FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 93, 13 January 1908, Page 10

FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

bo restored until all the .sis' Jiqpdted .millions of, paper .has bcen-absorbctl. The® securities must be sold, not lit the inflated'; values at which TV nil Street lirfs ;.assessed. thcni, but at panic prices. u Sold 'they niiisfc soonerxor later, and European bankers'{oresco .t-hic. 'They know, only, too well that no.real .hell), is poa : sible; there is not eribugh, gold ;ifa .Europe, to pay for, the : wild frenzied i finijnce.vof "Wall <Streef>.,- It is ...easy ~ to. ecc .'tlisitctfiis', Uiiistl !:StSres'riuist' : fer(djlist its.ideas.pf value.' Tlioife bankers who cannot pay riiust eiid, .up in liquidation. Trade deprived qf .crij>ital. will droop, ■ and labour, unable to. 'tibt'rtm'Yragf's, will lcave the, country. ■ Tho-'.lnst'serious panic in.the Ututeil States. resulted ' o.f Mbhg-(lni':frn-o , iit''iiEoiiy. ■ ! The. presiint oho is likely' to , '''teat ,i t'hat ,I: iTcord.';i,'

THE SHAKE . MARKET.

The share market- was- dull- bn Saturday, although the brokers/were .favoured., with' a good many buying orders. ;New' : Zealand In- _■ surance sliares changed haiuls "at .£4 Is. " 3d., at which price they yield the investor approximately 5 per cent, on the; basis of. tho last dividend. Bank shares exhibited very little ohange. Nationals were a shade, lower, sollers quoting £i> 6s.' (id. New Zealarids;'werb ..'mi. offer at <£9 15s. Union Bank • shards, .were ■wanted at ,£SS cum dividend. Insurance sliares. wore steady. There was a'demand for Nationals at 275. 3d., sellers holding for; 275. 9d.; there was a bid of £5 95.:9 d. for South British, which shows-a_ slight advance;'Finaiv.! rial shares..were without variation. ...Biiyers. ottered £!. 10s. for Trust and- Loan, r .and 2fe. 6d. for New Zealand, aiid River. Plate., i Wetr ling-ton Deposit shares .were on silo at._los. Gas shares were dull, and Friday's quotations were repeated. Meat, shares; were unchanged. Christchurcli Meat v/oro. wanted at, : U>lo ; 10s.;' and third; ;issue' Wellington _ ".at. £3 ss. There were sellers of Gears at' J:2 I0:i. There were bids of £2 3s. for Manawiitu Rails, 30s. Od. for. Union Steam,; 14s. for '.Wellington Woollen preference, and, l?s;. for: Shetland's preference. . Therq , ;wer'c „ Coal at 20s. 3d., • Westport-Stb'ckton Soal -iat 10s., D.X.C. preference at 235. Gd.,'Kauri .•Tin'iber 9s. 3d., Leyland-O'Brien Timber at £2 ss. 6d., and Miramar,. Limited,, lis.-paid, .at;Jls9d. ... ,

' TIIE MINING MARKET. ''

Tho niiuiug.!market, was, jiuiet. There .jras, no trading /reported; but! values."', were, ,'ii'nr changed. The'quotations on Saturday wfere aS" under:— - . ~ ■...

AMERICAN. TOBACCO I 'TRUST. '

