FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 97, 17 January 1908, Page 10

FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

; . ■ . THE SHARE MAEKET. There was more trading in investment. : , lhares yesterday than , for some days, past.-' 3ear Meat shares changed'hands at 505., yielding to the investor a safe 'Ssper cent; 'Christchurch Moat shares' were' in demand 1 .'at'-'JBIO lis., or Is! 6d. below tho, quotation of the' . previous day. Sellers were firm at JBIO 15s. The third issue.Meat Export shares were,on sale at X 3 ss. fid. Manawatu, Rails sold at--435., or Cd. belowuthe previous,. sale!'', IThero : , were further■!buyers ,at tho price, but'sellers , were holding 'for 445.' Union' Steam 'shares ■were, in demand at .315., but, there wero no sellers. Bank shares wero again quiet,',, andsellers named their old prices of .£9.,1554,f6r Bank of New Zealand, and £b Gs. (id..... for . National Banks. 1 Insurariboi'shares ■ w'ere'"also •'«' neglected, 'witK .sellers' • of "Nationalsati27s. 9d. Financial' shares-exhibited no-change. There , were bids of .010.Is. Cd. for' Equitable Building, and £7 10s. 6d. for "Wellington Trust and I.oan, and there were, sellers of Welling?, ton Deposit and - Mortgage shares at lOs.v .and loan . arid'!- Mercantile at ■ 55. : 9 d.v -Gasvjsfiaros were exceedingly dull, the :only,-quotation corded beiug for -FeUding Gas. shares, -wfiicli- ■ wero'on sale at, 17s. ;(M. V Woollen/shares :.',ro- . cpive very >littlo ; -attention.' At yesterday's! sitting of the Exchange, Wellington Woollen/ old issue, were offered-at-i!3 10s., and tho preference shares at lis. Cd., but there were no declared buyers. Thorp was a little doing in' loal shares. Westport-Stockton ha'd'-qiiittan.ee-•jt 9s. 9d., while buyers bid 96. Cd., and sellers , stood out for 10s! Westport Coal shares were on the market at. .£7 17s. Cd. cum div. There were' sellers of D.I.C. preference shares at 235. 3d., Kauri. Timber, at 9s. 3d., LoylandO'Brien Timber at 455. Gd., New Zealand Drug, at 515., Sharland's-ordinary at"lßs. 9d.,- Tara-' nnki Petroleum at Bs., and Ward..,and..-.C0.-. Brewery shares at £'a. There was a bid of 50s. for New Zealand Drug shares. .. .. .... THE MINING MARKET/ ' ' : ' " ' Talismans again monopolised' the business on 'Change, and sales were made at 525. and 525. 3d._ The shares seem to bo sticking at 525. to 535., but they are always meeting with a good market. The mining quotations' yes- . . terday were as under:— \ '.*'•»•< «•«-•»• \ , Buyers. Sellers. Sales. £s. d. .£ s.;d. £ s.,d. Waihi 8 2 0 8 4 0 — Kuranui Caledonian — 010 — May Queen, Ltd. ... 0 1 10 — — Tain!a Broken Hills — 0 4 1 — Waihi Grand June. — -0 19 0 -- — Ngatiawa ... ... 0 2 1.0 2 3 — . Big River 012 9 , — — Talisman 212 0, 212 - 6 212 0 :2 i 2 3 TBOE[WOOL SALES.. ■ The Wellington wool sales'will begin at 9 0 clock this morning, when an aggregate of 8148 bales will be submitted. At the January"; sales last year the. catalogues comprised 9959 bales, and tho falling, off is-probably due-to the desire of-grower's to test tho March and May London sales. The catalogues, to be submitted hy the., several brokers compared with the submissions at the corresponding sales last year are as under:— •' 1908. 