FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18901, 17 January 1927, Page 12

FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

LONDON LAMB MARKET.

OUTLOOK PROMISING. 3lr David Jones, M.P., chairman of the Meat Export Board, has received cabled advice of another month's. lamb shipments from Argentine, which showed Sit for the eleven months' period of its year, that country has exported 1,000,000 carcases less than for the corresponding period of tho previous year. Stocks in England on January Ist showed a material reduction from what they were at the beginning of last year. , In view of the increased spending power in England now that the strike is settled, producers were justified in regarding the prospects with optimism. "The statistical position in England, so far as lamb is concerned, is very sound," said Mr Jones, "and the outlook altogether promising."

WHEAT SUPPLIES

CANADA'S BIG HARVEST

Some idea of the magnitude of the Canadian wheat harvest was. given by the Secretary of the Department of Industries and Commerce (Mr J. W. Collins), who represented the Government at the recent Canadian Exposition at Toronto, when addressing the annual conference of the Master Bakers' and Pastrycooks' Association, at' Wellington, on Thursday. Mr Collins stated that Canada's wheat yield in 1925 was 411,373,000 bushels, and in 1926, 405,000,000 bushels, while her annual yield of oats approximated 490,000,000 bushels. The wheat yield for 1926 was valued at £90,000,000 and the oat crop at £40,000,000. Field crops, including wheat and oats, were valued all told .at £232,000,000. In 15 years Canada had increased her wheat production by 106. 'per cent. 'ln flour, Canada's production and export trade was steadily increasing, and sn©now exported flour-'tb'so,countries. In 1923: she had 1364 flourmills, employing over 7000 hands, and paying £1,700,000 in wages annually. Mr Collins-added that in the season

1925-26 Australia had a wheat yield of ■• 113,000.000 bushels as against Canada's 5 ,411,000.000 and -New Zealand's 4,617,-. •. 000 bushels.' 'While'the comparisons in siteas and total yields were greatly to •New Zealand's disadvantage, the fact remained that this Dominion had been able to demonstrate over and • over again that her fertile lands were most suitable for the cultivation of wheat, and that our production per acre was one of the highest in the world. ja, ten-jvears' average. New Zealand grew 29 .bushels* per acre, as against Canada's 17 and Australia's 13}. LONDON MARKETS. (Vt ' 'ASSOCIATION— COPTBIOHT.) (AUSTBALIAN'••AND' N.Z.-'CAIILE ASSOCIATION.) i : ,'• 1 ' .V> " . (Received January 16th,' 6.5 p.m.) ♦ •.'.', f LONDON,''January IS. i Cotton—The Liverpool quotation;. l , is:— ; American middling upland 6.93 d a pound.! ' Rubber—Fine hard para, 17d a-lb;. plantation first latex, crepe, 19£ d; smoked ribbed sheet, Mid. -." '•; ,i :V Jute—lndian native first marks, January- ' February shipment, £32 10s a ton; New Zealand hemp, October-February shipment, '[ '■' £3.1 10s a ton. , •• Copra—South Sea, January-February shipment, £25 Sgj 6d a ton. Linseed Oil—£3l 15s a ton, equal to 2s 6jd a gallon. ''"','.'' Turpentine— 52s a owt, equal to 3s 11 Jd a gallon., . . ! Frozen Meat—New Zoaland ewes, 4jjd per •° lb; Australian, firsts 4id, seconds 4Jd, ewes Argentina, light 5Jd, heavy 4 jd, • ewes 4Jd. Lambs: Canterbury, medium B|d, light 7Jd, seconds '74 d; Australian, firsts (Victorian) 8 ■ 3-16 d, seconds (Victorian) 7id, .others , 7d, thirds . 7d; Argentine/ seconds *7d. : JFfozen beef* (nominal) —New Zealand ..'' fores BJ4; -Australian • crops 3gd; Argentine fores 3id,. hinds 4Jd; |chilled Argentine fores BJd, hinds'4Jd;. Uruguayan fores 3d, hinds ■ 4id. ' Other meats are unchanged.

>. N.Z. BUTTER IN AUSTRALIA.

