ays tho 'Toftt"), ■ tind left over in order, ta obtain -further - details. TVEST COAST BUSINESS CHANGES. y , Messrs H. C. Harley, F. "\V. Harloy, and 1 p. ~\y. Shallcraes, inembera of tho flrai of ? Harlev and Co., Ltd., Greymouth, propose to leivo the "West Coast town at an early 1 date and to dispose of all their local pro-' L ' perty and etock. Mr H. C. Harlev, who 7 emtio from Nelson, was first associated with the firm of J. "W. Esson and Co. H-q founded tho - firm of Harley and Co., Ltd., in , 1899, being joined shortly afterwards by Messrs "\V. F. .and F. W. Harley and F. "W. . Shallcrass. Mr H. C. Harley lias been prominontlv associated with trotting oh tho - Coast both ai a horseman and, together with . Mr Shallcrass, a<s a member of tho Grey--1 mouth Trotting Club. s DAIRY PRODUCE. (special to "the rßrss.") DUIsEDIN, December 11. Piesent indications are that the production of butter and cheese in Canterbury, Otago, and Southland will tki3 season exceed by far the production in any previous • season. The changeable weather '-ji bringing on abundant grass of th<j best quality. As a consequence tho Southland -Dairy Association's outward shipments aro following close , on one another. From. L-yttelton 230 crates l of chefeso are .to go on board tho Surrey i and 1500 crates of cheeso and 8000 boxes 5- of butter on the Orari. At Dunedin the - lonic is loading 1500 bos?s o£ butter and 1435 crates of cheese, and tho Orari will load here 1500 crates of cheese and SCOO boxes of butter. At Bluff tho Port Kembla shipped I ve-st-srdav 14&1 crates of cheese and the Armagh is'to take 2036 crates of cheese whilst ' a coastal steamer will, about the 20th mst., : load at Bluff 400 D crates of cheeso to bring ■ to Dunedin for transhipment to the Orari. J - LAND AGENTS' ASSOCIATION. (SPECIAL TO "XHB PRESS.") DUNEDI>"I, December 11. * Mr Ritchie, at the dr.nunl meeting of the Otago Land Agents' and Auc'-ioneeis* Assoq ciation, in moving the adoption cf the annual t report, stated that during the past year they ' had experienced what mij?ht bo called a prot pertv boom, but notwithstanding the in- . creased volume of business there lirvd been t ail absence of litigation which was quito rc-

mailable. It -was seldom thai a land ftg<ent nppcarcl in. tho Magistrate's Court, and this j.e considered showed that they endeavoured to conduct their business on a proper level. Often thoy were more sinr.ed against than pinning by people who might bo expected to conduct their business in a better way. As to property values, he was not a prophet, but would s&y, notwithstanding all tho talk of Glump? ar.d tightness of money, that any pcr;on who had acquired property would be ioolis'n indeed to become panic-stricken and throw it away. He did not think there would l;o any pronounced drop while and mtilerials remained ss they were, and they could look forward to the future with confidence. Mr Ritchie criticised the banks for putting the bxa.ke hard ou instead of gradually. NEW COMPANIES. The "Mercantile Gazette" report.? Tcgistration of the following new' companit-s: — Tho Coronation Shipping' Co., Ltd., Weilinpton. Capital: £10,000, in JCI shares. Subscribers: Wellington—A. W. Pearson 600, A. J. Sr-ed 150, A. Campbell ISO, A. James '250, W. K. A. Gill 125. W. A. Livcrton SCO, C. E. Finch 230. J. H. G. Row!?y 123, West- , kr.v<jn, Ltd. 500, the llawl:e's Bay Wool Co , Ltd. C2CO. Christchurch—J. S. Wilson 300. Objects: To purchaEo the ecow Coronation, shippers, e'c. Tho Wellington Tarar.aki Steamship Co., Ltd., New Plymouth. Capital: £7500, £1 Fhares. Subscribers: New Plymouth— Percy E. Stuinton, J. McNeil, James McLeod* n-.d .1. Miino, 1873 shares cach. Object?: To pnrchas-e s.fi. Badon Powell, to canry on the business of shipowners and shipping carriers by land and by water, forwardiug agents, v.