1907. , t; . , r . Bales. Bales. Dalgcty and Co 3707 2795 Loan f:nd Mercantile ... 1139 ' 1399 Levin and Co. ... '"1020 ' 2325 -' Abraham and Williams .... 1020 1266 Murray, Roberts and Co. ... 900 . 1G32 United Farmers', ... .... 270 312 H; Atkinson ... ... 62 58 AV.P CA. ... ... ... 3fl ill ... Or. Scales — fix 8143' r 9959. Is. to the prospects of the market, the "opinion l/s now more decided, that crossbreds will find xt difficult to maintain their December values, jnd some considers fall most likely. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company have received a cablegram from London, in which it is stated that crossbred" , wool is likely to fall 5 per cent.' below'. Iho' closing prices of tho November-December sales. S BANK CLEARINGS."' " The Clearing House system obtains in both Sydney and Melbourno, and tho..iigures for! a series of years show tho romarkablo improvement that lias taken place in the economic conditions of the Commonwealth. The following tablo .is interesting ha showing the positions of the big cities in this matter s-r" Year. Sydney. Melbourne. ,£I3I,Ma,SSI £143,313,015 18® 8 - 123,978,010 142,075,3.19 1699 146,183,114 . 158,913,603 1900 ... 144,(180,313 ', 1.59,949,078' 1901 107,076,796 riO.^CSl IM2 178,6-37,708 170,025,124 1803 '• 130,561,. (OG- - 1C6,C!)3,338 IM4 ' ...177,797,334 V.-, - . 174,166,262 1915 189,826,581' ' " " 187,052,12.5 1906 -. 220:860.512 ■ 220,0(3,(158 1907 ... .;. ... ... '.'23-1,163,822" " ' 236,593,780 Tn the above figures Melbourne 6liows to slightly bettor advantage than Svdnov, but tlio " Sydney Morning Herald states that each .£1 cleared by the Sydney bapks'represents abouti &js. cleared in Melbourne. '• NON-COMMISSION INSURANCE. The position of the old Equitable Assurance Company is of perennial interest to the -insurance world. As is .well known, this office, with its 52 years of life behiri'dit, has never paid commissions for new business, and by its abstention has allowed younger offices to far out-distance it in the mere matter of sii-.0, if not in other respects also. In the last financial year, which ended on January. ,;31, 1907, the new life transactions of this office, apart from capital redemption, assurances for .£49,100 on tho company's' leasehold properties, amounted to ,£254.036, after deduction of reassurances; but' ills' total net' life premium income, amounting to .£127.035, was-less-by J571t.han that-, df the, preceding twelve', months, Yet the expenses- and' commission- were increased by nearly .CIOOO, and'together amounted to absorbing 27.1 per cent.-of the'premiums, or nearly double the average percentage expended by British lifo offices. This is. not. a faVourabls feature. when prospects of bonuses to policyholders at the next quinqennial valuation, which falls due on January 31, 1909, are considered. The proportion of premiums expended exceeds the amount' reserved for expenses and contingencies at the last .valuation, cpn-soqu'eutly there can have been no profit from economy, 'which in many life offices

