finance page . &amp;pound;143,780 for compulsory purchase . the Minister of housing and local government is to be asked by Dudley corporation for consent to borrow &amp;pound;146,367 , most of which is needed for the compulsory acquisition of property . block valuation given by the district valuer for the new dock areas is &amp;pound;53,720 ; for the Highgate-road , Woodside areas , &amp;pound;10,120 ; for the Yew Tree Hills area , &amp;pound;14,100 . these , with other sums for the Windmill End and St John-street , Netherton areas , make a total of &amp;pound;108,415 . the grand total includes &amp;pound;23,365 for 19 , Hall-street , and &amp;pound;12,000 for the Britannia inn and 97 , Hall-street . lower profits from motor cycles . the reimposition of the credit controls and the wet summer of 1960 had a particularly adverse effect on the activities of motor cycle dealers and resulted in a fall in the group profits of Jenkin and Purser ( holdings ) , before tax , from &amp;pound;82,545 to &amp;pound;36,091 during the year ended September 8 last . although much of the group &apos;s business is effected on hire purchase terms , the company &apos;s experience in this respect has been satisfactory , as the machines sold to retail customers on credit are retained as security until fully paid for . in his statement , the chairman emphasises that in any event the group &apos;s reserves are adequate to meet all contingencies . the board have recommended a total distribution of 10 per cent less tax , against 22 1/2 per cent previously , while the chairman refuses to forecast future business as current turnover continues to be substandard . new companies . Royle and Stanley , Ltd - private company . registered January 9 . capital &amp;pound;5,000 . objects : to carry on the business of builders etc . permanent directors : Harry Royle and Connie Royle , both of 14 , Bhylls-crescent , Merry Hill , Wolverhampton ; Joseph A Stanley and Dorothy H Stanley , both of Broadways , Brenton-road , Penn , Wolverhampton . Secretary : A Bretherick . registered office : Sun-street , Wolverhampton . appointments . Mr N R R Brooke has been appointed a director of Guest Keen and Nettlefolds . he is managing director of Guest Keen and Nettlefolds ( south Wales ) and is a director of certain other group companies . Mr P S Watson and Mr J G Nutman have been appointed directors of Smith and Nephew . Eastbourne mutual building society . total assets during 1960 increased by over &amp;pound;750,000 and now exceeded &amp;pound;8,500,000 . sum advanced during year rose by &amp;pound;208,000 to &amp;pound;1,340,000 . building society 1960 reports . W&apos;ton and district permanent . the total assets of the Wolverhampton and district permanent building society now amount to &amp;pound;7,887,647 , having increased during 1960 by &amp;pound;518,102 . mortgage assets amount to &amp;pound;6,538,695 , the net increase in the year being &amp;pound;458,842 . new mortgage advances , secured chiefly on owner occupied private dwelling houses , total &amp;pound;1,208,092 . share and deposit investment received during the year amount to &amp;pound;1,232,153 . allowing for withdrawals and the capitalisation of interest accrued , share and deposit balances increased to &amp;pound;7,204,214 . the society &apos;s liquid funds at the close of the year totalled &amp;pound;1,297,743 , being equivalent to 16.4 per cent of total assets . ( the national average in 1959 was 14.6 per cent ) . total reserves have increased to &amp;pound;495,000 , representing 6.6 per cent of total assets , compared with the national average in 1959 of 4.56 per cent . Leek and Moorlands building society . - during 1960 assets and liabilities of Nalgo building society and of the Stockport atlas building society were transferred to Leek and Moorlands . these transfers are included in the results for 1960 which show assets &amp;pound;63,500,000 - an increase of &amp;pound;17,500,000 . mortgage advances during the year &amp;pound;8,000,000 ( &amp;pound;7,950,000 ) . reserves increased by &amp;pound;673,000 to &amp;pound;2,930,000 . tax amounted to &amp;pound;785,000 . investments in trustee securities and cash &amp;pound;10,650,000 . Leicester temperance building society . - total assets at end-1960 were &amp;pound;23,360,000 , or &amp;pound;1,882,000 more than at end-1959 . balance outstanding on mortgages totalled &amp;pound;18,988,000 , also and increase of &amp;pound;1,882,000 . investments and cash at bankers aggregated &amp;pound;3,880,000 , representing 16.6 per cent of total assets , while reserve funds are 4.26 per cent of assets . advances during the year of &amp;pound;4,002,000 were a record for the society , and 96 per cent of the total amount advances was on owner-occupied private dwelling houses . markets are irregular . London . after making a hesitant start to the new account , stock markets have taken some encouragement today from the trade figures , which are better than expected , and quietly irregular conditions prevail . gold shares are very firm despite the sharp fall in the gold price following the U.S ban on gold hoarding , sentiment being encouraged by the belief that Americans will switch from gold into gold shares . there is a widespread advance in gold share prices , ranging 6 d to 5 s , the latter seen in F S Geduld . industrials are mixed , but with sentiment helped by a favourable reading of the trade figures . the leaders have rallied from a dull start . Glaxo , however , remain a depressed spot at 60/10 1/2 on the cut in selling prices . textiles are firm on talks of further possible mergers , with good gains by bleachers and Bradford dyers . stores have recovered part of their earlier falls . steels are often a few pence easier but a number of firm spots are seen in engineerings . buildings have gone ahead . oils are firm with Shells strong . new prices quoted today : Birmingham . modest improvements in engineering today include radiation 34/9 , Wolseley-Hughes 49 /- , Smith &apos;s stamp . 30 /- , Wilkins and Mitchell 13/4 1/2 d , midland bright 14 /- , midland iron 5/9 , Duport 12/10 1/2 and Cope Allman 22/3 . Guest new have been bought at 44/3 . Clarksons , however , have dipped to 28/3 and Valor 15 /- . B.M.C have shed 6 d to 15/6 , and Rovers 3 d to 14/7 1/2 , but Standards are hard at 10/6 , while S Smith are supported at 17/4 1/2 . stores are a fairly strong counter , with Wigfalls outstanding at 32 /- . Susan Small look well at 29 /- . Albrights are 25/3 and Baggeridge brick 8/9 . higher profits and payment by Edge tool . good results are announced by Edge tool industries , of Wolverhampton . group profits , before tax , for the year to September 30 , are reported at &amp;pound;223,878 , compared with &amp;pound;147,126 previously , with tax taking &amp;pound;109,260 against &amp;pound;68,829 , net profits come out at &amp;pound;114,618 , against &amp;pound;78,297 . allocation to reserves is &amp;pound;10,000 against &amp;pound;7,000 , and &amp;pound;1,001 against nil is written off trade marks . the loss of exchange-turning on the company &apos;s Brazilian subsidiary was &amp;pound;1,415 against &amp;pound;1,250 . Edge tool &apos;s final dividend is maintained at 12 1/2 per cent , but it means a total payment of 20 per cent , against 17 1/2 per cent - the interim having been raised from 5 per cent to 7 1/2 per cent . the Brazilian subsidiaries &apos; figures are not consolidated with the results of the home companies in the group , but the figures show that the Brazilian company has another good year with net profits up from 9,700,000 cruzeiros to 10,500,000 cruzeiros . home companies in the group include Chillington tool Co , Edward Elwell , Ltd , and midland heat treatments . the annual meeting will be held on February 10 . Mr H W Hunt is chairman . dividend increased by P J Evans . an increase in trading profit from &amp;pound;78,648 to &amp;pound;100,648 , and a 2 1/2 per cent rise in the dividend total for the year to September 30 , 1960 , are reported by P J Evans , the Birmingham motor vehicle distributors . following the higher 7 1/2 per cent ( 5 per cent ) interim , the final is being maintained at 15 per cent . after depreciation , etc , of &amp;pound;18,378 ( &amp;pound;16,442 ) and tax &amp;pound;42,514 ( &amp;pound;31,739 ) , the net profit is up from &amp;pound;30,467 to &amp;pound;39,756 . the carry-forward is &amp;pound;99,613 ( &amp;pound;76,395 ) . annual meeting , February 24 . H J Barlow shares . the 2 s ordinary shares in H J Barlow and Co have been made available to those who , on December 30 , held 100 or more Neville developments ordinary shares . holders of 100 developments ordinary take part in a ballot for 100 Barlow ordinary and holders of 200 or more receive 100 Barlow for every complete 100 developments with a maximum allocation of 10,000 . acceptance letters will be posted today and dealings are expected to start in Birmingham tomorrow . issue success . the directors of concentric