-arehomemen, ' wharfingers, merchants, traders, importers, and dealers in articles and goods of every kind. FARMERS' DISTRIBUTING COMPANY. Tho Now Zealand Farmers 1 Co-cperative Distributing' Company, Ltd., held its Kventeenth annual meeting at Maatertoi?. Tha annual report, whicli was to September .SOth, was adopted. The balance at credit of profit, and loss account, after making' provision for bad debts, writing down premisM, { plant, and other incidentals, including bonus to the etaff r.hd allocating bonus on shareholders' purchases, was £13*5*1. The bonus to purchasers was 1 per cent., and absorbed £5162. The total turnover for tho year (excltNling' land sale?) was £1,062,910, as compared witu £830,845 last year (also excluding land sales), an increase, of £220,101. The* wool department handled 02,C00 bales, the slight reduction in {.he total quantity being- dus to the short sea-son and lightness of clip, which restiHed ill a. difference of approximately 20 per cent. Tho live stock departiiisnt .showc-d steady development, and was now on? of the most important brauchos of tho company s operations. The .report referred to the fullyequipped branch at Marton, where the company had purchased the business of Anderson and Broad. Freehold properties had been secured at Taihape, Levin, and Mtirtinborough, whero branches would be established a3 soon as circumstances permitted. Tha subscribed capital of tho company had been insreasad during the year by £06,184, as <ompared with an increase last year of £27.509. Tho snarehoiders now exceeded 20CO. Regret was expressed that tho company's operations would not permit of tho payment of » dividend this year. THE PROPERTY MARKET. Jones, McCrostie Company, Ltd., sold by public auction on Saturday, on account of the mortgagees, by order of tho Registrar of tha Supreme Court, tho property situate at No. 80 Woodham road, Linwood, comprising 27§ perches of land with the residence thereon, to Mrs Wendleboiune, for £650. Messrs H. Matson and Co. offered at their land sale rooms, on Saturday tho following' properties at auction : — Twentv acrcs, 89 Bott-lo Lake road, -with improvements, account trustees estate of lata Caleb Selfe—Passed at £140 per acre. Forty acres, six-roomed res.ider.ee, and other buildings, !)3-Avonhead road, on account of Mr Alex. Fleming:.—The property as ft whole was offered first, bidding starting- at £7000 and rising to £7750, at- which figure it was passed in.' Tho homestead block and a lot of 33 acrcs also failed to reach the reserves, and were passed in. D'cmr-roomed residence, Norwich etrfißt, Xtinwobd, on account of Miss Swivnson. Passed in at £775. CRAB'DOCK'S AGENCY COY., LIMITED. Following' on their successful auction sale of Sur.nvdale sections at tha _ Chamber of Commerce IT all on Friday evening, tho Company held an. auction eale of superior residential properties in their rooms 011 Saturday at 12 noon. There was on excellent attendance and spirited bidding for several of the lots offered. In the afternoon tho Company conducted a most euccessful clearing sale of. high-class oak and other furniture and effects at No. 53 Barrington street, Spreydon. A complete- cleoranco was effected at highly, satisfactory prices. <108 SATURDAY'S POULTRY MARKET. Messrs J. B. Mcrrett and Co. had -a. large entrv of poultry on Saturday. Thoro were some excellent. quality birds penned, which realised good prices. Table chickens brought 9s Cd to 17s 3d, table ducklings lis to 16s Cd, Christmas goslings lis to 17s Qd. hens 4s to 0s 3d, ducks 6s to 10s Cd, turkeys 26s to 80s, all per pair. EIGG MARKET. Tho egg market- has -a, firmer tone in. consequence of tho Christinas demand. There are ample supplies for the city's requirements. Canterbury Egg Circles, first grades 2s, seconds Is lOd from to-day's listings, G