COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 807, 3 May 1910, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHAKES. Investment shares exhibited a little more activity yesterday than is'usually shown on a Monday. Sales were reported of Gear Meat, £1 paid,, at £2 Ms., Wellington Woollen, ordinary, at £3 35., and. 'Paranaki Petroleum at 145., 14b. 2d., 14s. 3d. Bank of New • Zealand, buyers £9 16a.; Equitable Building, buyers £9 35.; Wellington Trust and Loan, buyora £7 2s. 6d., sellers £7 3s. 6d.; Fcilding Gas, buyers £1 25., cum dividend; Napier Gas, £10 paid, sellers £24; Wellington Gas, new issue, sellers £2 10s. premium; South British Insurance, buyers £3; Ohristchnrch Jteat,buyers £11 12s. 6d.; Gear Meat, £1 paid, buyers £2 135.; Meat Export, third issue, buyers £2 12a' 6d.; Wellington Woollen, -buyers £3 Zs. 6d.; Westport Coal, buyers £6 75., sellers £6 10s.; Wc3tport-StocUton, sellers 7a. 3d.; Kauri Timber, 15s. paid,, sellers 16s. 9d.; Loyland-O'Brien Timber, buyers. £1 45.; Manning and Co., sellers £4; NewZealand Drue, buyers £2 7s.;' Now Zealand Portland Cement, buyora £2 2s. 6d.: Now Zeala,nd Paper Mills, sollerß £1 2s. 6d.; Saarland's ordinary, 6ellcrs £1 2s. 3d.; preference, sellers £1 25., 6d.; Taranalti Petroleum, buyers .145., sellers 14s. 3d • Ward and Co., brewery shares, sellers £4 17s. 6d. . • ■ LONDON. MAEKETS. The woo! sales appear to be Raining in briskness, and the latest sales reported seem to point to an upward tendency. The bidding was animated to the close of last wcol;, and there has been a very fair clearance, for out of a total of 48,984 bales catalogued 45,131 sold. The market, is Bleady for frozen meat,, with the exception of mutton, which is inactive. Beef 13 in good demand, and supplies, aro moderate. Heavy shipments from Now Zealand are now • on.the water, and during this month and June olid July nunplies from this part of tho world will be heavy. This of course is the usual thiujr. but whilo laet year the congestion brought about a collapse, there is no indication of any such movement this year. Tho meat is going into consumption* and BOlceinon.

aro tailing care not to be caught with ex- / cess supplies. Butter <and choose are lower, ; and will probably continue to fall as i European supplies become available. With I the increased make during the past lew t weeks and the drop in London values, prices locally during the winter should V not rise above their present ,evel. Jt Is, t however, so easy to create a local short- c ago that it would be unsafe to rely upon the maintenance -of present pricesi The hemp ■ market is weal:, but as there is improvement in Manila, quotations, the New Zealand product may be favourably influenced. , INVESTMENT, MORTGAGE, AND DEPOSIT t COUP ANY- i ANNUAL MEETING. ij The fourth annua! meeting ol the New t Zealand Investment, Mortgage. aud De- c posit Company, Ltd., was '"£<l jjj '$ r 6 i Chamber of Uomraerce ycstciday. Ml. H. , (). Foster, clialraia.". of directors. crisis- E lng. Tne report which, after announcing r that a dividend of 5 per cent, for the fiist c half-vear had already been paid. iccom- c mended a. further dividend of 5 per cent., rj has already been published in lilt t U Tho N c?ia'irman mdved:-"That the report ' of tho directors of the balancc-sheet an- \ nexed thereto, be, aud the same aic here- P by adopted, and that, the recom mended by the directors is h cre t dared, and that such dividend be payable s or» May 1910." .. £ Mr. F. Cohen, in seconding the motion, t complimented tho society upon the satisfactory position disclosed* •„ t The motion was carried. c Messrs. V. G. Bolton and W. M. Jluir ) wero re-elcctcd to the board of directors. Messrs. Henry Kember and Sons were re* i elected auditors. Jt . Tho remuneration of tho directors, waa fixed at £100, as last year, to be divided as they might think