COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 134, 4 December 1919, Page 14

COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL

T Evening Post, Thursday. n^,vfnt^ bo }*£ to the oWB of the pending General Election that it is exertmg the usual drag upon business. Both wholesale and retail trades are well sustained, and the high prices demanded for all descriptions of goods, taken as a whole, ao not appear to have any restriction on consumption The difficulty, the chief concorn, is to obtain delivery. Money seems • xi as, Plentiful as ever, notwithstanding tho demands made for subscription to \Var Loan, and thero is ample for advanc wg on mortgage. The removal of the restriction on remittances of money beyond tho Dominion for-.other than mercantile purposes is rather too recent, to say whether it has led to the utilisation of capital outside that could bo employed within the Dominion in industrial enterprises It must be admitted that New Zealand investors are rather coy of anything involving tho use of much manual labour, great as is the need for tho expenditure of capital on developmental work in the cities (especially in buildings) and to a large extent in the country The supply, of skilled labour, too, is generally supposed to be quite inadequate for the work required to be done. i

There oan bo no doubt that a considerable amount of money is beinir made by speculation m house properties—and much of this is going on. Apart from a prospective fruitful crop of litigation, it must m time result in present purchasers in many eases who intend to "live" in their houses being saddled with heavy financial responsibilties, for it is conceivable that the present dearth of small houses will be overtaken, at least mitigated, as soon as tho Government and other schemes for providing workers' homes are materialised.

PREMIUM BONDS.-Frequent references are made in the cables to premium bonds in respsct to the British War Loans. The Sydney Daily Telegraph has worked out the scheme as applied to a Commonwealth loan of £10,000,000 in £20 bonds. The scheme could have been applicable just as well to the last New Zealand loan o£ £10,000,000, whioh it will bo remembered was not fully subscribed at the time o£ closing. In tho case of the Commonwealth the word "Dominion" may bo substituted in the Telegraph's calculations:— The Commonwealth at the present timo pay 5 per cent, interest and provide £ per cent, sinking fund in addition, together absorbing £550,000 a year until redeemed. Were the interest cut down to 3 per cent, it would only absorb £300,000 a year, and £250,000 would remain for redemption purposes. There would be 500,000 bonds of £20 each, and the first year's drawings for redemption might ,bo arranged as under:— 2 Bonds at £5,000 each £10,000 50 Bonds at £1,000 each ... £50,000 100 Bonds at £500 each .. £50,000 600 Bonds at £100 each- . .. £60,000 2,000 Bonds at £40 each . £80,000 2,752 Bonds for „.,. . £250,000 Thus all these £20 bonds would be redeemed at a premium, and £55,040 would bo redeemed instead of £50,000. The interest saved on these £55 040 redeemed would bo £1650, which would allow of similar drawings in tho second year, only those redeemed at £40 would be increased to 2082 bonds1; in the third year to 2167 bonds, and 60 on Everyone would win a prize in the long run, and would every year have the chance of drawing a big prize. That would be a premium or lottery loan _Of oqurse, tho bondholders would provide their own premiums on redemption by accepting less interest, but the gambling element would be prominent, and the Government would be somewhat gainers on the transaction if tho cumulative sinking fund all went into further redemptions at £40 per bond.

FROZEN MEAT.-Tho killing season has commenced in the Wellington district. The sheep are coming into the works in much lighter weights than this time last year, due in largo measure to the generally poor quality of autumn feed, especially in tho Hawkes Bay and some parts of tho Wairarapa districts. The meat in store awaiting shipment is heavy, and as the Imperial Government is now not taking telescoped carcases the pressure upon the storage space is likely to be heavier by some 25 per cent, than was anticipated. The question of the continuance of the requisition of .frozen meat beyond 30th June, 1920,^ is now exercising the minds of pastoralists and others [ concerned, and somothing should be put before them in respect to this matter before the end of this month

HEMP.—Demand is exceedingly weak, tho market being lifeless Good fair is quoted as worth approximately £30 per ton; high fair, £28; low, £26, f.o.b. Tow: No. 1, £7 per ton; No. 2, £6 per ton

JUTE GOODS.—The final forecast of the Indian jute crop, issued by the Director of Agriculture, Bengal, placed the production at 8,486,234 bales, against 7,009,060 bales for last year, or an increase of roughly 21£ per cent. Hoare, Miller, and Co. state in their report of 20th September that it is generally felt that this quan tity of jute, taken together with the carryover from last year's crop, will be fully sufficient for this year's world supply The market has been dull, as buyers, both millere and shippers, have been waiting to see the effect of the forecast.