manufacturing Co announce that of the 1,020,000 ordinary 2 s shares offered to shareholders on a rights basis at 10 s a share , 994,910 shares , representing 97.5 per cent of the total , have been taken up on the rights terms . the remaining 25,090 shares have been sold in accordance with the terms of the issue for the benefit of the company . Handford Greatrex . it is understood that terms of a counter-bid for the ordinary shares of Handford Greatrex and Co , of Walsall , producers of upper leather and hide processors , may be put before ordinary shareholders this week . behind the counter-bid are understood to be Mr Bernard Owens , a Birmingham insurance broker , and Mr Alan G Higgs , a Coventry businessman . meanwhile , Harvey and Sons , tanners and curriers , of Nantwich and Bury , have announced ( as reported in the express and star on Saturday ) that , having received acceptances in excess of 65 per cent , they have declared unconditional their offer for the ordinary capital of Handford Greatrex . the share exchange offer is worth about 12 s a share , and the final date for acceptances has been extended to February 28 . Mr G Greatrex , chairman of Handford Greatrex , said today that shareholders would have a full opportunity to consider both offers . he and his family and other directors control more than 60 per cent of the company &apos;s shares and have recommended other holders to accept the Harvey offer . the &amp;pound;90,000 capital includes &amp;pound;50,000 in ordinary shares . company reports . the Volkes group , a holding company of manufacturers of filtration and silencing equipment and specialised engineering products , is raising the interim dividend from the equivalent of 4.58 per cent to 5 1/2 per cent on a capital increased by a one-for-five scrip issue . the total equivalent distribution for the year ended March 31 , 1960 , was 15.42 per cent . group profits , before tax , of R B Pullin and Co , electrical engineers and scientific instrument makers , increased from &amp;pound;316,990 to &amp;pound;361,309 for the year to September 30 , 1960 . the previous year &apos;s effective 25 per cent dividend total is maintained with an unchanged 20 per cent final . the 5 per cent interim for the previous year was paid prior to a two-for-five rights issue . tax takes &amp;pound;170,247 , against &amp;pound;167,131 , leaving the net balance up from &amp;pound;149,859 to &amp;pound;191,062 . London gazette . order annulled and rescinded . - Simon Nadel , residing at 8 , School Lane-close , Rickerscote , Stafford , engineering draughtsman , receiving order dated September 1 , 1953 , rescinded . adjudication dated April 6 , 1954 annulled . petition dated September 1 , 1953 , dismissed . all on December 16 , 1960 . debts paid in full . gold price lowest for six weeks . President Eisenhower &apos;s order forbidding U.S citizens to hold gold overseas brought a sharp fall in price on the London bullion market today . at today &apos;s official fixing by the five leading dealers , it was cut by 2 s 4 d per fine ounce - the lowest point for six weeks . the dollar equivalent is 35.43 against the U.S official price of 35 dollars . the fall is the biggest recorded at a fixing since October 27 when , after the City &apos;s big gold rush passed its peak , the price dipped 6 s to 254 s . the dramatic U.S move to check the flow of gold from America was a top talking point in the City today . it sparked off selling in a market devoid of buyers , until the price went down . then buyers came in . the market later became steadier , and the price rose to around 253 s on further buying . of the Eisenhower ban - announced over the weekend and six days before he leaves office - one big dealer said : in all probability it will create a certain amount of panic selling by Americans . it is also going to strengthen the views of outsiders that devaluation of the dollar , in their opinion , is imminent . so there may well be a return of heavy buying by them . this would push the price up . accountants say : abolish schedule A . the abolition of the schedule A tax on owner-occupied residential properties is among a number of tax recommendations made to Mr Selwyn Lloyd , the Chancellor of the exchequer , by the association of certified and corporate accountants , for his consideration prior to the budget . the association says that while it recognises that abolition of schedule A would involve a loss of revenue , there would be considerable administrative savings . 