fit. 4 The chairman, commenting 4 position of the company, said that during ( the vear ended March 31, its capital liad increased by £484, a very satisfactory ligure for a year when very tew companies had any increaso of capital. Deposits had 2 increased by £9096, a" good indication, of j the credit of the company at the time c when money was tight. Investors i subscriptions had increased by £116, and mortgages by £4791. and tho company had, on March 31, special deposits, and a bank credit balanco of £3182 2s. 3d., as against an overdraft of £1954 6s. fld. in 1909. Ill© preliminary expenses had been reduced < bv £279 55., following upon tho writing-off £ of £220 15s. at March 31, 1909, and £168 2s. { 9d~ on March 31, 1903, so that in threo c years tho • preliminary expenses had been j reduced by £668 2s. 9d., leaving a balanco t of £100. The directors, in their report, in f 1907, stated that they would begin writing \ off in March, 1908 and extend it over five j'ears at most, so that -they were well within the time. In three years and six months tho company ..had paid £1438 4s. 9d. ir. dividends, had earned the further 1 dividend, of £502 13s. 9d., mentioned in this ] year's report, ,nad ;paiu £G6b 2s v 9d. pre- 1 iiminary expenses, and iffcer payment of ] this year's idvidend would have a balance 1 in hand of £130 Bs. lid. These figures.m- ] dicated an extremely satisfactory position. ] Moreover, there was not a security that ! caused the board any anxiety. Payments < •••ore made punctually, and thp policy of £ the directors during the recent time of \ stringency was such that they never had 1 any anxiety, aud had never -been pinched 1 for money. He congratulated share- 1 holders on the standing of tho company 1 in the financial world of Wellington. If the same cautious policy were § still pursued, they might look on their investment < as a very good one. (Applause.) ] Totes of thanks wct'e accorded to the ] dircct-ors and. the staff. Customs revenue collected at Wellington yesterday amounted to £2761 7s. 7d. FRUIT AND PRODUCE REPORTS. j The News Zealand Fruit and Produce Co., Ltd., Wellington, report as follows:—In our weakly report it will be noticed that a good tone still exists in the vegetable lino. One particular brand of peas wo sold at le, 4u. per peek. Dessert aonles are in much bettor demand. following are last week's prices Potatoes, ss. to 6s. cwt.; onions, 3s. 9d. to 4s. cwt.; swedes. 2s. cwt.; turnips, 6d. J to 63. sack: carrots; 3s. to ss. sack; parsnips. 45.. 6d. to 6s. sack; beetroot.'4s. to ss. 6d. sack; cabbage, ss. to. 7s. sack; cauliflower, Bs. to lis. 6d. \ sack; peas, 10s. 6d. to 16s. 6d. saek; marrows, is. to 2sV- sack; tomatoes, 3s. to i>&. 6d. case; French beans, 53. to 6s. sack; broad beans, 3s. to 4s. 6d. sack; lettuce, lss. to 3s. case;, spinach, 3s. to 3s. 6d. case; apples, cooking 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d: case, den- , Bert 6s. to 7s.' 9d. case; passion fruit. 10s. box; pears, cboking ss. to 6s. case, dessert 6s. to 9s. case,-half-case 45.; bananas, 15s. to 18s. 6d. ease, 6s, tg 7s. 6d. bunch; oranges (Island); 9s. to. 10s. 6d. case; lemons (Messina) llei- 6d. 150. Sydney ss. to 65.; pines, 75.. 9d. to grancs, 7d. to Bd. per ib.; e?£3. fresh 2s. to 2s.'2d. dozen, preserved Is. 6d. dozen; chaff, £5 to: £5 155.; ducks; 4s. 6d.\;to ss. pair; bran, Cs. 6a. per sack; wheat, 4s. to 4s. 4d. bushel; hens,;3s. to 3s. 6d. pair; peanuts (Japanese), 20s: 6d. cack. London Wool 3ALhs, HIGHEST- 1 PRICES. By Telegraph—Pre*"''Association—Copyright London, May l. At the wool - sales there waa animated bidding, and .prices were the highest of the series. Sales included:—Mortvi—Top price, Is.; average, lOgd. Tokoa—Top price, 12Jd.; average, 1 li§d. To dato 48,984* bales have been catalogued and 45,131 sold. . / !; COLONIAL" ; ,"AND 'OTHER PRODUCE. '' By Telegi aph—Press Association -ConrrtehL London, May 1. Wheat.