Mr._ W.'-H. .Ilftrris,: Vicp-l'resiiient ..of .the American,. Tobacco- Company,'. in!.hiß' evidtfiico :in ;i the'case brought' by the. ■ United, Stiilos ;Ctbvernm6ilt; aftainst -thfe, AMoHbau; and .other tobacco ;.'<ioinsjaMes ) .'.<:t&t£d that■ the American Tobac'co,Company.; owned tworthirds 'df .this ;stock. of, ",tho, British.-Aineridaii'.' T6b'iiCco' Cditf:pauy,. .Avii.lV .thd vexception'.; '6!sSSOBiOOO.* stock .held by emMoy'ees. TKe-Antefcifeun. Tobiicco Company ouly owned £i'i9,ooo of the comtlloh stock of the liiipbrial Tobacco Ccitaftanj, ot ..about .5 per. cent.. of_thb cipitill of that coil,eerh. , Mr.. Ha.rris, went on .to sav that in ;Aiiiencau''expbrtation ijf tho, tobacco in manufactured'. form. amounted to 500,0001b., hut in 1901 it dropped to 275,0iW1b. i'his fall ho..ascribed to ..what he considered the diftereiitial' .effect of , the,. .duties imposed in Gfcftt operated.to exclude his Company ,frqm,, ddrng. business competiiig Witii Britisli manufacturers. On tlib other hand, „t)io,.protective,/, tariff of the United States operated to exclude British manufacturers .from, the, Uiiited States. ' Whbri the American Tobacco Company, tho witiiess. jirbcceded, found itself, as he considered, practically excluded;', from England, jt becniiie necessary to have their plant there if tlibj ; wished ,to do business, ana.Ogdens, Limited,, wbrfi purchased at a cost of. 55,347,000, but afttr hbldirig Ojfdens for. some' time thoy sold it to. the liii- ' pcrial 1 Tobacco Company for 515,000,000, of which six millions represented the operating plant, and the remainder the Company's goodwill,

" Buyers. Sellers. ■ jB s. d. £ s. d. Talisman .... ... ... 2119 2'12'3 Waihi "... ... ~... 8- .5 ,fl ~,. 8 7.0 Tairua Broken. Ilills ... 0 i 0 ,043 Ngatiawa ... . 0 111 0. 2 1 Big Eiver ... . , 0.12 ,6 : ' '—yX

THE WOOL" MARKET/'

Wo are getting nearer to the opening date of the London wool sales,'which are fixed to •commence on Tuesday of next week, while on Friday the Wellington sales will be lield. The drop in the Bank of England discount rate from 7 to G per cent, was expected to bring about some improvement, but it ,iiiay bq explained that Bradford was not very greatly affected by dear money, the .banks agreed to restrict their charge to Bradford manufacturers to 5 per cent, until the, close of December. With tho lowering of the bankrate it is hardly likely, that the Bradford manufacturers are paying any more now for bank accommodation than they did in December. No improvement has taken place in the values of tops sinco. the. termination of the November sales. ■ , As a matter -of -fact the. quotations are lower, as the following will snow:— Nov. 29. Jan. 10. Fall.

- - THE ■ MOTOR.'. INDUSTRY.-..

The motor /industry of the United Kingdom does not appear to.be in a. particularly healthy condition, nudging. b,v the results obtained by the "Argyll Motors." Limiteil, for tho yoar ended September 30. last. The gross profits for the period totalled <£50,360, but expenses of management and other charges convert this into a loss of J215.213. The auditors tagged the .balance-sheet-with the following :—(1) No depreciation has been written off ground and buildings, plant aiid tools, preliminary expenses, or goodwill; (2). one of the feu contracts, included in the item "fen duties," has not yet.been completed,,aiid the.Company have taken no stens to enfbr'co implement of tlie agreement; (3) an interim dividend on the ordinary shares was paid in- May last. The final results', of' the year's. working show that' tho dividend has'not'been earned.

The shrinkage is most marked, 'and those who expect to see the January sales exhibit an improvement oil the last sales of last year must endeavour to explain away the decline in the values of tops. It will-be noted that coarse wools have suffered the' most.: It is just possible that there may be a further reduction in the bank rate this week, in which case tho wool outlook may not be so serious aa now seems likely. .

' NOTES.

:■A button' trade "combine lias been arranged in Birmingham '(England). ..The nominal capital of the combine is i.'Wo,ooo.' ' '' The balance-slicofc 6f. the National Mutual Life Association of Australasia, .Limited,...for tho year ended September 30 last, shows that 'the'. Association has.Jnvested in l Government securities, i!31G,210; in municipal debentures, .£54,983; iii rpversionary interests, .£85,082; in loans oil mortgage, .£2,483,858; "loans on policies within their surrender value, loans on reversions and. life, interest, J2170.1S!); and building societies' shares, .£15,947.

