COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 83, 8 April 1914, Page 4

COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL

Evening Post. Wednesday. From Australia, it is learned thab suppließ of money have beon fairly plentiful !of late in the Commonwealth. The good season, considered as a_ wholo and over all the States, has furnished ii largo vol1 Uine of production. It is the feeling, however, among those connected with finance in Australia that with autumn and winter demands additional supplies of money will bo made available for employment. In Melbourne' it .is felt that tho l'ecoal borrowings of public bodies in tho local market will have absorbed a large amount of capital. The Argus remarks upon thn increase of taxation, and especially iv New South Wales. This authority states: "Whon not only existing taxation, which can be calculated, but also the possibility of now taxation in the future, which is .) matter of uncprtainty. has to bo to.ken into account, the result, is noi altogru+hor encouraging to enterprise. From tho point of view of lenders, also, the effect of land taxe« on tho value of land offered as security requires 10 bo considered, +he ta< forming v deduction from profit* in good seasons ; while Ja r. may make :i substantial different i> in unfavourable seasons. Since the announcement of the land taxation proposals of the Government of New South Wales there- has been less willingness to lend freely in that State on properties likely to bo affected " The Queensland loan just subscribed for fourfold in London, fared much better than tho reconfc Tasm'anian issue. Of the latter some 81 per cent, was left on j Ue underwriters' hands. Mr. Donhain, ihe Premier of Queensland, is at present in London, in ' connection, with the loan. This State, the sixth of the Australian States to go into London for more money this year, has to provide for further railway construction, and in addition to pro\idc for various 4 per cent, loans totalling oleven millions, falling _ duo in July next year, these loans having been ibsu'ed between 1874 and 1884. A company called the Industrial Finance Corporation is being formed with a capital of 6,000,000 dollars (£1,200,000), it is stated to establish "banks" throughout the United States, which will lend small sums on reasonable terms to all worthy applicants, especially wage earners and others of humble means. The object of the corporation is. it! is declared, to fight "loan sharks. One of the- Astors and several well-known philanthropic Jews are behind the movement. TOBACCO TRADE.—AS a result "of enquiries into the operations of 'Anglo-Ameri-can tobacco interests in Germany, Chancellor yon Bethmann-Holbreg has already provided full and free investigation into the foreign tobacoo business generally. Proceedings connected with the outcry against trust methods have been taken to seize the books and search the premises of jome thirty firms in and Bavaria, under the following clause in the penal codn : —-"Participation in an association, the existence, aims, or constitution of which is to be kept secret from the Government, or in which obedience to unknown superiors or unconditional obedience to - known superiors is promised, is punishable with imprisonment up to six months for members and from one month to one year for organisers and officials. Participation m an association which aims oi* attempts to interfere with or impair by ltigal meants the administration or execution of tho law. is punishable with tho imprisonment for menjbers up to one year, and for organisers and officials of from three montlis to two years." It is predicted that the Imperial Government may seek to establish a cigarette monopoly. The Times, in criticising the balancesheet of the ' Imperial Tobacco Company, states that "the financial results for the year ended 31st October surpass all that have gone before. The net profits (£3,353,912) are larger, the bonus on 'B' deferred shares is larger, and the customers' bonus, so far as we can. judge from the amount carried forward, will also bo larger." The directors put £1,000,000 to reserve (£250,000 more than for 1912), bringing the reserve fund up to 4i millions. When all this was done Mid tho preference and "A" dividends are paid, tlioro still remains £1,341,210 to divide among B shareholders and customers. B shareholders received 15 per cent, dividend and 20 per cent, bonus, ajnd customers £103,326 cub up among them, and a prospective slice out -of £263,835. Tho net profits have grown from £2,491,798 in 1910 to £3,514,993 in 1913. -The Times further points out that "go far as tho .United Kingdom is concerned, there seems to be no limit to tho expansion of the tobacoo trade. Year after year tho Imperial Company's profits go on increasing." It is further stated that although the American tobacco crop for the pa«t season 'was below that of 1911 or 1912, and prices in the open mairkefc consequently had a higher tendency, that was not likely ti> have affected the great, organisations which "own 'or control plantations in the oouthern States and are able to regulate tu'ires rather than bo regulated by thoti. DAIRY. PRODUCE.— SaIes of Taranaki "choicest" butter for the local trado are reported at ll£d per pound, guar.iati>ed without recourse, but factories ar<j (nominally) not prepared to quit 31|d to 12d. The London market is ruch fib fco give no justification for this high jiotioa of values, howovpr, for, taking Tooley-street quotations as a guide, tho pries of buttor_ at tho factories, should bo lower. Private cable advic'-s from London, on Monday gave 104s for waited, and 114s to 116s for choicest unsalted. For choicest, lines factories demand 12d.' Vancouver market is quiet, and San Francisco is reported as quite out of i*. South Africa's demand has been cheeked 'by fine fai/is in. tho various butter-producing par's of the Union. This fact led to the cartielting this week of a fairly largo <>re!e ifor Africa- secured by a Wcllim»tcu porting house. The f'heesa market con iinuee weak. There ii every probability that Taranaki factories with dual plants will this winter devot<> moco attention to cheese, to miiko whit-h is lelativoTV of better value than, butter in. v..".'. <■>' the low butter prices. DAIRY EXPORTS.— J. B. MacEwan and Co. have compiled some useful statistics relative to tho season's dairy p'roduee exports. To 31st March last butter shipments, compared with l»sfc reason, are as follow i — 31st Mar. 31 8 t Mar. 1915 1914.. Ton" Tons Vancouver 2,511 2,773 San Francisco . . -- 847 United Kingdom ar>d America . . 16,622 18.513 The butter exports from Australia (to 19th March) were 22,967 tons, as compared with 22,871 tons for t,ho corresponding portion of tho season last year. Now Zealand cheese exports to the United Kingdom and elsewhere compare as follow : — 31st March Tons. 1913 . • ... 23,258 1914 •. 25,711 Cheese, stocks in the United Kingdom and afloat and in Canada on Ist February were as follow ;— ■

