FINANCE AND MARKETS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 858, 30 December 1929, Page 10

FINANCE AND MARKETS

NEW ZEALAND’S WOOL BRADFORD MEN ANSWER STORY OF LOSS . ,NO EXTENSION OF SALES i 1, mini P..4.——-B_u Tc!c_l/:l:ph———-L‘opyrightl LONDON, Saturday. } '.\ l'vrss enhlegram from Aucklandi has been published which states that“ mvin: to Bradford's refusal to {lngCl 1o any extension of the roster at the New Zealanrl wool sales. New Zealand “ill lose £5,000,000. In an interview in this connection, Mr. George “Whitaker, president of the | British \Vool Federation, saysz—“lt is inconceivable that New Ze'tland should make this charge. The “'00! Federation's cabled opinion. stating that it was opposed to any extension of the wool selling season. was not given without full consideration of the growers‘ interests. "Values in crossbred wool this season have been determined by those ruling in South America. Although “my were considerably below last years‘ level. they were relative to‘ wools grown in Australia. and South -\l'rica. ' In the federations opinion, the value i of New Zealand wool would not be 911- I hunted by an extension of the selling[ period. This opinion is given hon—estly. without any attempt to restrain; the New Zealand “'ool Committee from extending the period if it disagrees with the opinion given.” Mr. “'illiam Hunter. ex—president of Ihe federation. said the view that the federation's action would cause New Zoaland to lose £5,000,000 was entirely erroneous. Growers of wool, like the producers of every other commodity, were obliged to accept the world market price. Moreover, the federation‘s attitude will not alter the selling value 01' the clip in any way. The law of supply and demand will determineits price. LONDON MARKETS

BUTTER AND CHEESE United P.A.—By Telegraph—Copyright LONDON, Saturday. The London butter market is steady. Danish is quoted at 1765: choicest salted New Zealand, 160 s to 1625: exceptionally choice, 1645; Australian, 156 s to 158 s; unsalteds,■ New Zealand, 180 s to 186 s; Australian, 158 s to 1645. New Zealand cheese, coloured, is quoted at 88s; white, 90s. COTTON, RUBBER, HEMP, ETC. (.Last week’s prices in parentheses) Cotton.—January delivery, O.IDd < 9.OTd ) a lb Rubber. —Para. B\d a lb; plantation and smoked, 7 7-Sd. Jute. —Market closed <£27 10s a ton. January-February shipments). Hemp.—None offering. c’opra. December-January shipments youth Sea. £2l 15s (£2l 10s); plantation, Rabaul, £22 (£2l 15s). Linseed Oil.— £42 (£45) a ton. Turpentine.—42s 2d (42s 3d) a cwt. FROZEN MEAT No frozen meat quotations were issued today. HIDES Hides.—Meatworks, dry salted, Queensland, 35- 451 b, S \ri: 30-401 b, S\d; 25-351 b, 8’ k d; 20-301 b, 8 3-Sd: New South Wales, same weights, Bid, Sid, 83d, and 9d. Wet salted. Queensland, 50-601 b, 6d; 40-501 b, Hd. A few New South Wales, * both weights, 6’ d; Victorian abattoirs, both weights, 6ld. THE PRICE OF GOLD Gold is quoted today at S4s lld an ounce. SUPPLIES OF TIN LIMITING PRODUCTION The council of the Tin Producers’ Association (Incorporated) lias unanimously resolved to recommcnJ that all members should simultaneously begin to restrict production from the beginning of 1930. advises the Australian representatives of the association. Plants will be closed down and mining operations will be suspended lor sufficient periods to ensure a total reduction of about 15 per cent, in the output. When the council met in London all the members agreed to the new policy. In the past three years tin has dropped to £175 a ton from £320, owing to the excess in production over consumption. The policy of restriction is expected to keep the price at a reasonable level. . FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES British Official T Virelcss RUGBY, Saturday. The following rates on foreign' exchanges are current today, compared with the cabled quotations on December 19 and par:—

CHICAGO WHEAT MARKET United. P.A.—By Telegraph—Copyright CHICAGO, Saturday. Wheat.—December, 1 dollar 27 cents a bushel; March, 1 dollar 32 5-8 cents: May, 1 dollar 36 1-S cents; July, 1 dollar 36 3-8 cents.