is a very fruitful sburce of bonus. On tho other han"d,Tth"6'lhci'dcnco of. mortality seems to have.:been'satisfactory last year, the claims by death', ..amounting to .£96,079;'• being stated to.havq been oply 87,3 per .cent, of the. amount oxpectcd;;Undcr the' mortality .table, used for valuation purposes. The life assurance 'fund 'amount'ed'j'at'tilts'-end of the last, financial year to .51,758,251, and the interest yield, during the year-is ireported: to have been-33 17s.'id. per. cent., after.. tax. COAL PRODUCTION"AND CONSUMPTION. "Th'Ca'nriual .report, of the .Boa'rd-oi,Trade -on the -world's *coal' ; : .production/' and cansumption,' wnich v deals'witli the year; 1900, and was recently- issued,'dsl'rather-jpterestinjr. The Bntish: Empire ahd;-the: 'n'ipi principal .fbreigh countries included'vin'' the, table's produced be't'rr.ech'- them : 897,40(1,000. tbni, 'ofwhich ) the Unitpd;Kingdom and,the .colonics wore renponsible»for 2^3 ( sJl,D."rt ton 3. This" jhnge -total, ip an'ihcrease of "59,200,000 tons'-aa .compared! wjth 1905, and progress has been.Oeowollv'disttibuted. that'.the:xatio .of.,'advanco—7 tically the salne nhroad as : at Hbme."-W'Qrf»t- : Britain,. Germany,.-.anil the .United' States,', the ontpnt was ; greater'thiin in.iaiiyi'previous'.verir. ■The output ,pf. America now exceeds that of the United Kingdom by nearly 50 per cent., but the'production of' Germany is still less than half t;lie, Bri,tifh-yield. The total knOwh coal | production of-tho iworld, exclusive of brown coal dr'ljgniteris'abput 905,000,000 tons; the United Kingdom, therefore, is responsible for rather,..less.: than a third of thqt quantity, whilst Great Britain and tho United States together furnish o.ver two-thirds of it. Tins .coal export trade of „tlio United Kingdom is nearly double that of all other countries. 1 " WELLINGTON PRODUCE MARKETS. ', Messrs. Lacry and; Company, Limited, Wellington, report wholesale prices ruling on the market,:—Milling .wheat, 6s:; foils', ss. fkl. to •ss. lid.; oats; 3s. fid."to 3s:'9d.j inaijio,' -Js. 9d. -to 55.; crushed malt, Ss.; Prussian blue peas, B*-toJis, Cd.; fowl peas, -Ib. Cd. to 4s. 9d.: all at per bushel. Flour, New Zealand, £12; Australian, £13; pollard, £.6 10s.' to 155.; bran, £a 10s. to £b 155.; pearl barley, .£l9; split peas?, M :155.; boned ust, M: suporphosphates, £i 155..t0 £5 55.; chaff, oaten sheaf, ..£5 15s. to £6 55.; oatmeal, XIG; now potatoes,"whites,"Bs;-to 10s.; reds, is.', to 7s. per cwt. Bacon,' factm-y, sides, BJd.; hams, B|d. to 9d.j rolls, 9d.; biitter;'bblkhpastrV,'7di: to Sd. Poultry, hens, 2s. 6d. to 3s.;' ducks, 54. Gd.; turkeys, gobblers, 15s. to 225.; hens, Bs. to 9s!-"all" at per'pair.' Cauliflowers, 2s. to 55.; cabbages 2s. to 45.; nil at- per sack. Green peas, 9d. to Is. per peck; fresh eggs', 1? 2d. to Is. 3d. per.; dozen; cheese, factory, Gd. to 6Jd. per lb. ; , bnions, to £9 per toil. ~.. . . LIVE STOCK, MARKETS.,. ! Messrs. Dijlgety and Co.. Ltd.,. report .our Palmerston sale, on Thursday we' had a •fair yarding-' of cattle and a mndium oiitry of sheep. There was no demand for sbeqp. One-year to'lß-month heifers made 265.; 2-year cull steers, JI3; store cows, ££; fat cows, ill 18s.;'S-year hul'ocksj'amall, iftj.- cd.; 3-year bullocks, .