COMMERCIAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 102, 23 January 1908, Page 10

COMMERCIAL.

THE SHAKE , MARKET. ' Yestorday being Anniversary Day,., and :- a public ■■ holiday, there was .no sitting-;.of -the .Wollington Stock Exchange.--, v p >-» 1 ' LONDON WOOL SALES. Tho first of the scries of London wool saleß for 1908 commonccd on Tuesday, and',"as 'was anticipated,' thero is a declinofin, values, but, fortunately, . it does not' sper coiif..', according to.tho Press, Association message.,;,lt: will bo .interesting ' to'., see-' what; the private messages^ ject. So far as tho money marketris'concerned; it is in favour of-wool,'lor-the'Bank discount rate is now r 5 per: cent.-,SaiTagainst 7 , ; be'r I 'cent.' in November last. - Tho rate>how'is-flie''same ■ as ~it was n year ago, and the decline must therefore-be attributed to : , ; th<> shrinkage,,,in general trade. At. the November soles- crossBred wool declined from 10 to, 15. per cent.,.; and the fall; noted now is on tho clos;ng prices of the last/sales, which'; according -to •itho:,High' Commissioner's'cablov'dated-.'Dfc'ifemb'4r''227'wera" u follow:— • .AlKGrades. ' ■ v' : : ■ per- lb.. • " d. d:"'' Fine, crossbreds ... 12 to 15 Medium-crossbrcds—~-9-.to-114-~'-— Coarse crossbreds ... ....'iU.....Jt to 10i Superior., merino;;' /12 .to 15 Medium merino" 'J. -jlOJito 12JInferior merino ... ... "7to 10 'A- wool (expert, writing - in', the;" Economist (London), of . December ;7, just before* the .sales' ■closed, said':.."lt-is,an,'axiom,in:.tjade potato buy on a penny decline wheal wool, hasf .beei 1 abnormally high. Moreover,,some,.experienced: , business men, whose-.position aifords facilities, ffor forming a sound judgment;'thint ihai sight' fare not wanting of production having . once more overtaken consumption. If this should prove to be tho case, there :;is,-not; with, the, ;,< present monetary outlook, much -.chance) of a reaction from tho present level of values, »hich .although lower than a month;ago, 1 are not low, and , still, leave the wool-producing, industry a very profitable one.'- It"iS"nofr' obvious that prices in the Australian markets;, from ..the opening. in Adelaide on September 26 last, have been c-tcessively^highr-Opcrntors'" at the Antipodes have been living in a. fool's paradise. It has been-posMble i! during this': eerie? of auctions to buy wool in London at less' money than it cost in Adelaide, Melbourno, iand Sydney, and owners who shipped • duce for realisation in London have either had to accept less for-it than they could have ' got for it in t.lio Commonwealth-,..markets',', or, - take it in. The losses on wools purchased ■in Australian markets only a few weeks, when remarketed in London, aro very heavy, and, although' not so heavy as similar operations--'entailed in the disastrous season of 1899-1900, are too-, serious to : bo/pome by-the.-unfpj'tun-; i»te impdrt6rs';.witli equanimity" f AMERICAN CURRENCY! ' '"•= No satisfactory solution has been found for tho currency trouble that is affecting the United States. American bankers': havo Sheen 1 - long agitating' for amendments to. the' law; aud in 1906 managed ■to get some legislation through Congress and which was known as tho Aldrich Act." There are two Bills now before one.'"introduceil' , .by * chairman of :tho l Committee of Finance, nnd : the other by Mr. Fowler, chairman of'-' the-UiS! ' House of Representatives Banking and Currency Committee. Neither Bill meets with the approval- of-the -American'-Bankers'- Asso---siation, and Congress is being-urged to adopt the scheme propounded . the''-, bankersthemselves. .The plan recommended by the Bankers' Commission provides, subject to general .regulations,.;, jiuthorjity for., national banks to; issue additional 'circulation, equal to, W. per cent.; of., the .boiid-sec.ured pote" 'i'ssucs already outstanding—this a ' tax of 21 per cent; per' aiiuum—arid .to 'issue a further amount' of- notes equal' to ']2J per ' cent, of the. capital.. of. : the ,bnnk,'. subject .to. a tax, at .•tkej'-jatc.'fjpfi ifoa'- , 'fiudli;.' circulation,: aiul' there is 'tlie'Stipulation Vth'a't' " the same ratio of cash reserves should' , "be' 1 " carried against such credit notes as is now required by law to bo carried ,against, deposits,. ,i that is, 25_ per cent. t • It is obvious 'tliat unless RoMetiling on-'right'' lilies is done, and done-quickly,'-ther£-is' danger- -j a recurrence of the crisis. ' During' the" panic - of Ociober and Novemoer, Wallliterally gambled for loans, payingfrom 10 to 120 per cent, for the money. The accommodation thus obtained was only temperjury, probably from three to six months, and on maturity fresh difficulties ifiiMSrise. , The Yankees seem; arixißusi' *< try's note issue, and on this point thei' : Econo- i mist_ .(London) remarks: ."The' Ai?iericah l : public has become so hardened to the idea of 1 a bond-secured currency-..with, no -proper..rela=- ' tion to gold, and therefore no automatic elasticity, that we fear there is little chance of ■ the creation of a simple, sound, and uniform : system of- But";, we'..should like to-' •" throw out to-oiir; friehds. 3 aci-ass . the Atlantic \ the question whether a note issue scoured by bonds and debentures is any better in principle than the old Land Bank associated with - the name of John Law, who thought the nonexportability was a .virtue in money. If Amencnn bank.- notes .-'were "issued 'te au"utilimited .extent ..on the* security of';'railway '' -bonds, we' might, have' to study'again vth'e his- ' tory -of Law !f''Mississippi''Mhe^ ? ufd;'M;ijtli4 i ' l 1 rench Assignats, which wero proudly 'tie- : . senbed as a paper, money/based-,on tho firm foundation-of-landed -propertv.'" m ■■

