Commerce, Mining, & Finance

Evening Star, Issue 22722, 9 August 1937, Page 6

Commerce, Mining, & Finance

SYDNEY STOCK EXCHANGE Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright

COMPANY NEWS RADII (1*36) LTD. PROF® OF £18,819. 'A net profit of £18,819 is shown in. the accounts of Radio ( 19 3 d) Limited for the year ended June 30. The directors recommend a final dm- ' dend of Is 6d a share, which, with an interim dividend of a similar sum paid on the first half-year’s trading, will make 3s a share for the year. Ihe company’s shares are of a nominal market value of 10s, and at the present market price- the yield is approximately £l2 per cent. The dividend for the first half-year absorbed £6,870, while the final payment on the present paid capital will require £7,620, a total of £14,490. A sum of £567 is appropriated to reserve for leasehold redemption, which will leave a floating balance of £3,762. The report explains that Radio Limited commenced business in 1922, and that, as from July 1, 1936, the assets were taken over by Radio (1936) Limited. Sales for the year just ended, it is stated, show:'an increase over the previous year of 40 per cent. The directors state that fairly regular shipments were made to Australia and also to Fiji, in both of- which markets the demand is increasing. Two small shipments were also mad© to India, with favourable results. No election of directors is necessary, as, the present board holds office until June, 1938. The balance sheet shows issued capital at £50,803 10s, in shares of 10s each. Secured liabilities, comprising a mortgage, appear at _ £5,131, while sundry cerditors and bills payable total £20,340. Reserve for income tax accounts for £11,661, and property redemption reserve £567. Assets total £99,884, including £lO,000 for goodwill. The total.- of fixed assets, comprising mainlv land , and buildings, is £23,138. Floating assets amount to £66,746, including debtors, £13,386; bills receivable, £6,964; stock, £41,473; shares in other companies, £1,000; and cash and bank, £943. SILKtttT DIVIDEND INTERIM OF 6 PER CENT. The directors of Silknit (N.Z.) Limited, have declared an interim dividend for the half-year ended June 30 of 6 per cent., payable on August 16. In the past the company paid its dividends annually, 12i per cent, being distributed for 1936. J. STAPLES AND GO. J. Staples and Co. Ltd., hotel proprietors, advise that an extraordinary general meeting will be held on September 1, when the following resolution will be placed before the meeting:— “ That , the company be wound up voluntarily ‘and that George Samuel Thorpe Harden, of Wellington, public accountant, be appointed liquidator for the purpose of euch winding up.” The announcement is in connection with the sale of Staples’ assets to New Zealand Breweries Ltd. HHWSATES' FMIRESS The provisional directors of Highgates Limited, chain credit stores of Australia, report that allotment of the company is imminent. Already 720 applicants have applied for shares, and the remainder of the shares available are being rapidly taken up. The trading policy of the company and the establishment of the parent distributing unit of the wholesale 1 area of Sydney are . now; . being given consideration. Negotiations for the establishment of the parent store of the company are proceeding, and several additional sites have been submitted. These are being considered by the directors for the establishment of the other retail units. An advisory board of interstate management has been inaugurated with the object of having expert local commercial opinion and advice ’available in each State of the Commonwealth and in the Dominion. Sir Benjamin Fuller has accepted the first appointment to this board. INVESTMENT TRUSTS' SHARES STOCK EXCHANGE LISTINGS The committee of the Stock Exchange of Melbourne has added to the official list the shares of National Reliance Investment Trust Limited, Capel Court Investment Trust (Australia) Ltd., and Jason Investment Trust (Australia) Ltd. The special requirements of the Australian Exchanges for listing investment trusts of the general or management. type include a provision that not more than one member (or employee or nominee) of any sharebroking firm shall bo a member of the board of directors of the investment trust at any one time. To comply with this, Mr Staniforth Ricketson (chairman) has retired from the boards of the National Reliance and Jason Trusts, and Mr George Lormcr has retired from the board of the Capel Court Trust,