(nxss assocutxo> Tsuraux.) WELLINGTON, January 16J ■An explanation of large exports of New Zealand butter to Australia which has been; 'suggested in Wellington is that as this trade is not subject to control by the Dairy Board certain merchants had adopted this method of avoiding oontrol of the shipments to England. This is denied by the secretary of the Dairy Board, : who states 'that on the contrary some of the..:butter' shipped to Australia went under the control'system. The .. /rain caused.'an improvement in ."the ,pro--duotiori' in the Commonwealth.' DAIRY PRODUCE. Tiia New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., have received, a cablegram, from London giving-the unilenioted market information, under date.l2th inst.: — Dairy produce—Butter: New Zealand, very quiet. Controlled quotations - unchanged. Stored 2s'lower. . . Cheese: MaTket steady. Quotations un- -•• •changed-." • I '-' •'" '"' '' ..•.■>■.■■• ''• Messrs A. -H. Turnbull and Co. have received a cable message from W. Weddell and Co., Ltd., dated London, 14th inst., ingftDanish butter) 176s to 178s (last week 180s to 182s); New Zealand unsalted, 182b to 184s (180s to 182s£; New Zealand salted, 172s to 174s (172s;tp 1745). ; Market quiet. Cheese,, white,93s'to'94s (last week 93s to : -04s);. oheeso,'coloured'94s to 95s (94s to 955). ' Market'?steady. < 'Canadian cheese, • . white ..965vt,0<:985.»i(9|45>t0..9.85) ! ; Canadian /cheese, coloured)96s to 100s :(94s to 985)., "l •.' ' '' ;■■■■'■ 1 '.- •-:'.;.■ v'-.'- I ■ ; .. ,v.-..:'. •;': '■ '.■ t '..'' ';•' -' ! ;?,', POULTRY MARKET. . ; ''■ f •»•''■> 'i ''. ■ ' : '-''-' J \. " ; ' ;::iii, . •■• ;.'. -. . : : •'.' V. ■ '' < •■'< ' \ "' Large' e'iitrieß of. poultry'came, forward, for the week's'markets; and 1 jiti'ces remained .good ,fpr prime'quality.'birds;iwith-the exception of geese. The! following prides were,'realised: — • Table chickens, light ss, to 8s 6d,-heavies 9s tb'lss; hebs,; light'Bs to Is ,6d,-heavies 6s to -75.6 d; ducks, ss-to-Bs';'ducklings, 7s 6d to .12s; geese, 7s to 9s; turkey hens, 15s to 255; turkey gobblers, 80s,to 455, all per pair. EGG MARKET. ~ The egg market is well supplied, and prices were down ; a further penny for the week. ■'Canterbury. Co-operative Poultry 'Producers, Ltd... report that at their. Tegular weekly auction' sale eggs realised: First grades Is 6d ■■ to Is 7d," 'seconds Is'Sd to Is 6d, and duck .eggs Is 7d per dozen., APPLE EXPORTS. „ (PBESS ASSOCIATION , TBLZG&Ufc* . ; NELSON, January 15. It,is. estimated some ,60p,000 r cases iof apples 'will be exported -during <the coming season. Of'this number at least 440?000 .cases will CQmo, from; the Nelson .'district.

CHRISTCHURCH STOCK EXCHANGE. SATURDAY'S TRANSACTIONS. Sales reported:—Bank of Australasia, £U 2s '6d (three .parcels); N.Z. Insurance (cum div.), 37s 6d (two parcels). Sales on 'Change:—Henry Jones Co-op., ■l9s. LATEST QUOTATIONS.

N.Z. LOAN AND MERCANTILE DEVELOPMENTS IN AUSTRALIA. PROPOSED CAPITAL INCREASE. (FROH oub ow» COBEBSPOKDEKT.) LONDON, November 30. Accompanying the. annual report of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile. Agency is a'proposal by the directors to increase the capital to £2,600,000. They state that extension of the company's bnainess, especially in Australia, call* for additional capital, without which the normal requirements of its increasing connexions cannot be fully satisfied. The directors have accordingly decided to recommend the stockholders to sanction an increase df the capital of the company by the creation of 500,000 6i per cent, cumulative second preference shares at £1 each, which will be issued at par, and when fully paid will be converted into stock. , Applications for the new shares from the existing ordinary and preference stockholders will" receive preferential consideration, irjo present authorised and issued capital ia £2,000,000, in equal parts of vM6i»iict i and ordinary stock. A gross: profit of £616,018 is shown by the accounts, which cover tne year to June 80th, 1926. This compares with £595 632 for the previous year, and after again writing £IO,OOO off premises and meeting all' expenses, the net profit was £203,641, as againßt £209,889. . " , Interest on the debenture stocks takes £OB,OOO, and £IO,OOO is again placed to stall benevolent fund. The directors propose a final dividend of 4 per cent., making 7 per cent., the same as for 1924-25, leaving to carry forward £46,286, "as against £39,645 brought in. . ~,-,.. Mr William Murray, having decided to resinde abroad, resigned hia seat on the Board. It is not the intention of the Board at present to fill the vacancy. The 'directors ' recently 'appointed Mr H. p. Nolan," for : several years manager of the Auckland branch, to a seat on the local Board for New Zealand. During the yeaT-the directors .received with regret the resignation, owing, to illhealth, of 'MrD._M."Morgi»n, Chief Inspector for New.'Zealand, who'had been in the service of tie--company for 34 years. The Board have : appointed' Mr Walter Taylor Eeson .to the position bo vacated. "The New ' Zealand' Loan and Mercantile Agency has a wider sphere of operations than its title implies," remarks the "Financial Times." "It is in connexion with the growth of ihe company's activities in Australia, in fact, that the proposal is made. to issue new capital. . . . Since the statement is volunteered that without this additional capital the normal requirements of the company's increasing' connexions could not be.'satisfied, the -prospect of full employment for the fresh funds may be regarded as assured. They should add to the productivity of the ordinary capital by bearing a lower rate than it receives, and yet, by recognition in the terms of existing rates for new capital, represent a very welcome investment.

