COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 111, 12 May 1909, Page 4

COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL.

"*'*_.' . Evoning Post, Wednesday." Evidences hay^no* been wanting during the past week: of >a better.-to'ne^in. tie local , money market. This ia the nataral out- , come of the flight but certain improve- | menV'tfiit' has' taken placo in trade gene- i rally' and the* firm condition of tb© wool I sna "wheat market?. The winter may be fairly hard, but not • so hard as appeared to be likely at. tho- beginning of tfeo year. Seyeral legal firms which had no money available' for mortgages a few weeks bade are seeking investment on the very best ■cf security. > Money, for such propositions j ib &jr jjgr cent to 6 per cent., I snap it -is not at all -difficult to get reason- , ablJ^ moderate- .amounts on real t estate ut the latter rate of interest. If th'o country j generally,.. apdj Wesflgton. jn particular, I has not turned, the. "corner, it, is apparently closer ;np -to \t,j T.he^ butter and oheesewarkets are. hardening, but there is room for very, 'substantial improvement in the JSriglish meat market. , Wha.t. lute . cauded the depression in Smithfield? Some profess to connect the 'extremely; low . price of mutton, and lamb..with,the steady •maintenance of cheese values. A little reflection, .w^ll, however, show, that .this >is im■probablo. lt-_is held that the public are spsndiag" on,, cheese" money that would h-^ve been expended on meat. This does xio^ .follow. .4 "T&Bv. -meat" would necessarily h&Jptelewed' fe.?2 u W *£ obtained. It as at^ofwjafpncflVas eyporlers ; ,Jaiow. to itheit^cp4t,; N but"tKJde ,depregsion is stijl so acut* .at> Home 'that! ho the food never so cheap ,-^he , p^qblio .simply ha^e. not tho anoney-'to- purchase it. The poor have ibeen sufficiently v weH "educated to make a pound o| 'meat' go farther oked out with cheap vegotaWqa than a pound of cheese. Thjs is. unimportant faetot 'in' the meat position, but it need not be neglected" on ihat "account. 3?oj FebTuiry,' 1909^ 'the' unemployed uniomsts, % to Bay' nothing '"of non-union workers, 'were 58,670, men ot 416 British trades units',or 8.4-' per' cent. Fbr'the same month' of 3908- tb^- percentage was 6 J>er cent.. The position is improving, as the following Bc^tf pf. Trade per egntages of unemployed unionists will show: —