THE SEARCH FDR GOLD BLAGKWATER MINES LTD. PRODUCTION REPORT. A total of 3,400 tons of ore were crushed at the Blackwater Mines dur-, ing July, yielding 1,522 fine ounces of gold from all sources, the value of which, taking gold at £6 19s 6d a fine ounce, was £10,617. Working costs were £6,962, leaving a working profit of £3,655. Capital expenditure was £l,OBl and development £525. Development work carried out during the month included:—No. 13 level south drive was advanced 38ft oij reef averaging 16}dwt in value arid 30in in width. No. 12 level winze at 2,950 was sunk 21ft during the month, and for the last 18ft was on reef averaging. 24in in width and 16Jdwt in value. This winze was holed through to the rise from No. 13 level. No. 12 level winze at 1,360 was advanced 20ft, of which 14Mt was on reef averaging 42in in width and Sidwt in value. , North shaft; Sinking was commenced during the month, and was advanced sft. BIG RIVER MINES PRODUCTION REPORT. The manager of the Big River Gold Mines Ltd. reports as follows for the week ended August s:—No. 4 level: Have started driving at end of the north drive, where reef has been cut off by a fault. After driving 6ft into the hanging wall have come on to boulders, and. small seams of stone showing fine gold. Centre stope: In the north end the reef track has split into three seams of stone, averaging about 2ft wide. The face of the stope is 10ft ahead of the previous one. In the south end am still following the hanging wall branch' of stone, which varies from 18in to 3ft wide. South block intermediate: Have started taking out the second stope, with storie showing strong overhead. No. 5 level: Have taken the second stope for 35ft, and am now filling in. The first 12ft averages sft 6in, and the balance Ift 6in wide. Centre stope; Finished second' stope, and am now filling, in. North drive: Have started a crosscut west into footwall to prove width of reef track. A total of 84£ tons of. stone were delivered to the surface bins. GILLESPIE'S BEACH There was no wash-up at the Gillespie’s Beach dredge last week, drie to the illness of the dredgemaster. CANADIAN INDUSTRY RATIO OF OWNERSHIP The Canadian Manufacturers’ Association, as the result of a recent inquiry into the extent and l ownership of Canadian industry, ascertained that; of every .; £IOO invested’ in 'Canadian manufacturing industry £7O' s .represented Canadian capital; JE2O; American capital, and £lO British and other capital. In the last 15 years Canadian interests have acquired control _or ownership of at least 50 manufacturing companies in Canada which had formerly been American-owned. In proportion to Canada’s wealth and population, its direct investment in the United States in factories, mines, and public utilities is larger than American investment in Canada. Excluding banks, brokers, insurance companies, and investment trusts, more than 76 Canadian companies maintain 138 branches and subsidiaries in the United l States. BRITISH DAIRY IMPORTS The Imperial Economic Committee’s statistics show that the United Kingdom’s butter imports for 1936 rose to the record total of 9,750,000 cwt, of which 63 per cent, was from Empire sources—a reduction of 4 per cent, compared with the figure for 1935, due to smaller Australian shipments. New Zealand’s proportion was the highest on record and accounted for 25 per cent, of the total imports. An increase in prices resulted only in a slight decline in consumption, which was estimated at 24.81 b a head, compared with 25.21 b a head in 1935. Cheese imports were the lowest since 1932. New Zealand’s share of the total was 63 per cent. Egg imports were the largest since 1931, but the Empire supplied only 19 per cent., compared with 24 per cent, in 1935. The Empire supplied the highest proportion of the bacon imports, which were a record—24 per cent. PINEAPPLE MARKET Advice received) by New Zealand merchants from the pineapple exporters at Singapore states that prices for forward delivery are very firm. It is now evident (the message states) that it will be impossible for packers to operate on a normal scale next season unless prices advance substantially, and they are therefore holding back stocks as far as possible, and are selling at current prices only when they are forced to, do so owing to shortage of storage space or lack of finance. Recent reports from the United Kingdom indicate that stocks are now moving more quickly, and the impression exists that buyers there will come into the market again for large quantities during the next few weeks. As only about 30 per cent, of the crop now remains to be packed, tho Singapore market would react quickly to any substantial revival of demand. COTTON, RUBBER, ETC. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright LONDON, August 7. Friday’s closing prices were as follow : Cotton: Spot, 6.20 d per lb; September, 6-02 d. Rubber: Para, 9jd. Jute; July-August, £2l 12s 6d. Copra: September-October South Sea, £ls 2s 6d; smoked. £ls 2s 6d; plantation Rabaul. £ls 17s 6d, Linseed oil, £32 ss. Turpentine, 365.