WOOL.— From Continental wool-manu-facturing centres reports by mail are to hand of Continued improved or expanding demand. Yorkshire buyers have been drawing upon Germany and Belgium for raw material. In Austria there lias been a. decided improvement in trade, which has directly benefited Germany and indirectly the rest, of the Continent. In Yorkshire, much machinery that was idle of lute has now been put again into commission, and all reports of the wool market generally were favourable, which Wai endorsed by the sfiles held hero at about the time the mails left. Dalgoty's tables of exports and sales of wool for the season to 31st March show that during the nine months of the season 441,024 bales were shipped, as compared with 442.871 bales for the corresponding period 1912-13. Wellington was the biggest exporter, leading with 112,305 bales, and Napier next with 71,383 bales. The "uantitx offered and sold in New; Ze_«

land during March whs 14,891 bales offered and 14,394 sold. For the season, from Ist July to 31sfc March, the offerings and sales were as follow : —

274,013 254,401 285,779 272,147 WOOL PRODUCTION.-It will surprise many readers to learn (state Goldstrough. Mort, and Co.) that somo thirty millions of sheep aro depastured in the United Kingdom, the numbers varying iv only, a small degree in the lust eighteen yeara. In llio last three years, however, a shrinkage has been noticeable, the figures ill 1914 reaching 27,000,000 only, and tho production being given as 125,000,000 'pounds, as against an average of 135,000,000 pounds for the period named. In 1874 the production was 167.000,000 pounds, so that it would appear that, as in other products. Britain is dependent more than ever on importod wool. "We quote. British figures from the leading Yorkshire authority. South Africa, from the point of view of quality, is really Australia's only serious rival, and she cannot be disregarded. In tho last thirteen years shs has quadrupled her production, and tho increase has been attended by a marked improvement in quality. .I'he graziers there have been working l with_ judgment, und have been fortunate in being able to buy largely from the best studs in Australia, at prices much below those paid in the past by our own flockrnasters. While not begrudging breeders the financial ivsults attained, the large exportations mads to South Africa may eventually provo anything but profitable to this country. The development of the mutton sheep ia likely to have a prejudicial effect on our flocks, and it thereforo behoves _ 9111* Merino flockmustors to pay unremitting attention to breeding and careful handling of the wool produced, so as to p,efc the best results. That _ South Africa is determined to progress is shown in tho fact of her securing Australian experts to instruct growers in the,' best naethods of broeding, and the get-up and classing of wool for market.' ' SKIN AND HIDE SALES.— At the Jocal skin and hide sales held during tho week, &kins were in good '"demand at last "sale rates, and in eomo cases 3d per pound ad vance _vr as reported^ Cowhides 1 showed a considerable 4 rise in price of J from |d to Id per pouncl^ Cajfskins, for superior lines, Bold up to fi3_,d[ and good lin.ee up to 12d. FROZEN MEAT MARKETS. — Sir Montagu Nelsoh, _ speaking at Nelson Brothers' meeting in London with regard to the frozen meat trad© generally, faaicl the amount of frozen meat that cams from, the outlying portions of the British Empire and from other countries had not vajied very t much during the last few yeara. Haying Imperialistic tendencies, Ue felt considerably interested to tee what percentage of. meat they' were getting from the Empire and what percentage from foreign countries. Of frozen meat imported into this country the British Empire Jaet year produced 29 per cent, and other countries (mainly the Argentine) 71 per cent. With regard tc tl>«* general trode o^ tho world ix> nieat, tber* were now certain factors which did net exist come years ago, and they were becoming very important. He had often said that 'th« meat trado was a very speculative trade, but he thought that tho condition of things now would probably make it less speculative. It was a rery satisfactory business to conduct when the domand slightly exceeded the supply. For many. years in the past they had had it the other way, and the supply had exceeded the demand ; but ©RVcral important changes were taking place. For