£5 7e. The. New,, Zealand.. Loan ana -Mercantilo Agency Company, Ltd., report:—At Palmerston on Thursday we hod an avernge' entry of cattle, but, m with the exception' of'a line of a-thousand wethers, fow sheep came forward. We were successful in quitting all lines of cattle, with the oxccption of' two' pens,'at fair,, value. Buyors wore present'! for sheep, l>ut were not prepared to giyij -.the prices wanted by .vendors. ~We quote- Store cows, 275.; forward cows, £2 12s. Gd.; yearling heifers, 235.; spring heifers, good, JS4 10s. to 6?-; spring cows, .£3 15s. to. ,£4 10s.; cows in calf, corns with calves, 1 dE2 ljs. Gd. ; 2|-yenr steers, 55.; forward bullocks, £5 is.,-J!5-Us.,--to .65 15s. At the Taihape sale there was a full yarding 'of ■ good' quality cattle, but sheep'were poorly represented. Four-year, bullocks made iG 'l_Qs.\",to;i;£7; 3-year, '575.,- -2-year,' .64; fat cows,'-£i- 10s.;-yearlings, 355.-to J!2 ss. Messrs. Dalgoty and Company, Limited, report that, they held their fortnightly sale at the Upper Hutt yards yesterday, when there was a heavy entry of all classes of stock,' the numbers considerably exceeding previous sales of this season.- ;,There was a good attendance of buyers,:,but .business, at. auction was limited, vendors, in many instances, refusing fair'market values, apparently failing to realise' the. fact that t.hr dry weathor is affecting prices. -Springing heifers-sold from JB3 155."t0 „«5 55.; 'empty 15s. to £3; forwaril heifers, -£3 145.; fat and forward cows, J23 ss. to it 75.; - steers.' XI 3s. to J2.1 15j.; ' aged cows and calves, .£V'l7». Gd.; eighteen-month steers, .£2 lis.; vealers, l"s. Gd.'to 205.; aged woolly owes,'los. 'Gd.'. ' LONDON '^MARKETS. .BY TELEGBArn—rEEGS '.{SSQCIATIOK—COPiniOUT. ;li: London", January 15. Copper—On spot, £63 17s. Pd.; three'months, jGG-t ss. ' " Tin—On spot, ,£125 10s.; [ three months, .GI2G ss. " • ,'Lead. J$U-- 7s. Gd. . . ' .-At the-' 1029 casks offered and 398 sold. Mutton, fine ."Us. 3d.,' medium 325.; beef, fine 335., medium 31's. ' 1 LONDON MEAT MARKET.' (bt TEr.KGiurii—rr.Ess, asbocutipn.) NArtmi, January IG. ■■ The Colonial Consignment ;and Distributing Company, has- received the follpwing cablegram 'from London':—" The frozen 'meats market: continues very weak. Prices are unchanged." The Tramways Band will give a- performance at Island Bay to-night. Mr. Leo Buckcridge, voice spoeiiilist, has returned to town, and resumes .torching in his new studio. Borileott Chambers, Boulcott .Street,'"on, Monday',''January .25." .A'nnmher of choice business and residential sites'in tho Upper Hutt' will' be .sold by Messrs.'W. F. Shortt, Ltd.;'at their rooms, Willis Street, on January-"20, at 7.30 p.m. ' Tenders' are.'invited in our advertisinr columns for tho lease of an old 'established bookseller's shop in Mastorton, arid. also for the stock. As the lease has' seven years to run at' ji 'low' Cental,' and the stock 'is not heavy,.'this should .be an easy chnnce for an energetic man to get into business in the leading Wairarapa town. , :