DAIRY PRODUCE * l PRODUCTION COSTS MUST ‘ COME DOWN . COMPETITION iN LONDON j Production costs of butter and cheese must be reduced if New » Zealand is to compete successfully , on the London markets with ‘ European countries. ' This is the opinion of .\lr. J. BA McEwan, of \Vellington. who re-E turned by the Aorangi last evening! after an extended trip abroad. 1 During his visit to London, where‘| he investigated the markets, Mr. Mc-S Ewan found that competition was very, very keen. One of the big problems to be faced and one which would have to be met in the future, was this competition. It is essential, he says, to maintain the goodwill of the distributors in Great Britain and to investigate closely what the other countries are doing and how they are doing it. “There is no doubt that so long as, Great Britain's markets remain openl to the world there must be consider-l able anxiety as to the future of our prices.” he continued. “Prices may come down and in my opinion I feel that we must reducel the cost of production to meet the competition in England of the countries of the Continent. ‘ “As far as Denmark is con- 1 cern-ed we know what they are 1 doing; but such countries as the i Balkan States and Russia are I steadily increasing their volume 1 of exportable butter and cheese ‘ and also the quality of their pro- ‘ duce." ‘ Mr. McEwan mentioned that the} cost of labour in Continental counsl tries was very low compared with‘ r:burs and consequently the cost of production was correspondingly low. New Zealand butter was held in very high regard on the English mar‘kets because of its uniformly high standard, but this did not mean that New Zealand could relax her efforts ‘to still further improve it. “ ‘ Regarding cheese, Mr. McEwan said :that during the last few years New lZealand seemed to have lost some lground as far as quality was con‘ycerned. “While we are still making llarge quantities of fine quality cheese‘ there is a. percentage of it today which is not up to this high standard," he said. In Canada Mr. McEwan found that the general attitude toward New Zealand butter was exceedingly satisfactory, but he thought that there was a strong move to raise the tarifl. “After all," he said, “we must expect this.” 1 Mr. H. L._ E. Priestman, the newly-i appointed assistant to Mr. C. M. Croft,l Canadian Trade Commissioner, who }was also on‘the Aorangi, discounted the suggestion made by Mr. McEwan [that Canada intended raising the tariff‘ ;on New Zealand butter. He said that 'such action was spoken of occasion‘ally, but nothing was done about it. He mentioned that the scientific manufacture in New Zealand had been greatly accelerated by a Canadian, Dr. J. A. Ruddlck, now chief‘ of the Dairy and Cold .Storage branch of the Department of Agriculture in Canada, who was the first instructor in bu-ttervmaking. in this Dominion. New Zealand butter, he said, was used extensively in Canada. because the Canadian dairy farmers found it more to their advantage to sell their milk and cream to the cities and to buy the imported product. . This was one of the principal reasons, he thought. why the tariff on New Zealand would not not be raised. __._—_...

’ , $ BRITAIN 5 BUSINESS / i i PAST YEAR NOT GOOD , __._— l A GLEAM or OPTIMISM : Unilcd P.A.——By Telcgra[Hi—Copyright LONDON, Saturday. Only a. few financial writers show much inclination to be optimistic in regard to 1930. To quote one authority: “The past year has not been good, either in the financial or the business world. Industry has languished, exports have shown a. small decrease, even when compared with the unsat—isfactory figures of 19:38, while the losses sustained by financial institutions through failures in one direction or another—to say nothing of the losses suffered by the public through the fall in share values—probably have been greater than for many years past." There is, however, one writer who holds out a little ray of hope for 1930. “The Economist" says: "Although the London Stock Exchange is still overhung by a. cloud of uncertainty until the Hatry group settlements have been completed. so far it has weathered not only the domestic storm, but the depression from across the Atlantic, which came with cyclonic force. In the financial world we faced and met a crisis which threatened eve-n to endanger the gold standard in this country, but the Bank of England, at the critical moment. took a course as bold as it was successful, and the year I closes. with confidence that money will go still cheaper. and that Britain’s Imonetary position in regard to gold need cause no anxiety." UNSATISFACTORY YEAR An illustration of the unsatisfactory year the Stock Exchange has had is given _in the returns of the year‘s new capital issues in London. These show a reduction of $384,000,000 compared with 1928, although the total in that year was exceptionally high. Altogether. the new issues for 1929 totalled £285,000,000, compared with V£3t§£§,o§o,ooo last year and £355,000,000 in :3 .