TIIE AMERICAN PANIC.,,,

The Comptroller of the City of New York asserts that the panic is not over, and in this ho is probably correct. At all events, there have been several important, failures, mainly of railroad concerns, since the panic was supposed to have ended; The fact of; the matter is, the > Americansare-'-not -really facing the position; they are" endeavouring' to maintain a rotten system of finance by expedients that are not only proving' valueless, but which are apparently accentuating the financial strain. America is suffering from credit over-strain, from an inflation that would stagger even Great Britain. The amount of new securities created by American finance houses during Uie past three years is roughly estimated at six hundred millions sterling, of which one hundred, .and , fifty millions sterling has been quite recently created.. This gigantic manufacture of piiper is unprecedented in the world's history. England is a rich country, miich richer as far (is actual savings are concerned than the; United; States, but even England has. only.,managed , 'to create seven hundred and, millions of securities in ten years, of which three-: hundred millions are a Government. debt to the nation. The onormons development, of trade in the States caused such securities as had been bought, by American investors to bo pledged as collateral against loans. Consequently, at loast four huijdred, millions' st<|K ling of bonds, stocks, '.and. short-dated bills,' of railway rind industrial companies are now held by United States bankers, against advances, or have been bought by tho bankers from the issuing houses. It is the American bankers who are responsible for the panic. They have no money, but are froightcd with millions of. unsaleable, .securities. .' ,■ .

• The London County Council lopt .£!(!,GI4 last year ,on the running of the Thames Steamboats. against. .£50,000 in the ; previous year. Tho Council owns thirty steamboats. ■

Mr.' Arthur M'Ncill, Secretary of the British and Foreign Marino Insurance Company, who died recently, bequeathed .£looo' to providp an annual prize, to be competed for by marine insurance clerks in Liverpool, for proficiency in .the. knowledge of marine insurance Taw and practice. ;■ ■

To avoid liquidation, which is the only true remedy for the crisis, several expedients have been -.tried to overcome the diQiculti'es. There has been an enormous and unprecedented importation of gold from Europe, and this has failed to effect any good. As fast as the money gets into tlic hands of (.lie. public. it finds its way into safe deposits. The people have no coiilidencc in the banks, while' the banks themselves are, doing t-heir utmost , to encourage hoarding. The Clearing House certificate, which was so useful in the panic of 1893, has proved quite valueless in the present crisis, although, and probably because, it lias been carried to a lbrigth never before contemplated. Originally invented to oh able banks to clear each other's chcqacs --withoutpassing cash, it lias been used as a circulating medium. As a banking convenience it was useful, but its strength lay in its'semi-sanc-tity as a purely banking currency. The hour the certificate .began its career as a. public, currency its usofnlncss ceased. The only way any small bank can keep afioat is to 'hoard its cash and decline to honoilr .cheques. It is difficult to see how anyone can expect n panic to cease, when .tlic solvency of every bonk m America is tin unknown quantity. The.issuc of Panama bonds and United States' shortdated Treasury bills lias not made aiiy material difference," except to add to the wtiight of paper securities.

MINING RETURNS.

- (BT ' TEI.ECUArn—PRESa ASSOCIATION.) . .' "* Dunedin, January. 11. .The following are;,the dredging returns for tho weekWaikrika United No. 1, 380t.. 2tdwt.; Wnikaka United No. 2. 2Soz. 2dwt. .Clutlui; River, lloz. lldwt.; Rise and Shine, No. 1 dredge,-28pz; lodwt.; Punt, 21oz. lldwt.; Olrig, ,1!)07„ !)dwt. Wailiaka • Queen, ,: 550z, lWwt; Now Roxburgh Jubilee, Soz. Sdwt.; Golden Bed, fioz. lSdwt. . • ■-■'Eebptok, Jannarv 11. ReturnsPactoliis 1,. fiOoz. for , 150' hours; Pactolus 11, 1480z.\ flflwt. for 148. hours.

BIG" lUYER.