Tho improved., staj'e °f '& & wool market ft. shows ,that brighter times are ahead, a* should, be. f pllofwed. by a better, state the' meat market, which, tvith hemp, forms the dark' spot upon Jfew Zealand's' ■position in British markets. In Manchester, however, at the opening of April, there were nearly 19,000 men, and 1 women workers unemployed, or over 8 per cent. New Zealand, then, cannot well escape the influences of the circulatory system of (the Empire, be it lethargio, , rapid, or normal, and the fact is represented In tho recently depressed butter market and tho still gloomy outlook'"' ln the meat market. Locally the recent excitement in the mining shareijiarket "c'traSeoiTient' on developments in tho Hauraki Goldfields is viewed 'with some apprehension lest a boom be created. It is pretty certain that the banks will be ehar"y about countenancing anything thafc would directly or indirectly tiling, .fcais-. -about. Greymouth, Harbour Board" is in a quandary over the comparatively small Toquest for £50,000 for hariboSr T^orks. t Her» th&re is no rating •power, and considerable difficulty is being 1 experienced in. floating the loan. In view of the recent success of the New Plymouth Harbour Board loan and tho not remote flotations. by the, Wanganui and Westport iNSiHfe,- .itf'seoins -jasfiing strange at first sight that Greymouth should experience much difficulty in floating the money required. Financial men iv New Zealand are watching with; the closest attention the development of the British taxation proposals, realising that they may retard the- much-desired and apparently imminent improvement of the business situation in the United Kingdom, which means much to Npw Zealand while London is the only oSfl/let fpr~ our" jmhcrpal exports. WOOL. — The strong position of the ,wool _grower, <ns revealed in the cabled reports of the two May-London sales, has been tho chief topic" "of conversation in business circles during tho_ past week. The rise in prices is recognised ds beneficial not so much upon the ground of tho financial value .from, the fact , that, taken in cdnjimciion with the January and-Jd'aTch-- sj^ke, " the prices have- not, gone_ Back. The advance, if it has not SstaiX;"pfiSiC6m-effair - Kas*"D"een continuous, asid augurs well for the future season. Commenting on the March series, Messrs. Bilme opined ••-ffiia^t. business ■ appears to . ]jj} gradually. Ijebgv^ri^'g^'frojn tbfe depresdi6n of last' year.' - In view of the large of the clip which has now changed hands the trade should have no difficulty rh dealing with the relatively atmall quantities of raw material available for „i^e .remainder, of the peaaon al current rates,£ *HhojUKh*in the, .present cgjcuinsta-ng^^'^e^ifadus,^ a^ appreciable adyriiice in values 6eem» somewhat uKlikely in the near future. The advance H^s, however, taken place, as the cables i-t ' *!MEAT.— The -cloud still hangs over tho rb£at market, in London being pai?tfpularly difficult, to movo. the stores beJjlg filled their fullest capacity," and with large consignments afloat. The IJftrth Island season is drawing to a close. _ Taere has been ' a 'slight 'rise in the prices e^'fat lambs, 1 ,-eweg,- and;, wethers, which itliin some sort attributed to the healthy sjWte of the skirt ifisirkeT;, .effrd 1 thb seasonable increaeei of £he. -of -the, wool. -TALLOW— Writing, on 26th March, ftfim London, with reference to the futilre of the tallow market, tho New Zealand Loan and -Mercantile Agency Company hardly anticipated that prices would materially give way for conic whilo aju) least At the same time it was poinU edj out that very heavy supplies were anticipated, and as an earnest of this the- shipments for February were cabled a^'s4oo $h%atfalbt 310 ft tons%S|9oß, % faji aiuwunfr of -Husinesa,- had baen dontt IpJ Australasia for ariTvaT, hhr'a > r'd !7 muttoh being in request up to 31s 6d per cwt., c'ilf., while other sorts cold at about thelerel of spot values. ' '^UTTfoRi—ThQ-tide seems to have turned in the London butter market. The I-Mgh Commissioner's cable quotes 101s. ff»rgrriin':A-pril:tne iprico:iuled.. at. 985,w^fcltuDaniali l ai;rJ.o9s> -Jtt> improved* in.*he. niicldle' of the month fo~Toos, with its Scandinavian, c<jaipet^to;r at 10§s. At^lOOs ife^tpiriained_-'untjL the)et'd of last week. Spine merchants here anticipate a further rise on account of reports from Australia of New Zealand butter' "being -wanted there at 112s for, it is believed, Africa and the East. With regard to the former market it is'- rather difficult to get precise ' figures as "so much butter (in pats) goes to Sydney, where it is distributed up through Torres Straits and to Capetown and Durban. South African requirements -arc estimated "to ' bo 200,000 to 240,000 boxes, of which New Zealand contributes 40,000 to 50,000 boxes, Australia 100,000 boxes, and Argentine the rest. ityewj Zealand's .position in tlie trade, it is" understood; is duo to' the superior quality of . the article. ,l)his is ob'vibus when" tho huge advantage over this country enjoyed by Australia- -andj-^j- Argentine-- - in. -'the- ' matter" "oT freights is considered — in the case of the former a freight of 2s per box as against 4a. 4d from New Zealand to Capetown: or Durban. It is believed that anofher! rise ; on the' ll£d wholesale rate fixed , lftst •Week f o* ' 'Wellington vi 3 not improbable, : as a^ shortage -of local Btocks is predicted., CHEESE.— An improvement In the London cheese market -of 62s u ioi-' White and 64s for coloured, makfet. • The course of the market for the-ip'tist. few weeks : may bo judged from the following quotations aqar the p ttS t few weeks, and for the sal>a.of- interest, compared with, rates. for tho- Corresponding period of 1908: — i 908 .' 1909. -. White. Colour. White. Colour.

HEMP.— Thero is still dullness in the hemp market, notwithstanding the re-. 1

duced output for April as shown by the i comprehensive report of the Chief Fibre Expert. Shippers are not at all sanguine as to the prospects for the future. ' The industry appears to be in a perilous state at i/resent with closed mills and idle ' hands. PRODUCE.— The presonco of blight in 1 the- 1 South I&land is given as the cause of . ,tbe recent hardening of the tuber nnurfcet. Reference -was made in this column last week to this report, when the-if.o.b. quotation was £2 15s _to £3 per ,fon. To-day the sellers' idea is £4 .t0 £4 2s 6d, and even £4 ss. Believing there is likely to be a scarcity growers are holding on for an expected advance. Australia has been drawing up6h>Now Zealand for bran and pollard, andjjiha prices of thesi lines has hardensd'jvin consequence. Oats are firm at{lt£Bd to Is lOd f.o,b. Fowl wheat is -quoted at 4s-., t0 4s Id ir.o.b. ; - maize ' £4, "9s' to £4. 10s per. ton, f.o.b. Gisborn'e.' Flour lomains unchanged.

Harch IS -...• bis 03a tfardiSO" ... 60s 62s 6 ; '- w.--60s ~62s Vpnl 25 ... 61s 62s day 2 ... 60s 6d 61s day 9 vv.,.*,535.- n6osn 60s 60s 64a 60s 64s 61s 63s 61s 6d 63s 60a 6d 62s 6d 62bv (As

Sept. ... Oct. ... Nov. ... Deo. ... Jan. Tab. „, ... 1907. ... 4.1 ... 4.2 ... 4.5 ... b.6 ... 5.8 ... 6.0 1908. 9.3 9.5 8.7 9.1 8.7 8.4