HORSE SALE. H. Mataon and Co. report having held a very successful horse sale in Tattersall's on Saturday. The entry forward was about 36 horses.. Light horses sold on a par with late rates and heavy horses ready for farm work were keenly sought after. - The principal sales were:—For a client, a bay gelding pacer, £10; J. Bisman, Hill Top, chestnut gelding, Lucy Hnon, sJgns; Messrs Morgan and Butterworth, Ealing, black mare, Byrs, £9 10s, brown gelding, 6yrs, £l6, roan mare, aged £lO, bay mare, 6yrs, £l6, Drown gelding, aged, £4 16s; J. Jackson, Leeston, black mans, 4yrs, £27. j WHEAT. (Reoeived January 16th, 5.5 p.m.} NEW/'YOEK, January IS. Chicago wheat quotations:—May 189f cente a bushel, July 130J cents, September 127J cents.

RUBBER.

BRITISH CONTROL. AMERICAN ANXIETY. (PKOM OUE OWX CORRESPONDENT.) SAN FEAjNTCISCO, December 13, Despite the fact that Britain has greatly improved the world's rubber market under the Stevenson Act, and has released a considerable quantity of raw rubber, bringing about a big cut in the price of rubber, Americans continue to "slang" John Bull for liia. "stranglehold on the world's rubber supply.'' A report from Detroit says: "Determined to break the strangle-hold British rubber growers have on the industry, Henry Ford may become a rubber grower and with the products of his own plantations enter into the tyre manufacturing business." Professor Carl Larue, University of Michigan natural science professor, has been commissioned by Ford to make a survey of the Amazon Eiver region in Brazil and determine the best location for the proposed Ford rubber plantations, and it is stated that it is Professor Larue's intention to search for virgin rubber fields in South America on a large scale. So important is this development considered by officials of the Ford company that every detail is being kept secret. While it "is believed that Ford will undertake this project without outside help, it was learned in authoritative circles that he may be connected with Harvey Firestone, and limit his end of the scheme to the production, while Firestone handles the manufacturing.

The only admission that could be obtained through Ford channels was that expeditions, working in the Ford interests, have visited the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, and other tropical parts of the world. The Detroit report adds: "Continually recurring increases in the price of raw rubber by the British monopoly have resulted in this latest move by Ford. He is reported to be determined to make it possible to make auto tyro prices reasonable all over the world. Incidentally it is significant that the creation of a 40,000,000 dollar rubber pool, which will enable leading American tyre manufacturers and automobile companies to combine their resources for the. purpose of crude rubber, has just been announced in New York. The new organisation will have the backing of several large New York banks. The prime purpose of the combination will be to stabilise the price of the commodity at a level which will make unnecessary an additinoal 10 per cent, restriction in output under- Great Britain's Stevenson Act in 1927. At the same time efforts will be made "to forestall any artificial rise in values based on the British restrictive regulations."

TRADE RELATIONS.

CANADA AND NEW ZEALAND. (BT CABLE-PBESS ASSOCIATION—COPIBIQHT.) (AUSTRALIAN AKD N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION) OTTAWA, January 14. The Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates lunched with the Rt. Hon. W L. •Mackenzie King to-day, and was the guest of the Government at dinner. , . . It is hoped that preliminaries to a trade agreement between New Zealand and Canada can be reached dunn" Coates's visit, and it is believed Isew Zealand will later send a delegation to 'Ottawa to discuss trade relations further, and possibly to conclude a definite agreement.

SMITHFIELD PRICES. The New Zealand Meat Producers'. Board has received the following cable from its London office, dated January 11th, advising Smithfield delivered prices at that date as follows. (prices for the two previous weeka being also mentioned):— (Per lb) Jan. Jan. Dec. 14: 7. 31. d. d. d.

