COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1341, 19 January 1912, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. A sale of New Zealand Insurance at £4 12s. 6d. was the only transaction recorded yesterday. Ths buying and selling quotations were as under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ ?. d. Xational Bank 5 12 0 — Bank N.S, Wales 44 15 0 - Equitable Iluilding 10 5 0 — XZ. and Biver Plate ... 2 0 6 — Well. Trust and Loan ... 7 13 6 — Napier Gas (£10) - 24 10 0 Well. Gas (£10) IB 0 0 - Well. Gas (pref.) 0 5 6 - X.Z. Tnsuraucc 4 116 — Meat Export. (525. 6d.) -- 3 fi (1 N.Z. Shipping — 17 0 0 Well. Woollen lord.) — 3 18 li Well. Woollen (pref.) 2 18 n 3 16 Taupiri Coal 110 — Westport Coal 17 0 17 3 C. M. Hanks, Ltd - 10 0 Golden Bay Cement 13 0 Manning ;uid Co — 4 12 0 X.Z. Con. Dental - 12 6 X.Z. Drug :.. 2 9 9 X.Z. Paper Mills 10 3 Kluirland's preference — 14 6 Ward and Co. 1 — 5 10 0 PERMANENT INVESTMENT. The balance-sheet of the Permanent Investment and Loan Association of Canterbury for the year 1911 has been circulated. The profit and loss account shows that the gross profits, including the amount brought forward amounted to £6984 2s. 10d., out of which £1135 17s. 3d. went in cost of management, the dividend on capital shares absorbed £5000, added to reserve fund £500, leaving a-balance of £348 ss. 7d. to bo carried forward. The assets include balances due on mortgage £148,310 12s. lid., interest due and accrued £2919 7s. lid. The deposits held by the Association and accrued interest on same, togeth-jr. amount to £38,681 10s. tOd. The reserve fund now stands at £9500. P. AND 0. COMPANY. Predictions that the prosperous term, which marked the operations of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company in 1910 would continue have been realised in the results shown for the year ended September 30, 1911. Though freight is not popularly regarded as Ihe chief source of the company's revenue, such has proved to be the case of recent years. The amount received on this account for the year ended September 30 last was £1,721,666, and, despite strike experiences, the falling-off compared with the previous year was only £12,582. Fewer cargo voyages were made, and a deficit was recorded in the earnings of the Bombay-China line, which, though once a flourishing concern, has fallen off. Passengers receipts were £1.294,421, or £47,000 ahead of those of the previous year, end the increase was ' spread over the services generally. The touring business is said -to have been larger, owing to an exceptionally fine summer, and, so far as the Australian service was concerned, no doubt the prosperity of the country was reflected. The net surplus for the year, including £67.182 brought forward, was £410,915. Out of this come dividends, including the interim and final distributions on tlie two classes of Shares, equal to 9 per cent, on the paid-up capital for the year, leaving, after increasing the depreciation reserve fund to £559,542. a balance of £67.615 to be carried forward. Working . expenses increased, and competition continued to be keen, but the directors' idea was that shipping prospects appeared to he fairly hopeful. An itenr in the balance-sheet worthy oT attention is "compensation to passengers, Uimilaya, October, 1910, £8975." This was paid on aecount of an outbreak of plague on the vessel on a voyage to India. HIGHER COSTS OF FOOD. Those who seek for the cause of the higher costs of food, particularly of meats, of late years, and who arc not content to accept the general reason of excessive gold production, will find some interest in the statistics of live stock in the United States, as given by the Census Department. The' figures show that the number of cuttle in that country has decreased 9.5 per rent, in the past decade, the number of swine has fallen off by 7.7 per cent., and the-number of sheep and lambs has decreased ,15.7 per cent. This has occurred coincidentally with a gain of 21 per cent, in the number of people in the country. In other words, there are 16,000,000.m0re people in the United States than there were ten years ago, but there are about 21,000,000 fewer meat-producing animals—cattle, sheep,and hogs—than there s were then. It is natural to expect that with a large increase in the number of consumers and an appreciable reduction in the number of food animals, the value of the latter remaining should have advanced. The increase in value of the