AUSTRALIAN FINANCES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20427, 2 December 1929, Page 7

AUSTRALIAN FINANCES.

HEAVY DEBT MATURITIjsSy >

COMMONWEALTH AND STATES*

"Government borrowing is going &>' prove <t very serious item, and will have a very marked effect on the Australian financial position within the next _ 12,; months," Messrs. J. B. Were and Son, of Melbourne, ;remark in a reeertt bulifttin. '"As soon, as ihe present £10,000,000 Coin mo 11 weal th loan is out of the way,; several of the' largest public bodies in Australia will be coming on the market, either privately or publicly, for loans, aggregating ovtir £5,000,000 at least and,, at this stage, we cannot see where all. the money is going to come from, even at the higher rates of interest which undoubtedly will have to be paid. ' The report intentions that municipalities in New South Wales have experienced difficulty in borrowing at even per cent.—this being attributed partly to th<» operation of the new tax in that Statu of Is 6d to 2s. in the pound on life insurance societies —while the present ratu for municipal, loans in Victoria is around 6 per cent. The Commonwealth Government will require to be on the market again .by the middle of February to provide for • tho conversion of the loan of approximately £10,750,000 of 6 per cent, maturing in Australia, on March 15. It t».i also assumed that, if tho London mailed* continues unfavourable, the Commonwealth Government will be forced on to the local market before May for the cash requirements of the Stater, and itself-' Then, by October, the Commonwealth will have to make- provision for the sion of the huge sum of nearly £62,000,0CJ8 of the 6 per cent, loan maturing on December 1!>, 1930. _ ... ... There is now the additional factor £5,000,000 Treasury bills will mature in London at the end of June, and £5,000,0x1 at the beginning of September. There are also State loans of approximately £35,000,000 maturing in Australia between now and the end of next During that period the national incorno. is going to be approximately £30,000,0001 less by reason of the severe* fall in tho price of wool and the shortage of the wheat harvest by drought, while tha loan expenditure of the Commonwealth and States in the same time will be probably £15,C00,000 less than last year. THE FALL IN WOOL PRICES. ESTIMATE FOR THE SEASON. Reviewing the wool market, Messirs. Were and Son state that from July 1 to the end of October the average price of wool sold in Australia was £l3 15s od a 'bale, compared with £22 5s 8d and di.23 16s lOd a bale respectively for wool sola in the corresponding periods of 1926 and 1927. October sales showed an improvement in price over those for September, and since the close of October some iurther improvement has been noted. As the larger portion of the wool <zlip has yet to be sold, and the market, ilk is estimated by one authority, now stands at an average price of around £ls a bale, the average for the whole season will be above that from July to October, pro-, vided present market levels are approximated for the rest of the selling seaisoD. The rise in price does not necessarily denote an improvement in .the njarkut.Earlier sales were made up of very poor fleeces, from areas badly affected by drought, and the wool which now is bringing wetter rates is the first quality fleece.

It. is estimated that the total return to.. Australia from the season's wool clip will be about; £43,000,000,. compared with about £60.000,000 from 'the 1927-28 dip. FULLER HAYWARD THEATRES. NEW DEBENTURE ISSUE. The directors . of _ Fnller-Bayw.ird Theatre Corporation, Limited, which has an authorised capital of £250,000, are offering for subscription £IOO,OOO of 8 per cent, mortgage debenture stock, secured over net assets valued at £3213,000.. The corporation owns, leases ' or is financially interested in 60 cinema theatres throughout New Zealand, and the purpose o:l: the present issue is- to complete the. corporation's reconstruction programme, which includes thfl builditig or rebuilding of 12 theatres, and the installation of talking-picture equipment in' 30 theatres. • Further details are advertised.