PRICE OF GOLD

DISTURBING EFFECT OF MARKETS URGENT NEED FDR STABILISATION , Within the short space of three months there ‘ have been two gold scares, both of which have played a considerable part in causing serious disturbance to share and commodity markets. Once again "markets have regained- their equilibrium, but in ■ all quarters it is felt that something tangible should be done to ensure that there shall not in the future he any more such shocks to business confidence. Credit and capital are extraordinarily sensitive to rumours. Although it was stated officially by President Roosevelt at the time of the recent gold scares that the United States was not contemplating lowering its present fixed price of gold of 35d0l an ounce, it took some time before the market fully regained confidence, and even now it would be true to say that all fears have not yet been fully allayed. The one way to prevent in the future any more gold scares would be to bring about some agreement, for stabilisation of the price of the metal. At present the onus of maintaining tho gold at a price of 35d0l (or £7) an ounce rests with the United 1 States Treasury. Events of the last six or seven ;years have shown that no country is able to withstand for any length of time a Seriously overvalued currency. Britain fas forced -off the igold'J standard in epteiriber, 1931, by sheer pressure of economic forces, and tho following five years saw nation after nation depreciate its currency in an attempt to revive both its internal and external trade. If the price of gold were deliberately reduced it would be followed by a long train of deflationary consequences, not tho least serious of which would be the psychological effect on the markets. It would undoubtedly cause an immediate fall in commodity and share prices, and would lead to uncertainty and caution in business circles generally, CONSEQUENCES OF DEFLATION. It is exceedingly doubtful if any country would subscribe to a policy of deflation, with all the grave social and political consequences which would inevitably follow in its wake. A large reduction in the price of gold would have a disastrous effect upon the economy of the gold-producing countries, particularly South Africa, and they would suffer similarly if the production of gold were restricted by international agreement, as has been suggested. And yet, although for tho short term the price of gold seems assured, lii'view of the official intimation of President _ Roosevelt, it is true, as the ‘ Financial News ’ recently ob : served, that “ the Americans cannot continue indefinitely to buy up gold far in excess of their credit requirements, no can they be expected to undergo that internal process of inflation which would right the position automatically at the present dollar price.” It is easy to assign a basic cause for the present monetary malaise, but it is not so easy to prescribe a cure. The great maldistribution of gold in the world to-day only three major Powers, Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, have as much gold as they require—is a consequence of the stifling of international trade following the development of intensive and aggressive economic nationalism in post-war years and the great uncertainty in the present Euopean situation. If trad© between the nations were to flow freely many of the world’s economic and monetary troubles would disappear, but, viewing things as they are and not as they might be, there seems little hope at present of appreciably stimulating international trade by any large-scale tearing down of artificial barriers and restrictions. Tho ‘ Financial News ’ stated last month that after the apparent failure of the Empire-American economic “ rapprochement,” and the obvious disillusionment of the French Government after the other countries’ failure to follow M. Blum’s lead toward reduction of trade restrictions, it was now abundantly clear that the initiative to freer international trading relations could now conio_ only through stabilisation. And this, on the short-term view, seems to be regarded as imperative by most authorities. In spite of the assurances given by tho United States it is likely that gold scares such as were experienced recently will recur so long as the price of gold, and with it the price of commodities, depends upon the policy and to some extent the internal politics of that county. A reasonable degree of stabilisation could probably be secured if the British authorities intimated their willingness to buy as much gold as comes on offer at a publicly-announced and reasonably stable price. Such a policy would at least allay present fears and tend somewhat to lessen the flood of metal which continues to flow to the United States. If the two greatest trading nations collaborated in a policy to maintain the price of gold at a fixed level it would be a momentous step toward the re-estahlishment of international trade on a satisfactory basis.

SYDNEY, August 7. £ s. d. Commonwealth Bonds— 31 p.c., 1951 100 15 0 3J p.c., 1948 101 10 0 4 p.c., 1941 ... 102 2 6 4 p;C., 1944 103 0 0 4 p.c., .1947 ... 103 7 6 4 p.c., 1950 104 0 0 4 p.c., 1953 102 It) 0 4 p.c., 1955 ... ... ... 102 12 6 4 p.c., 1957 ... 102 12 6 4 p.c., 1959 103 1 3 4 p.c., 1961 103 10 0 Bank of New South Wales 34 12 6 Bank of New Zealand 2 4 3 Anthony Hordern 0 19 3 Australian Iron and Steel (pref.) 1 7 6 British Tobacco 2 12 0 Broken Hill Proprietary ... 4 5 3 Colonial Sugar 48 2 6 Dunlop Perdriau .... 1 4 li Electrolytic Zinc 3 2 6 Electrolytic Zinc (pref.) ... 3 3 0 Goldsbrough, Mort ... ... 1 16 3 Howard Smith .... 1 1 0