RRbftok, Jan'uarv 11. The mine manager of the Big River .'reports that driving at tlje main level,, ppyth,- has been continued .on a good reef, track., carrying quartz, boulders. Jn the leading-stipe, over tho branch level the country is brokeny, with-Jarge bands.of mullock between tjio stone; .Thirty tons of orb have been broken for the .week. ■ Dunkdi;;; ./January 10. Dredging returns Central - Charlton, 240z, 2dwts.; Waikain. !)oz., lldwts.;,'Switzcrs, 8f)z; l!)dwts.; Gold King, 270z. 18dwts. . •

' WELLINGTON PRODUCE SIAJttKBTS.

Messrs. Lae.ry and Company,' Limited, Wellington, report, wholesale prices, ruling on the market :—Milling wheat, (is.;, fowls', ss. !)d. tii ss. lid.; oats, 3s. Gd. to 3s. 9(1.; maize, 4s. 9<l. :4o'. ss.;' crushed; malt,' Bs.; prussian Bine peas, Gs. Gd.; fowl peas, 4s. Gd. to ,4s. ,3d.; all nt per bushel.. Plonr, New Zealand. .812; Atifetraliaii .£l3: pollard, XH 10s. to .i!G .155.;- bran, ,£5 10s' to £!i 155.; pearl barley, .£l9; split peas, 'jg|B| bonemeal, 155.; bonednst, .SG; superphosphates, '.S4 155.-,.t0.;jE5 55.; c-halT, oaten sheaf, £3 15s. to XG 55.-, oatmeal, ,£l6; now potatoes; whites, 7s. to lis.; reds, ss. to -7s. per cw't. Bacon,, factory, Sides. Sid.; hahis, Sijd.to fid.-, rolls,' Dd.s butter, bulk pastry,' . 7(1. to Bd. Poultry, hens, 2s. Gd. to 3s.ducks, SS. - - Gd.; turkov-. cobblers, los. to 225.; hons, Bs. to 9s.

Nothing can stop such Ojypanic. It must mil its dufl course, and tfaifidcncc .will not

all at per pair. '.Cauliflowers, 2s. tD,ss..;,cabbagcs, 2s.' to ,45.; .all at : per'sack. . GreenpeA's, Oil. to ls.'per peck; fresh' eggs,' Is:'2d.to Is. 3d. per doz£n; cheese, factory, fid.' to. Old. per lb'.onions,:i£B to dE9 per ton. ' ' LIVE STOCK AND PRODUCE. , Messrs.; A; IT. Atkinson, and Ca.vLtd;,; Failding, report:—On'Friday we held our first sale this year, and had. an, exceptionally . heavy yarding of pigs, for which biddiilg'was brisk, only tivo lines being passed out of, the large 1 entry. A large consignment .qf peaches,; tomatoes, and plums came to hand, and wo haj'p still .on . hand, tomatoes and plums., We quote ': Pigs.—Wean.Rrs, K& (id., !)s., 12s.;' fid. ; .slip's, I.ls. Gd.. 15s. .Gd.,' 165..; stores, 205., ,20s. Oil.', 225.; forward stores, 245. ' fid.," ; 275. Gd;, porkers, 235; Gd, to.'4!)s. ; sows, small, 165., 255., 30s. , ' Poultry.—Young • roosters, . Is. Id., Is. 3d.; hefas, Is. 6d., ls.-,7d.,' Is: 9d.; ducks, 2s.' to 3s:. 7d.- All at'.'each: . ' ; ; - Produce, • otc. —New potatoes, Id. per ,Ib.; peaches, ss;, 65., and 7a. per.case. Plums,,4s. ppr rase. ..Tomatoes, ss. per ease. . ' | HIDE AND SICIN SALES.',.' Messrs. Dalgety' and Co.; Ltd;, held' their monthly sale at Pnlmerston on Friday, when a small catalogue was submitted to tlie usual attendance of buyers. .There was more activo competition than at the last-sale, but prices throughout were about on a par with those riiling on that date: We quote :— Wool.—ln falcs,' medium cross-bred, 7Jd. t<i Bd.j coarse cross-bred, Od. to 7Jd.; medium cross-bred (in bags), GJd- to 7Jd.); dead wool, 55t0 6d.; locks iind pieces, 2|d.' to 3£d.; lambs' wool, inferior,'fj-d. to sd. V i; : Sheepskins.—Crossbred, 5Jd. toGJd., 41d. to s£d.; lambs, 4jd/ to Cel.; pelts, lid. perm; salted, Is. fid', to Is. !)d. each..' ■■■■■• ■ Hides'.—Ox medium, -ifd.; cows' medium, 4d.; light; 3}d. to 3jd.;' cut, 31d.;. slippy, to 2jd.; yearlings, 3Jd.-; calf,, sound, 4jd. to sd. . , ' Tallow.—lii- tins, 3Cs. 3d; - Simdrie'si—Horsehair, Is.; cowt.ips, Is. 2jd. per dozen; boxes, 2s. Od. per cvrt. ' WESTPORT COAL . COMPANY. WiSTroiiT, Ja'nnaty 11.' The Westpqvt Coal Company's output for the week -was 8185 tons llcwt.'