Of this year’s issues, £195,000,000 were for the United Kingdom, including £65,400.000 of Government borrowing, while British possessions issued £61.000.000, of which £26,300,000 was for Governments. Foreign countries’ issues amounted to £26,200,000. Commenting on these figures, the “Economist” says: “Investors in new issues, even of the highest class, have seen their holdings, in a number of instances, undergo serious depreciation. The prospect of comparatively cheap money in 1930 encourages the hope that sound borrowers at least will be able, in the near future, to make issues on the London market on better terms and with more propitious chances of success. “It is clear, however, that progress in restoring actiivtv on the new issue market as a whole is likely to be slow, and the public, after the experience of the unsound boom in 1925, is likely for some time to exercise considerable 'discrimination between offers.”

SEEKING NEW MARKETS ‘ l l LARGE N.Z. CAMPAIGN INI —— l x ’ NEWSPAPER SUPPORT 5 —-- l Excellent newspaper comment l acompanied the campaign in i favour of New Zealand produce, : recently begun in Manchester and ' Liverpool, principally by Sir ‘ James Parr, High Commissioner 1 for New Zealand. i On the night before Sir James zir—rived at .\lanchester to sponsor thelK benefits of buyingr produce from tliei Dominion, the Manchester “Evening! News” guve 1L sketch of the }liglll Connnissioner's career. It remarked that Sir Junies‘s work had been churactcrised by great energy and enter-l prise. particularly in the sphere of ex-1 tending the markets for Sew Zealand butter, cheese, meat, apples and honey. An interview with Sir James n1)peured the next day in the “Evening News." In this, the High Curmnissioner issued the following message: “\Vhat I ask for is voluntary preference to your most affectionate and loyal Dominion. On :1 population basis, New Zealanders are your best cus—tomers and the manufacturing area! surrounding Alanchester is especially linked With New Zealand in trade. But you are not taking our produce as we think you might.” A feature of the report in the Bian—chester “Guardian” was the plea by Sir James, at the dinner given by the ”.\lanchester Ship Canal Company, forl voluntary preference. In a sub—leader,l the “Gu rdian” said: “New Zealanl is evitlenilly determined that the praises of its produce shall not go unsung in the I‘Jother Country. At the meeting in the Chamber of; Commerce, Sir, James Parr made it clear that the campaign is to be a. really intensive one. In every legitimate way, an effort ‘is to be made to cultivate throughout the industrial area of the onrth—west a taste and a demand for what he did not hesitate to describe not only as ‘the best goods in the world,’ but as ‘the cheapest of their kind.” , A. two—column article by Professor {“2 Belshaw. of Auckland University ‘College, on New Zealand‘s trade out‘look, was printed by the Blanchester “Guardian Commercial” with a state—ment on New Zealand.; trade in its editorial columns. Reports of. the High Commissioner’s activities also appeared in the Yorkshire “Post” and the Bradford “Telegraph” and “Argus.” In a. leading article, the Liverpool “Journal of Commerce,” said: “Sir James Parr said he was not asking for Empire free trade or for fiscal preference. What he wants is a. voluntary preference for New Zealand's food products, which,. incidentally, are the best on the market, and only needed to be known to be preferred. New Zealand’s food products are increasing year by year, and a. market has to be found for them, and where better than in Great Britain? There is no idea. of hurting the British farmers, but Great Britain takes a. very -large quantity of her foodstuffs from foreigners when she could find as good food products in New Zealand, and would be helping her own kin by buying there." BUTTER AND CHEESE Newton King, Ltd., has received the following cablegram from R. and IV. Davidson, Ltd., London, dated December 27z—Butter: Blarket steady; salted, 1583 to 1623; unsalted. 180:3 to 1843: wheys, firsts 1525, second 148 s. Cheese: IMarket steady; coloursd, 875 and 885; white, 895 and 90s.

Dec. 28 Montreal, dol. 4.1)2 7-16 Dec. 19 4.91 Par. 4.S66 Paris, fr. 123.85° - Brussels, belgra 34.855 123:92 34.86 4.866 124.21 35.00 Amsterdam, ti* 22.0S 7-S J~2.10 1-8 12.10 Berlin, r.m.” !! 20.385 Stockholm kr IS 10 20iSs bo! 43 Oslo. kr. 1S.1M 18.20 is! 159 Vienna, si h’. . . 34.65 14.67 34.5SJ Helsingfors, m. 194 1-8 Madrid, pcs. .. — i9 *r 35.35 192! 23 25.22i .Athens] dr. .. .. 375 lei 817 375 " 375.00 "R. de Jan., m. 5 7-16 3 3-8 : • ’alcutta. rupee — Shanghai, tael 25-\ 17 20-32 lSd ' Hong Kong. dol. 19i Yokohama, yen. 24 3-32 Batavia fl. .. — 20' 24 3-32 12.13 5-S 24.5Sd 12.10