■ COMPANY 'Capita S£d V "' , J .; ... . rJv t $£%; & &■ .m*_ 1 ' BANKS, ' ,£' r £ * £ \ " 'j V ' * B -" 5 ' * «• £ '»• <*• " *'8. d. New Zealand , - • P.000.000 581.675 2 J, Jj 10 e A J 3 J ° national - . . 375,000 335.318 <* 15 . 1J 6 5 8 8 8 8 ... INSUBANCE. '• ' ;. ■ \- •: - '• . .' , » o . ... . JaBoml ..ICO.OOO. ,.,M!tt3!>, . i unlM. -J5,, * I 2 ? f ,' , " PI I Sow Zealand' ' - '• -.'WOO SB.7R5'• S •••• •'JO.' *'A J • .'-.*' 1 '' 50 0 .South British - ■ • 100,000- ' SI3.4IH ' '1 imlM. 5 3 J :J ."'J' 1 ?-!; , ,« U : „ Standard. . - ; . . , 75,000 • .'.63,181 ' J unltd. 10 1 S » -,1\4 8 .1. 3..0 . B 30. 4 Stable Bvrildiitf . EO.COO . . 44 559 ' 5 . 5 ■ jo' , M I.« ' II 0 «' 1#"8 .« ' ' 4 IB fl <rotrOpolitan Building S1.00!) 6,229 10 "nil T i r . Wellington Invest. ' - 60,000 ?.,f03 . i ' > • 8 JJJ J £'S? : 2* : 5 ! WergtonTrustifcL'oan 101.250 Kl.ffip 6 5 ' 6 Tig «■ "17.10 8 .. T.10 I: ,888 National Morteo - 500,000 113,250 S 8 10 3 5 5 ' , „ . , ? 2 5- e ' ] K.Z. and Hirer Plato - S00.C00; K0.3C3 1 ■ ■■njt Tv - l; fl 8 . _■ J-J- J 9 15 • Loan and Mercantile - 13S,MJ'|'.' ' ,1 f'.Si 5'. , >*': ,i .1 i Auckland •' . - . 1(0,370 ' ' tO,5M - S • •'•ntl :: - Ifi-.r -14--.0; 0 34- 5 0 ..j Christchurch • . 1H.OOO . 65,087 " 5'" •' nil ; i(T '"''I' . 1 ®,J J- „,V''n : 'Pending - . 10,805 103 1 nil - . 0 10,9 017 8;, . 017 ,0 . Oieborno :••••• • 17,100 . .. '■ 9,239 l:. ... nil,.... 121 .. ■... 8,18 0 Hawora t . . 6,250 T45 '3 i 10 „ , ... „ ' New Plymouth - ■ . • 16,000 3,150 9 mi 10 7 IT 6 71o 0 Kapler • • • ). 10 nil 13 « « ® „.j " - 4D.S67 f £2,517 5 1 . ..5 15 • ■ , '^SS' Falmerston North ■■ . ; £7.000 ' 1±,0&3 45 } " 30 7 S'6 - J7t (90 Wellington - - . -lojwnl 67953 30 nil 1° J S 2 ,2 2 , J S' » ? 568 . . 124,5(01 5 J 10 9 7 6 1 B10 O ' 8!l 8 '566 "MEAT. * - „ Canterbury- . • 383.727 IOJ»74 7l Sj - ; 8 , . ,5,9 S - Christchurch - • 365,920 64,337 10 nil. 6 10 11.0 10 15 0 1010 0 712 i Gear " Koooj - : .l ng?.:'.. •'j*J ,,-810 0. : 2.10. 0 5 0 0 Wellington Meat Esp •' .): *5 nil;'" -'-J 8 IS 5 „ ' -303.763}- .''.'£3,767' ••'<" " 1 ',' 8 ;;, 5'00' -'-J'S < • 5 S 0 ( { 6 ' | 'S8---83 ... 8 i :■ 3;5-0- 3.5 6 "3 5; 3 6 8 O Waneanoi .. <5,850 11,401 ' ' 5- ' ,nil. • ••.••g • !-.3 5> -6 •: ivl ■' TRANSPORT. ' . ' ' ' ' ' W.&M.Bailway 170,000. 121,453 .1- 4/7 2 3,0 S 4 0- ,9'3'fl. .330 K1Z. Shipping i - ,473,845'.'. '113,751" i: '8'. 5 :: 6 '0 6 5 0 .6 5 0 :6 6 0 Union Steam ■ . £00,003' , •-> 1' • -nil,, ••■•l.. -Ill 0- 1.12 0 Steam Ferry/'- - 46,250 . 65'' '' 1 ''nil. :■ .6 013.0: '' C13 0 ... , COAIi. ■ ; ' Westport - - .EEO.OCO 117.C15 . 35 1| ' 15 716 O .7 37 8' .J16..0' 614 7 laupiri... ■ t2,50} 5,333 .. 1 . nil.' • 7i 0 19 6 1 0 8" . WOOIiLES. v Kiiapoi- . . • .- ' 100,003 £5,611 " 5 .'nil. • « ilosgiel- : . . ■ - - 63,457: 17,21-2 • Sj 14 4 >• -3'0. -0- ': '• Wellington SO,000 . £4,303 .1 ; " 1. . 6 S10 0 3 6 0 7 6 6 MISCELLANEOUS.' ' ' ■ ' DonaghyRop'o' " 47,000 •'. ' 30'" "nil ' ''-i."' '"53B"0 - 6 0 0 Lcyland&O'Brien 35,000 37,751 ; 1 .nil 15 .;..3,'4-'9 . .5 6 .1 5 6 6 6 0 ilauriceville Limj . 7,000 £01 1. ■ nil 8 15 0 N.Z.Candlo- ■ . 10,000 — 10 .nil — 10 0 0 K.Z.Druga . • . £00,000 E4.514 . 2 nU. - 7 - ,530 0 til' 0" K.Z. Paper Mills . 94.750 1,177 . 1 nil ; j 3 0 13 3.. 1 1 3'3. t 0 5 K.Z. Cement • - * 40,0)0 2.0W. 1 .ntl g 110 6 1 11 6 Vanning*CO. • :* D6.CO) 87.67J) t ■ ; .4, ,V",1 10' - „ ' 6 ' Ward <t Co. - - £0.000 £0,655 ■< -4 : 1 10 - -4-17 6 V * 6"0 0 5 ft. 0 .800 ■Wgtn; Opera Housa '; 18,630 -" 1,705" " 6" ml 1 8 15 0 7 5 0 7 0 0' 514 0 IVgtn TreshFood - .'28,361 . — ,.1 . nil — . . Whitcombe & Tombs- 46,250 £0,157' ' :J 5 nil 18- . 6' 0 - '4*50 0 tharland; Limited 48,676 1 ' ull 7i 8 19 0 1 0 8 . : 1 , 0 8 . T10 0-