DAIRY PRODUCE.—From accounts to hand from somo. producing districts it, would appear that the season is backward ■fully a month to six weeks. The output of butter and cheese for export by the time the season ends should in these circumstances show a falling off in volume. Allocations of shipping space have been made as follow: — Paparoa—New Plymouth, 26,000 boxes butter; Wellington, 10,000 boxes butter and 11,500 crates cheese. Remuera—Patea, 13.000 crates cheese Ayrshire—Wellington, 7300 crates cheese, Wanganui, 1000 crates cheese lonic—New Plymouth, 14,000 crates cheese; Wellington, 8000 crates cheese. Raranga— Patea, 22,000 crates cheese; Wellington, 3500 crates cheese. English Margarine Works (1919), Limited, issued 500,000 seven per cent, cumulative preference participating shares of £1 each at par, the list closing 24th September. Members of the Lovell and Christmas firm head the directorate. The company has been formed in particular to acquire the business and assets of the English Margarine Works, Ltd., the well-known margarine manufacturers, of Broad Green, Liverpool. The vendor company has for some years' past been earied on and. managed as a branch of Lovell and Christmas, Ltd., andall the shares in the vendor company are held by the directors or nominees of Lovell and Christmas, Ltd. The share capital 19 750,000 ordinary £1 shares and 750,000 £1 preference shares; total, £1,500,000. The company is described in the prospectus as in negotiation for the purchase of the United Creameries, Ltd., of Dunragit, Wigtonsliire, Scotland. The margarine output of the company is 1000 tons a week.

GROCERIES. Private cable advices from Singapore show, a slight riso in the price of tapiocas. Poppers have aleo advanced. Prices of new season's Australian canned fruits havo been named. They arcs slightly under those of Californiau origin, but at a very high level. Chinees preserved ginger is now at an extreme price. Dried fruits from Australia are expected, including higher grade lines upon which an export embargo was imposed^ The sale of all canned fruits shows 6igns °t restriction of demand, consequent on the high prices asked. Cross Keys sardines have returned to this market, together with Van HouterA cocoa,, after

having been absent for 6om© years, due to the war. Rico is extremely difficult to obtain for December-January shipment. American rico has been offered at £62 10s per ton (2000 pounds), c.i.f. Auckland. The difficulties which have confronted manufacturers of rice starch, owing to the paucity of stocks of rice in Australia, have become more and moro accentuated as holdings have been absorbed. The position now is that some manufacturers have found it necessary to cease ov limit operations, and as shipments from the East are not expected until April, little relief in this respect can be looked for until that time. Incidentally, makers of inaizo starch have been and arc confronted with tho high cost of maize. In ordinary course South African maize might have been procurable at fairly reasonable rates. but unfavourable weather conditions in the Union have reduced tho production somewhat materially. Whon tho English mail left, an offer by Lord Leve-rhulme to purchase Price's Patent Candle Co. by paying £40 in. cash for tho £16 shares, also 32 15 per cent. A cumulative preferonce shares in Lever Bros., Ltd., was under consideration.

TEA.—The sale of tea at Colombo this week is 1| millions. The Waitomo is the next direct steamer to New Zealand, leaving this month. In both tho Colombo and Calcutta tea markets common grades show a slightly easief. tendency in price; but better grades were firm, with prices unchanged. Independently of this position the exchange has advanced to the equivalent of about 2d per pound all round on teas, the result being that tho teas are actually dearer to that extent Exchange is at a standstill for ths time being1, the banks declining to buy bills.