animals was 59.2 per cent, between 19C0 and 1910. that of rattle being only 0.70 per cent., while swine rose in value by 71.6 per cent., and sheep and lambi- by 35.4 per cent. The most remarkable gain in value has, however, been shown by animals not usually esteemed meat-producing, namely, horses and mules, which have increased 131 and 106 per cent, respectively. The enormous increase in the value of the country's horses in a decade which has seen the rise of the automobile and a wider employment of the trolly car, states "Bradstrest's," is certainly an interesting development, and one which, coupled with the small increase in the number of animals, only 8 per cent., calls for some little explanation and perhaps for some revising of the conclusions regarding "the passing of the horse." AUSTEALIAX ALLIANCE. At a meeting of the directors of the Australian Alliance Assurance Company held on December 22 last at the ooiees of the company, 400 and 402 Collins Street, Melbourne, the. allotment of the issue of ten thousand new shares was made, the whole of the shares, which are for £5 each, paid up to £2 10s. per share at a premium of £5 per share, having been subscribed for. The effect of the new issue will be that the subscribed capital of the company will now be £300,000, of which £150,000 has been paid np. The directors have decided to place the amount of the premium on the now issue, £50.000, to the credit of the reserve fund. The funds of the company will thus be considerably augmented to meet the necessities of its expanding business, and, of course, the policyholders in the life department have the additional security of the increased capital. THE IMPORTS FROM BRITAIN. The following is a return of the principal lines of goods of British manufacture exported to New Zealand during the month of November. 1911; also for the eleven months ended November 30, 1911, with figures for 1910 for purposes of comparison. Compiled from the Board of Trade returns:—

LONDON MARKETS. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company. Limited, have received the following cablegram from their London house, under dale January 17:— Wheat: We have sold an Australian cargo nt 365. 9(1. c.i.f. The market is quiet, but steady, nnd prospects are not likely to improve at present. AUSTRALIAN MARKETS. By Telegraph- Press Associalion-CoDjrlßlil (ne'e. January 18, 11.30 p.m.) Sydney, January 18. Wheat. 3s. 7*d. to 3s. Bd. Flour, country, new, £8 12s. 6d.; old, £8 17s. 6d.; city, £8 15s. 9d. Oals, Algerian, 2s. 10(1. to 3:-.; Giants, 3s. 4d. Barley, Cape, 2s. 10(1. to 3s. 6d.; English malting, 4s. 6(1. to ss. Maize. 4s. to 4s. 4d. Bran, £5. Pollard, £5 10s. Potatoes. £7 to £9 10s. Onions, £15. Butter, selected, 1265.; prime, 114s. to 1225. Cheese, 61(1. to 63d. Bacon, 5Jd. to 7d. Melbourne, January 18. Hides: Large supplies and keen competition. All classes linn. Wheat. 3s. 7|d. Flour, £8 10s. Bran and pollard, £5 10s. Chad', oaten dumped. £4 7s. 6d. to £4 !os.; compressed, £4 12s. 6d.; market firm, supplies fair. Maize, 3s. ICJd. to 3s. ljd. Potatoes, £5 10s. 6d. to £6. Onions, £13 to £13 10s. Adelaide, January 18. Wheat, 3s. 7d. to 3s. 7{d. Flour. £7 10s. to £8 10s. Bran and pollard, Is. lid. Oats, 2s. Bd. LONDON WOOL' SALES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, January 17. At the wool Ealcs bidding was animated. Prices were firm at the opening rates.

Klercn Month months ouded ended Not. 30. Nor. 30. 1910. 1911. 1910. 1911. £ £ f. £ Boer aDd ale... 2,326 2,673 33,078 34,715 Spirits 23,112 28,394 230,601 228,028 Iron and steel and manufactures thereof 78,073 135,202 932,399 1,109,838 Copper, wrought of manufactured 4,414 5.823 31,530 47,419 Cutlery 3,330 4,421 38,096 36,271 Hardware 8,263 14,167 102,393 126,979 Cotton piece eouiIs of all kind- 55,274 61.281 654,908 717,007 Woollen and worsted inanufacinres 34.836 32.039 369.284 461.17; lialiorclas'iery& millinery ... 4,260 4,407 57,021 61,705 Jute manufactures 3.841 2.498 34.669 35,172 Iiiucii jiiocj jrooda of all kinds 9,963 7.946 96.436 103,644 \uniirel 23.778 29.456 467,440 529,622 Hooisond shoes 9,015 17,094 177,885 207,626 Sad'Ueiy and harness 6,980 7,»1 64.175 41.477 Earthenware it class :.... 5.211 15,066 95,971 113,590 VTritiiiRiV. printing nap-jr 11,421 9,723 120.118 139.546 Cement 3.113 3,116 30,453 28.085 Stationery other than pap-'r ... 5,104 6,464 55,058 64,821 Customs duly eollected ftt (lie port of WcMinctou yesterday amounted to £1560 •.li, 1M. J