V WEUINCTON SHAKE LIST. ' COMPANY '■ Capital Sand §£ __. . PRICES. -. , ■ YW.1 r f dP * S3 t% J**. Investor. BANKR £ - i i £ ' . £ £ s. d. f «. d. £ »■ d. : fl a... K*w Zealand'. • , • !,<JCO,«X> 961.675 8i 3i -10 • •• ■ .■■, . •» ®- National - - - 375,000 535.018 '-i 15 13 5 6 5 5 6-0- ' INSURANCE. .... , National - - - 1CO.OOO 240,13!). 1 unlid.' 15 17 2" 1 7 9 1 7 0 K11 1 'Xew Zealand - - fCO.000 336,785 8 • '8 10 <00 ' l'O 418 500 South British - •• 100.000 512,493 1 unltd.' 30 5 2 fl 6 12 6 Standard - . - 75,000 88.188.. I unltd. 10 13 5 "H'O 13 0 . 6IS 4 '■ FINANCIAL. ''''' Equitablo Building 50,000 MffiO .' 5 5 30 10 2 6 30 5 0 6 .418 S • Metropolitan Building 21.000 5.229 10 nil • 7 . -Wellington Invost. - 00,000 3,933 .1 i 6 l 012 0 500 Wel'iiton Trust & Loan 301,250 .r" -SB/SO . .' 5' „-.5 . a.' J™.®. ..' 10 ®- 'J 5 ?®'- National Jlortswo - 100.000 112,550 2 8 10 3 5 ° 5 '? ' ' 6 3 ' 1 N.Z. and River l'lato • 300,COO fEO,3(B 1 nil • - 7 1-9. 6. .1 9 9 1,9 6, ,.415.0 Lean and Mercantile - 135,231 157,353 'J 8i' " ' 5 ■ ' " . 0 7 ,° GAS. ' ■ ■Auckland ... . J80.570 £0,5(53 • 5 nil 15 "00 14 6 0 *r,' Ckristchurch . ...152,030 65,OCT.. . .5 . r. nil .'., .,10 . „ ., ». * { . '■ Feilding - . . ICO 1 nil ' — 1 016.9. 017 6 •. 017 0' >. Gisborno - . . 17,10) .9,239 ,1 nil 13J 213. 0, Hawera ... . , J 8,2S) -US 5 i ..„ 10 . . . Kew Plymouth'- . .13,003 8,150. 5 nil' 10 715 0 Napier - - . . ,10- nil . 16 •» 0.0 •„ * - - ' . 49,05/ r' *-22,517 .5' 5'" '15 ' ! 1»>® J .. . .. I .19 15 • 3 7 0 i: : ■ • . h ralmoretonNorth i . £7X05 11,0M ■4i>" 4 .. ;io; '■ 6 . „ „ • 7 , 3 ,® . . Wellington - - . 57 083 ,.' .10 r "' nil ,.10 '; ,®. ® : . «'»•.» . 121,570 ; 5 5 J0 9 7 0 9 10 0 9. 7 0 5 6' 8 MEAT. " , ; r .' .. • Canterbury- . ■ 1B3.727 ,«0,'07i' 73 25 8 ' 'J,® ® i ,. Cloristchurch. ■ • 105,930' £4,337 10 nil. ' 8 1010 0 1011 6 . ..1010, 0 ,- 711.4 Gear -.- - wmi l W5,ii61 1 nil. lit S 8-0 810.0 ,« , .. i.. • - 4- --6— -is5 — : . Wellington Meat Exp j 5 nil,. 