instance, the. United States, which for years exported large quantities of meat to thin country and elsewhere, had now oeaeed to export at all, and had become an importing country. There were now sonic- ] thing like 95,000,000 people in the United States, and he was told that T there were fewer cattle there now tha"n there were n few years ago. It was reasonable to suppose that not only the United States, but the Continental countries of Europe, where meat was exceedingly dear, and where the agrarian interest had hitherto been much btronger than the urban interest, and had ,put a high duty on meat, would begin to ilnport frozen meat. There had been a great deal of discussion i.n the last year or 4 two about Germany, Franco, and Italy importing frozen, meat, and, strange to say, so far as European countries were concerned, Italy had set tho example of importing it. When they opened their doors to frozen meat^from Australasia generally, no doubt the demand would be very considerable. Labour disputes had considerably hampered business in New Zealand. The Government acted promptly, • and tho pastoral population sent their men down to the coast. When it was found that they could unload the ships as well as anyone eke the strike collapsed. *j TALLOW. — Exports for ' the nine months ended 31st March last amounted to 14,251 tons, as compared with 12,607 t°« DMD M' fop ihe corr « e l?o«<linK period of 1913 Wellington's contribution was 4504 tons and Timaru, Christchurch, Napier, Gis,borne, and Auckland were all oxer 1000 tons each. HEMP.— Tho market ■ position is unchanged. London is a very poor en-qut-er, and offers from this 'end fail to attnirt business. It is estimated that the Iwo recent Wellington flaxmill fires will mean a. diminished production between 'hem of 250 tons between May and ]>- comber. Prices lo millers are approximately as follow.-— Good fair, £21 5e per ton; high point fair, £19 10s; low point fair, £18 10s. Tow— No 1, £8 per ton; No. 2, £6 ss ; No. 3, £5 ss. TINPLATES.— An association has been formed by South Wales tinplate maker* with the primary object of regulating the trado so as to ensure a better distribution among the various' firms. The scheire is to pome jnto operation at once. TEA. — Private cable advices received from Colombo as to the sales this week show that all lea-f teas had advanced 1 cent per pound. Choice unchanged. Broken orango pekoes 'wero up 2 cents to ♦ cent*. The cluantity offered" amounted to 1,750,0001b, which'^isrslightly above that usually offering 1 . Quality 'was described as showing a (slight, falling off. GROCERIES.-Indian .coffee for this market has declined 30s per foa for shipment by the next Calcutta steamer. Desiiv cated coconut is down £1 per ton. Hongkong cables a decline in the price of preserved ginger of id per pound. Peanuts have advanced 5s per ton. Indian lentils haive slightly advanced. STANDARD OlL.— The Berlin corre*. pondent of the Daily Mail says he has reason to believe that Germany and tho United States am on tho brink of diplomatic difficulties in regard to the impending "confiscation" of the German properties of the Standard Oil Company. The committee of the Reichstag, as a* 26th February, was now discussing the Government's _ project ■to create a State monopoly in illuminating oil. which will immediately drive the Standard out of one of ite profitable branches. The correspondent Bays that as eqon as this monopoly is created the Standard Oil's German corporation _ will be compelled to sell its vast distributing systoin at a 'price which will practically bo fixed"* by the Government buyer. The correspondent further states 'that he unders'.ands the United .States'regards this proposed ' procedure as tantamount to confiscation and illicit interference with Hie tracing right* of Americans in tho German market.

iondon w 120,000 88,000 averpooi «/* 39,000 44,000 Iristol -AS. 47,000 • 78,000 .float .., *•<«* 7,449 7,109 'anatla ' „-» 18,000 93,818 231,449 310,927 f«w Zealand 20,200 28,000 251,649 338,927 47,000 24,800 52,000 14,000 19,764 157,564 25,400 182,964

1B1«. Sales. Offered. Sold. Invercurgill „ 17,004 17,070 Dunedin .. 40,233 44,229 Timaru .. .. 27,204 25,90fl Christclnirch .. 66,993 53.31P Wellington .. 55,594 49,720 Napier .. «. 4U,!)82 4(5,843 Gisbome ». — — Auckland . 20,943 t",75u IVIO. Onered. Sold. 18,137 16.456 48,920 46,422 25.12U 24,020 04,30j 52,491 65,724 61,042 52,650 61,311 432 428 20,573 19,941