Finance Stocks And Mining.

Free Lance, Volume V, Issue 247, 25 March 1905, Page 5

Finance Stocks And Mining.

THE easiness m the London money maiket continues, and thei c is ereiy indication of a further leduction in' the bank rate if that etent hais not already been lecorded. The bank ieser\e is veiy large, and it is .obv oa* that money is in plentiful supply The freedom with which the revenue is coming in, and the certainty of a huge surplus, are factors to cau-e a leeLng of opt.mism. Furthetmoie, theie * considerable business activity, and the British export trade is steadily expanding. Money must become cheaper in the colonies" perhaps not immediately, because it takes time for London conditions to be leflected, but that money will be cheap is certain. Tins desnable ->tate of affairs would be greatly expedited if the post office savings bank dewfc.it rates were reduced to the level xulmg pno to December last. Ine private banks cannot well take the initiative in this unle-s they dcs-re to lose some of then- deports, but even they may be forced into act o 1 if there is any pressure of supplies. Cheap nionw has a marvellous fertilising effect, and, so far a-> New Zealand is concerned, another peuod of cheap money would be very benefic.al indeed. The development of the country will necessitate the expendituie of vast sums of money and if this ea 1 be had cheaply the burden of the taxpayer i«. less heavy. It u» not alone foi the State that cheap money is desirable but for the general welfare of the whole community. There aie many industries that depend entirely upo 1 an ear»v money market, and the«e will be developed, land value*— which have shown a d room us; tendency— will revive and move upward* and the whole fabric of prosperity will be ma ntained. » -r * Considering all the circumstances the puces of our produce in London ac keeping up rather well. Even wool which dropped back at the opening of the sales, is now reported very nim, although, perhaps, there is no actua] reooveiy in value. Frozen meat is leallsing firm prices, and butter is selling exceptionally well owing to the shoitaige in supplies. Cheese also is strong. wTth an upward tendency. Hemn is holding its value and cereals aie also standing well. Here is the basis of continued prosperity, and '-o lons a* oui pioduce in realising such excellent prices the economic conditions in this cdony mUistiemain good. + * During the half-year ended October last the Bank of Australasia made a profit of £140,065, and the available balance for the period was £156,950. fiom which a 12 per cent, dividend, a.bsoibing £96,000, has been declaied, and £30,000 added to the reserve fund. The interesting feature of the bank\ accounts is the excellent increase that has taken place in the profits. In 1899, the net profits weie £119,870. and in 1902 they were as high as £152,082. The Bank of Au&ti alasia is a lepresentative institution, having branches and agencies throughout the colonies In the past twelve and a-half yeais it is shown that the bank profits totalled £2 304,651. In the five years to Apnl 1897 the profits were £504,354 . m the following five years to April 1902, they aggregated £1,048,906, and in the -ucceedmfl- two and a-ha!f years, to October 1904, the total was £751,391. Of the aggregate of £2 304,651 the shareholders received in dividends £1 624,000 and the additions to ro-eives amounted to £680,651 The British and Foreign Marine Insurance Company, in the forts- second annual lepoit, shows that for last %ear the profit and loss account was at ciedit £199 885. out of which £50 000 was added to the reserve fund, and a dividend of 16s per share, or 20 pei cent , paid to shareholders, leaving £92 589 to be carried forward. Messrs. Murra\ , Roberts, and Co. are the local agents for this prosperous British office The only recent dividend announcement is that of the Manawatu Railway Company, the directors of which have iust declared a 4 per cent, dividend foi the half-year, making 7 per cent, for the year. Amongst the gold dredging companies, the Masterton Gold Dredging Company has declared a fifth dividend of 2s per share, and the Golden Treasure Company 7s per share.

Theie is. ceitamly more activity m the shaiemarket, and the numerous buying 01 del s are keeping the biokeis busy hunting up bellero. In bank shaies there is a call for Nationals at £o Is and toi New Zealands at £o 13s bd\ with, no declaied sellers. The demand for shares of financial companies t> also very pionounced and there are bid, of £9 2s bd for Equitable Building, £11 for Masterfcon Building, til Ijs> for Metropolitan Building £2 10s tor NationaJ Moiteraige, and! 26s for New Zealand and R ver Plate shares. Unfoitunately for business, holden s slioiv no eao-erne-s to accept current i ates. In gas shares the demand is confined to Feildmg Gas at 235, and Palmerston North Gas at £4 15<=. Insurance shares ate still neglected but there are bids of 20s 3d for Nationals and 1.5s 9d ex dividend fo: Standard Insurance shares. ■+ ■+ — Meat shaies are looking up but there is no business to leoord. Christchurch Meat shares are ua'ited at £10 2s Od 1 , but sellers are asking 7s 6d more. Gears are in demand 1 at £6 17s 6d and £1 18s (id fo 1 the lespective issues. Wellington Meat Export shares, 52s 6d paid up command £3 3*i. New Zealand Refrigerating shares are neglected at 20s. » • » Manawabu Rails aie very firm at 32s 6d but holder^ are not to be tempted with the offer. Union Steam are in good demand at £13 15s, but New Zealand Sh pping shares a,re neglected, with sellers at £G 2s 6d. There are buyei-s of Wellington Steam Ferry shares at 70s for the £1 paid-up shaies Woollen shares are very q.uiet, and Wellington Woollens have dropped 1 to sellers £4 15s. • » • Coal shares are firm, Westports being in demand at £6 4s, and l Taupm at 18s 6dl. There a.re buyers of Donaghy Rope and Twine shares at £12 15s, Leyland and OBrien Timbei at £1 19s 9d Maunceville Lime at £1 5s 9d, and New Zealand Druers at 475. New Zealand Candle shares are offered at £10. ♦ * * The dredging returns foy the week are '-mailer but nevertheless sati=fac-

toiy, and the steady payment of dividends is likely to have a good effect. The gold output of this colony for the fiist two months of the year aggregated 8"), 429 fine ounces, as compared with 73,449 ounces for the corresponding period of last year. In the Commonwealth the total for the two months was 077,8900z, as against 611 788oz. showing a decrease of 33,8930z. Taking m the New Zealand figures, however, the shrinkage is only 21,9130z. It is hardly likely that Australasia will hold the premiei position as a gold producer this yeqr.