8 0 Li 0 . „ „ 1C5,765r '3,767 4 .1 8 5 0 0 5 2 0 - 5 . 2 0 1 ,0 5 0 „ • Si' Mv 8 ' 3 5.0 3 5 6 3 7 0 ; 651 Wnrisannl „ 45,350 . 11,401', . ,#' A ' 8 j8 5;()•'. .'■ • TltANSPORT. . " ' • W. & M. .Railway • 170,0)3 . 121,412 1 4 7 2 3 0 2 4 0 230 338 •K.Z.Shipping - • 473,510 .113,751 ' 8 nil. ! 5' ' 6 0 0 6 5 0 0 5 0 6 8 0 Union Steam - . t00,0()3 47-.503 1 nil. 30 110 0 l '. Wgtn. Steam Forry - 40.25J 65 1 ' nil. •' '6 "013--0 1.18 0 . ' COAL. Westport - . E£0.003 117,215 3J 14 15 7 16 0 7 17 0 716 0 .. 614 7 Jaupiri - - •■ - . • t'2,50J ■ ■ • '•' '1nil.- •; 74./ ■ 0 19; -13 ;!!l-0 3 , woollen. -. . .. . .. „..m „ Kaiapoi- - • . • -. 300.C03 . 52^54: • : 5 • nil.- n g . . .-•• . . ' iiosgiel- - - • ■ 83,457-1 17.213"', ,25' ' 15, " .'. 4' . 3 0 ,0' ■• 'i'." Wellington - - ' - to,000 t;4,ata ' 4:... 1' *.'6 ': ,310 0 3 6 0. . T ,t 6 .MISCELLANEOUS. • ■. Donafbyftopo' 47.003 '■ ■ nil - . E13 0 ' ' 1 ! ,,- l.oyland&O'Brioii v. - , £5.000. :• i 31,761 "i l'- ..,nil..= . ,2.. 4,.9... ,i: 2. 5 6 , » 5 « • , 6 6 0 llauricevilleLim) •• - 7.000 • : . -201 ■ 1 • ■ <ml->.- L »- 1-S I ' , N.Z. Candle - - .' 10,000 ' " JO .nil . -,10 0 0 ,'kV. N.Z.Druss SOO.COO E4.5X4 -2 .'nil- , .'7" .' ; E10. 0 ' S11 6 N.Z.Papor Mills ' . 94.755 . - .1,1T;. '- '1- -nil ■ 7 '" "1 3"0 ■ "13 -3. -13 3 .'80S N.2. Cement- - -iO.COO' '.'2,013" - 1 "J '"nil 1 "•»- 110 0 '111 ( '' : - Wanning it Co. > * 86.00U . -57,670 •' 4'' i- : 1 ■.10 •••!,.. ,. .. ■: 3 17 6' .'. '. , " Ward <t Co. ■ •* tO.ttXl SOOS3: 4' 1 ' 10 4 17 6 i 2 U - 5..'0 '0-800 JWstn. Opera Honn " 38,630 1.705 . 6 ail 8 15 0 7 5 0 7 0 0 6 14 0 Wgtn Fresh Food, - £5,-'til — ' 1 nil — Tombs- 46.250. £0,153 .. : \:'6i 10 #1 .',<10 '0' ; ■ kbarlaiid. Limited, 41ifili , #,3U r ,' , 1 ..nil.,. 7i • ; >0i9.;0'> r 1 0, <T , u

Tops. tl. d. <!• Forties ... 143 J3 1} Forty-sixes ... 153 ■ ' 14?" ,1 Common CO's ... 2Ci 25}■< •• 0| Super Gil's ... 27J 26J ,03