COMMERCIAL.

Evening Star, Issue 13016, 29 July 1908, Page 6

COMMERCIAL.

QUEENSLAND LOAN CHARGES.

Pres3 Association—By Telegraph—Copyright.

BRISBANE, July 28. Tho Acting Premier has been advised that Mr Kidston's negotiations with the Bank of England have residted in a. reduction of tho charges in connection with the management of the Queensland loans to the extent of £2,500 per annum on existing loans, and a similar amount per million on future flotations.

AUSTRALIAN PRODUCE REPORT.

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright.

(Received July 29. at 10.25 a.m.) SYDNEY. July 29.—Wheat, 4s 3d. I'lour, £9 Ss. Oats: Algerian, 3s 7d to or 3d: New Zealand A crrade Gartens, 3s Bd. Barley : Cape. 4s 6d. Maize, 4s 6d. Bran and pollard, £6. Potatoes : Tasmaruans. £5 5s to £5 10s. Onions : Victorian, £lO. Butter : Prime, 136s to 1425. Bacon. 7d to 7JUI.

MELBOURNE, July 29.—Wheat. 4e 3d. Hoar, £9 10s. Oats, 3s 3d. Barley: Good English maltinsr. 5s 2d; feeding, 3s lOd. Maize. 4s 3<l. "Pollard, Is 3d. Potatoes. £4 15s. Onions. £8

ADELAIDE, Jnly 29.—Wheat: Dull; 4s Id. Flour, £8 12s 6d. Bran and pollard, Is 3d.

THE MARKETS.

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright

LONDON, July 28. (Received July 29, at 10.35 a.m.) Copper : Spot, £59 ss; three months. £6O; electrolytic, £6O. Tin: Spot", £136 15s; three months. £137 15s. Lead. £l3 2s 6d. Silver, 24-£ d per oz. (Received July 29. at 12.55 p.m.) f'ross-breds are still weak. Bank shares : Bank of Australasiabuyers £IOO, sellers £102: New South Wales—buyers £4l 10s. sellers £42 10s: Union—buyers £6O, sellers £6l. Other quotations are unchanged, BRITISH TRADE. A Blue Book containing the annual statement of the trade of the United Kingdom rttth foreign countries and British possession:; n\ 1907 shows that the total value of the imports of merolundi.se from foreien covrrries- and British possessions in 190 7 was £645.809.942. as compared with £607.888.500 in the previous vear and £542.600.289 in 1903.' The total* value of the exports of_ produce and manufactures of the Ln'terl Kingdom to foreign countries and British possessions in 1907 wa« £426,035,033, as against £375.575.338 in the previous year, and £290,800.108 in 1903. The total value of the imports and export* in 1907 was thus £1.071.843,025, or £234.443,628 more than in 1903. HUG E STEEL COMBINE. SEVENTY-FIVE MILLIONS CAPITAL INVOLVED. The ' Iron and Steel Trades Journal' is in a position to definitely state that the proposed steel combination has been successfully arranged, and that the leading firms of the country and of Germany. Russia, and the United States axe all allied in this particular combination. This combine, it is- stated, is the most gigantic movement of its kind which has ever been 6et on foot ip>. this- country. Inquiries show that in all probability'producers of Welsh steel plate?, angles, etc., will eventually he found in the combine, but the steel" tinplate industry, which belongs peculiarly Eo Wales, will, according to competent authorities, not be included in the proposed combination. "This new movement," the journal adds, '"will mean an extensive addition to tho works which are concerned with it, and will involve.a capital outlay of several millions sterling. As one firm tells us, the combination will usurp practically the steel trade of the United Kingdom, and at the. same time be in a position to compete with the greatest foreign producing sitcel works. The capital outlay, we understand, will amount to seventy-five millions sterlinsr. and from what we can gather from the correspondence before us it is not at all unlikely that the capital will be increased to the extent of 125 millions sterling. In connection with this combination, we are authoritatively informed that the big steel works in South Wales are not concerned in tho proposed steel combine. The whole idea of this combine is to bring about a workable basis of agreement he° tween the companies who have amalgamated, and it is not at all unlikely that the products of the newly-formed combine will lie placed upon the market at rates much lower than tho* now fluctuating .it the instance of individual manufacturer.-. Hie real object of the combine will be to concentrate the control of the intematiomi export trade. This proposal is strongly urged and supported by the Continental and Uirtcil States syndicates, who are working in harmony with all interested producers iti the United Kingdom." THE LIPTON TEA COMPANY. Sir Thomas Linton, presiding at the meeting oS Lipton, Limited, London, said that at the lust meeting he foreshadowed that at no distant date the business woidd exceed anything liitherto accomplished, and from the turnover point of view the volu.ne of the business done for the past year exceeded by over £1,000,000 anything they lmd previously achieved. They were no;, only maintaining this advance, "hut in the ptiiod which had elapsed since the books were closed they showed an increase of over £250,000 in excess of last year. Since they last met ho had visited Egypt, where they were, doing a very large trade, and also Ceylon, where they had a large amount invested in tea, cocoa, and rubber estates, and he could report most favorably upon the condition of their estates and properties. Tbey had opened wholesale warehouses at Sydney, in Australia, which was previously supplied from Colombo. Owing to the changes in tho Australian tariff they could now ship bulk tea from India and Ceylon, and the blending, packing, etc., was done in Sydney. They had also opened a branch warehouse in Bombay, and established another in Karachi to deal with the trade of Northern India. The financial crisis in the United States at the end; of 1907 interfered very much with their export trade to the .American continents, but he looked to a return to tho old figures and a larger trade in the future. They had had nnmerou3 requests, from shareholders and others to open additional branches in towns where they were not already represented, and tbey had already opened and were arranging io open many, new branches in the principal towns on a scale which would be & aqcLii to the aomjfua-