COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL Evening Post, Wednesday.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 71, 25 March 1914, Page 4

COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL Evening Post, Wednesday.

The stock and share market has been particularly quiet during tho month, an evidence of the local lightness of money until the 31st of the month. After this there should be soitie improvement in the investment marker, and a pobsible appreciation of values of some of the favourite stocks. Possibly the banks may, &ay about tho beginning or middle of noxt month, show a disposition to extend to provide further accommodation at slightly lower than ruling rates, and in directions that were rather feeling the need of a little more money than has been available of late. There are reports, which seem to haw some foundation in fact, that a general revision of steamboat passenger fares on the coast and in the Australasian trade is about to be madtj. The change, if any, it is understood, will not be made in the direction of an all-round reduction. Railway goods freights are also under revision, and in some directions increases are highly probable. With regard to ocean freights generally, Tho Times point* out that "tha present depression in freights was foreseen as far back as August of last year, and by November it had become serious. It has been most severely 'felt in the long voyage cfbean trades, of which the River Plate trade is an outstanding example. There for some -time outward voyages had been unprofitable, but there was still some profit to be made on homeward \oyages. Now homeward cargoes aro few, and owners have had no option but to lay up. The difficulty has been that large steamor6 that are 12 or 15 years old cannot be worked profitably at the present freight rates, though the newest type of steamers can." The competition of foreign and colonial banks in London is beginning to bo felt by English institutions. Sir Edwiwd Holden referred in a recent speech to this invasion. He foresees the probability of American banks opening branches in London, where there are already 120 foreign and colonial banks. The English gold reserve has to < suffice for their operations, it has been pointed out, while most of them exclude British banks from their cities. Sir Edward Holden advocates that these, foreign batiks should be "compelled to show what gold reserves they themselves hold in their English branches as against tho liabilities of those branches. MEAT.— Cables from London show tho "spot" mutton and lamb market to be do cidedly weak. New Zealand lines' havo been neglected to a large' extent by reason ofl the high prices. Sales for AprilMay shipment are, however, reported this week 5Jd c.i.f. for Canterbury lambs and s|d for North Islands. Mutton has also been sold for the same delivery at 4£d c.i.f. for Canterbury and 4d for North Islands. Beef is reported very quiet on account of high prices. The B/itish Consul in Buenos Aires expresses, .the hope that the" United Kingdom will enter into the mfeat industry of Argentina with renewed vigour, and aim at working it on up-to-date lines. The need for such action is strikingly exemplified in the case of La Plata, where the tonnage devoted to the meat trade- is over on tho increase. It is tho hotbed of American activity, already boasting of the largest factory in Argentina. It is here that the Armour Company has just acquired a site for a new factory on which, it is announced, a, building 1 fivo stories high will be erected. Adjoining this sito another large plot of ground has, as far as can be ascertained, been acquired by the Morris Company of Ghioago, while the existing factory (the La, Plata Cold Storage Company), the largest in Argentina, has passed into the hands of the Swiff; Company. In this connection it should be pointed out that James Nelson and Son and the River Plato Fresh Meat Company have recently amalgamated. Their outputs for 1912 were as follow: — Quarters Carcases Beef. Mutton. River Plate-Fresh Meat 608.677 261,166 ?Las Palmae (Nelson's)... 572,020 303,930 Total Argentine output 4,356,254 3,5?4,927 DAIRY PRODUCE.— The cheese mar--1 ket in London is woll maintained, and the i improved ,>}?r,ijjes, ; aifer&niaiftly , dv? tp, tho, falling off in Canadiati supplies. Butter ib decidedly weak, but makers in this country are keeping- values at a high level compared with overseas markets. Vancouver is offering but lid to llgd f.0.b., and London is a rather listless enquirer. For San Francisco thero is little oi' no demand. Figures_ prepared by the San Francisco Chronicle for the year 1913 show that Califorru'an . butter production for that year amounted to 55,542,709 pounds, an increase for the twelve months of 542,709 pounds. Cheese production was 5,600,9221 b for 1913. The Chronicle remarks that the trifling production of cheese i/i this State is not for lack of a home market, for there was received from outsidethe State in San Francisco alone during 1913 more than double the amount of cheese produced in the whole State. But it wqs mostly very different cheese from any that we produce. The Dairy Bureau is using its best efforts to increase our production of cheese.* WOOL.— WooI growers have no reason whatever to complain of prices realised at tho local sales here on Friday, when a general clearing 'up_ was made of all wool to hand, sony^of it inFerior in quality, and most of it back country and late shorn wool. Many of the best known buyers for overseas nouses were present. Crutchings sales are; likely to break the monotony of the winter, and -bid fare to rank of relative importance with the big local sales. The dates fixed for Wellington orutchings sales are 15th May, 12th June. 10th July, and 7£h .August.* It is understood that prominent oversea buying houses will be well represented. Japan, of course, wiH also be well represented as in former years. SKINS 'AND ,HIDES.-There was very' good"CorHpetition at-tho last local. skfn-va-nd hide saJes. Slrins were fully up to thei price4e-vel of the previous sale, and ware quoted firm arid in some cases an advance i of W. per pound w<ig reported. Hides' were in strong request and rates' werei,gd to ad per pound l better than' tho > pretfiouß^ealo. > . ' HEMP.— The London hemp market is* slightly weaker. A -reduction of £1 per torj/on'freights^f&t'shipnMmt'after Ist May is. announced. This may ultimately havetho effect -of rfamuiating production. For tho moment it is. causing millers to hold, their 1 Ivand^. Taking ,theso circumstances' into account approximate t»ricei?»to millor«» were quoted yesterday aa f oUow : — Good fair grade, £21 10a per ton ; high point fair, £19 10s; low point fair £18 MX Tow : No. I,' £7 10s per ton ; No. •¦% £6 5»; No. -3, £5 sb. PRODUCE. — Local retail produce^ price«h.are reported by tho Uiu'tod Farm¦©rs' Co-operative Association, Ltd., to- ¦ ¦ds# as follow :— Wheat,_ whole fowl 'prime*; 4s«6d por bushel'; Maize,' Gisborne 'prime,,, 4e lOtfe; oat«, prim© 6nort feed 2s 74, . prime Algerian-eeed 3s 3d, piime Uarfcon seed 3s 3d, prime Duns seed 3s 3d, prime SparrowbiU soed '3s 3d, prime Excelsior seed 3s 3d, prime Storroking 6eed 3s 3d ; Cape barley seed 3s 6d^ chaff,, prime oa-tensheaf, new season's, £5 per ton: bran, £4 10s; pollard. £7 to £7 ss; bar- I ley meal, £6; flour, Timaru roller, £11; potatoes, table, new, 5s 6d per cwt. ; cocksfoot, farmers' dressed 5d per lb., | machine dreteed 75>d: perennial ryegrass, machine dressed. 301 b seed, 4b lOd por bushel; Italian ryegrass, machine dressed, 301 b seed, 4s lOd ; Western Wolths grahs," 7s 6d ; beans, lioree, ss i peas, Pruirtisin blue seed, 5s 6ct ; Partridge beed peas ss, feed 3s 9d ; cheese, factory, large, 7d per ib. ; cheesp, factory,, loaf, 8cl ; whole linseed, £f5 ; crushed linseed, £17 pet- ton ; linseed oilcuke, £13 ss; Sunlight oilcake, 12s 6d per cwt.