Wethers—The tendency of the market is easier. Frozen pork—Nominal piices.

Buye rs. Sellers. £ a. d. £ B.d. N.Z. GOVT. DEBENTURES4J per cent. Inscribed, 1938 96 7 6 96 12 6 4j per cent. Inscribed, 1939 — % 13 0 ij per cent. Bonds, 193S 96 12 6 97 0 0 4J per cent. Bonds, 1939 96 12 6 — 5 per cent. Inscribed, 1929 98 5 0 99 0 0 5 per cent. Bonds, 1927 99 5 0 100 0 0 5A per cent. Bonds, 1933 101 0 0 — OTHEK DEBENTURESNew Brighton Borough, 6J per cent., 1955 100 0 0 101 0 0 N.Z. Breweries, Bonds 1 4 3 14 8 BANKSAdelaide 8 15 0 — Coram, of Aust. 1 13 4 1 13 9 Comm. of Sydney 26 15 0 27 10 0 National of Australasia (£10 paid) 18 7 6 — National of Australasia (£5 paid) 9 5 0 — National of N.Z. 7 1 0 7 4 0 New South Wales .. 46 12 6 47 2 6 New Zealand _ 2 19 1 Royal (£1 paid) 1 17 6 — Royal (£4 paid) 7 2 6 — Union of Aust. 15 5 6 15 8 0 Victoria (pref.) — 21 0 0 Western Australian — 2 15 0 INSURANCE— National 3 13 9 3 14 3 Now Zealand (cum div.) 1 17 5 1 17 7 Queensland 2 13 0 2 15 0 South British .. 2 16 0 — Standard — 2 18 3 LOAN AND AGENCY— Dalgety and Co. 15 0 0 15 15 0 Goldsbrough, Mort 2 9 7 — National Mortgage — 3 0 0 N.Z. Loan and Mercantile (ord stock) : .: 91 0 0 95 0 0 SHIPPING— Howard) Smith 1 12 3 — Huddart-Parker (pref.) 1 0 6 — P. and 0. • Deferred .. 240 0 0 250 0 0 Union (pref.) . . • • I; 0 1 10 3 FROZEN MEAT— Canterbury 7 15 0 9 0 0 N.Z. Refrig. (paid) 0 14 0 0 15 3 N.Z. Refrig. (contr.) .. 0 7 5 0 7 8 WOOLLENSKaiapoi (17s paid) 0 9 0 0 10 6 Kaiapoi (76 paid) 0 3 0 0 4 3 GAS— Christchurch ' .. 1 5 3 15 9 BREWERIES— 10 6 1 19 9 Manning Staples 113 6 CEMENTS— Wilson's . 1 14 0 ,116 0 MISCELLANEOUS— Allied Motors — 17 0 Beath and Co. • 1 11 0 1 12 3 British Tobacco 2 11 0 — Electro. Zinc (ord. cum div.) . .. 1 16 6 Electro. Zinc (pref. cum div.) 1 17 3 — Henry Jones 2 9 0 — Mason. Struthers '• (Hi paid) 0 14 6 0 15 2 Mason, Struthers, (10s paid) Merc. Finance (£1 paid) 0 10 9 0 11 1 — 0 19 0 , Merc- Finance (5s paid) 0 3 8 — * 'N'.Z. 'Drug" Co; '• •'■ 3 10 6 3 12 0 N.Z. ■ Farmers' Co-op. (GV per cent. Stock, 1930) N.Z. Guarantee Corpn. 0 10 2z 82 0 0 0 10 4 ' Whitcomhe and Tombs 3 10 0 — MINING^ ,". A-lbuima .. ■•• 0 4 0 0 3 9 Kaw'arau 0 3 7 Mt.-Lyell 1 7 6 — 'St. Bathan's "A" 0 7 0 0 4 0 dis prem.

N.Z. Wethers and MaidensCanterbury, quality, selected brands: B6-under .. >••■ 61 6J 61 57-61 61 % 61 65-72 61 61 6 Other brands: 66-under — — 61 57-64 — ~ 6 65-72 — 61 N.Z. Ewes— 64-under *l ' *i 41 N.Z. Lambs— , Old season, Canterbury quality: 36-under m 101 101 37-42 .. ••• 84 82 9 43-50 ?i 7i 71 Seconds •• •• ih 8 81 N.Z. BeefOx forea: 3i 3J 31 Ox hinds 4 4" 4 Argentine Chilled BeefOx fores, 81 33 31 Ox hinds il fii 51 Argentine Frozen BeefOx fores 31 31 31 Ox hinds ..: .. 41 a 41 Frozen Pork— 80-120lb 9 0 91 120-18Olb 8 8 8