GOLD MOVEMENTS IN NOVEMBER. The Amoiican financial crisis in Octobcr and .November, which led to heavy importations' ot gold, created quite--a record in :gold move'-' ments in London.. : During;.the. month,,of-.No'-v member;last the- imports,of- gold *? 110 less tllan 000, of which *£2,014,000 from South Africa, ,£164,000 from" India, jC152,000 from Australasia, and ,£85,000 from West Africa represented the normal supply from gold-producing countries, and the balance may be considered-tho. result- of-tlie high value of money occas;oh(-d bv, the A)rterijan crisis. Thus Germany sent ,£i','G77,ooo, iranee .£3,3l3,ooo—under its famous system., of. p r -r"fe m!? n„ En S lisl » bills—and 'Belgnim wEaal,ooo. The tale regarding exports is a very simple one, for out of a- total of ,£15,197,000 sent abroad, no less than .£13,831,000 was taken' by the States, the only other important °n n „\°A n i s to -France;--ami-.i22B,OOD to India., .. ./ ~ "r ■' ' '/ - ; - -. LAND SALE. j (BY : TIIXGEAPU—SriXUL; CORRESPONDENT-! ' ' 1 '... Jahuai-y '.^i'', ' Under instructions from . Sir. Bernard Chambers, 20.allotments of. the Te„Jlata'Estate.'j-ahg'-': • .ng from s'to 07 acres, were olfered' .o-day, jind the. .following siiles took, plnce:—• Lot 3, 5 acres, E. A. jEGO per acre; lot 4, G acres,,J. IL.Hills (Titree MO, per acre; lot 5,'.'-5 acres,' H. Chambers,: (painterii.j.Havelock),. .SflO.Jper' pcrej.lot 16,. coutaininj; 16 acres 1 rood,' John Al Lean (Hastings), ,£-to per acre. THis remainder., were passed in. .......;. ~ " • . : , 'GRAIN MARKET. y',;'" (lllf TF,I.IXI'..U'I[ —PRESS ASSOCIATION ) ' Dunediu. January 22. ' Wheat: Good accounts of tho probabfo yieldand quality of tho crop are to hand, and"tlie : prospects of tho market are; good, biitV as' most mills have been stopped for - tlio periodical overhaul, and as stocks ot prime luahty are low, little business is being doile vith millers. The quotations for ni'ifH'ni' vould be nominal. Medium is in fair dchiaiu] is fowl feed at from 4s. Bd. to -Is. 10d. for goodtower.qualities, to 15..0 d. (ex store sacks extra) Supplies are light, but equal to the demand at present, l'rime milling, 25.~ (ki..;. t° a o n G i /^ s ' '° " s - Jd.; inferior, 2s. to zs. 2d. (ex storo sacks extra). BRITISH MABKETS. OT XEliEQliAril I'IIKSS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT, _~ ' Loxuojf, January 21 Silver 15 quoted at 25 S-lOd. Copper—On spot, i'liS 155.;, thred months, •Cut- OS. jSr'f) U Kl^ n S ' ) °-' '126.1 Gd. ; .three, months, Lead,"ill-J. 12s. Gd.- . AUSTRALIAN PRODUCE. 9Y TUr.KOEAriI I'REHS .ASSOCIATION—COPTMOHT. TI „ , Sctmey, Januarv 22. Wheat, milling, -Is. 7d.; chick, Is. tid. to Is. Bd.; (lour, i£ll; oats,jalgerian. feeding, 3s. 3d.; white, 3s. 5d.; maizeV'Ss. "Id!"to ss. lid.; bran and pollard, Is. 5d.; potatoes, Tasmanfan' new, ,C 7 10s. to £0 10s.; local, „C 8; onions' Victorian. £1 10s,; butter, 90s. to 9Ss.-;' cheese 7d. to BVd.; bacon, BJtl. to IOJd. Melbovrnh, January 22. Wheat, 4s. 5d.; (lour, J3IO 10s.; oats, a'igerian feeding. 3s. 2d.; prime milling, 3s. 4d.; barley, Cape, 3s. lOd.; malting, -Is. 3d. to Is. 4d.; ; bran and pollard, lad.; potatoes, £2 10s. (o i 3; onions, £d 10s. Adelaide, January 22. Wheat, Is. 21d. ;. (lour, vClO_. 10s.'; oats, .algerian, 3s. to 3s. 2d.; barley, Cape malting, 3s. sd. to 3s. fid.; English, Is. ~!)d. to 3d.; potatoes, jßi 10s.; bran and pollardi ill'dt-"