—Three cargoes of Australian sold at 365. 6d., 365; 9d., and 375. respectively. .Copra.—The'market is flat." South Sea, in bags, £26 ss. . . , Cotton.—May-June shipment, 7.64£ d, j ' THE METAL MARKETS. I Uy Te!ejfrc,Dh -Press Association—CooyrigbL 1 London, May 1. 'Silver, 2415-16 d. per ounce. Copper .-On tho spot, £56 18a. 9d.; threo months', £57; electrolytic, £58. Tiu.-On the spot, £149 lOs.i three months', £150 10s. - Lead, £12 Us. 3d. . W. AND A. .M'ARTHut By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, May i: The report of W. and A. M'Arthur (the company was reconstructed some time ago} shows a proOt of £5450. A dividend ot 5i per cent, is declared on preference shares, £20C0 added to reserve, and £406 carried forward. OAT SHORTAGE QUESTIONED. . (By Telegraph—Press Association.) Chrlstchurch, May 2. Grain merchants in Christchurch atato that tho cable message from Sydney in regard to the supply and price of oats gives a misleading impression. It quotes a prediction from the "Sydney Morning Herald" that there will be a scarcity ol oats, and high prices,' and also a statement that New Zealand has a shortage of 6,CC0,0C0 bushels. It is explained that production in New Zealand- this year (according to the Agricultural Departments returns) is 5,102,788 bushels loss than last vear but this does not mean that there, is a shortage, and that about 6.GC0.C00 bushels will have to bo imported in order to make up a deficiency. As a matter of fact there is no doubt that the Dominion will be able to meet all its own requirements. Tho cable message states that there is a shortaiso of J.ICO.POO bushels in "Victoria, and it is thought that, as a mistake has been ro-.de 111 .-dsara to Ivcw Zealand, this also is wronjr, and that it refers to a difference bct-vcen the yields for this year and last year, and not to a shortage of quantity for home consumption. GISBORNE OIL COMPANY. (By Tciegrann.—Press Association.! Glsborne, May 2. Further inquiries for boring rights over the Gisborne Oil Company s options have be°n received from Homo by • the director's. A reply lias been cabled, referring inquirers to Mr. Clarlt, a member of the directorate, who is now eu • route to England. AUCKLAND EXPORTS: A SHRINKAGE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) Auckland, May 2. Auckland's exports for the month of Anril amounted to £55,504 —about £4CCO lc6S than in Anril last year. The gold export waa £104,793. against £77.956. In the previous April there was an all-round advance generally, produced by the increases in butter and chceso. HIGH COMMISSIONER'S CABLE. The Commerce Division of tho Department of Agriculture lias received the following cablegram from the llitrli Commissioner, London, dated April 30: Mutton.—The market is weak and in- : active. Average Dnccs: Canterbury 33d., ! North-Island 33d. per lb. Lamb.—The market is steady, but with- : out animation. Average prices: Cantcr--1 bury sfd., other New. Zealand 4J<l. per-lb. i Beef.—The market is -Arm. There lis a i irbod local demand, and supplies arc mod- ■ eratc Average prices: New Zealand hindi quarters lid., forccmartcrs 33d per lb. • Butter. —The market ;« dull and un- . settled; buyers arc holding back. Average . " nr : CC q. New Zealand choicest 110s.. Danish ; 1165., 'Siberian 108s.. Australian and Arf E Che"?c-The"market is dull, and there is I.SI demand. Average prices: New Zear ind finest white 605., coloured 595. per cwt. kSiup -The market is quiot, but steady. [ Is flrmar- 011

Ze.ila.nd good fair X 24 10s., fair £23 -10s.jManila, lair current £25. Forward shipment: Good fair £24 105.,. fair £23 10s.; Manila, £24 10s. The output at Manila for the week was 34.0C0 bales. Cocksfoot s«ed: The market is dull; buyers arc not keen to do business. NewZealand bright clean 1711). seed, 645. per