SYDNEY WOOL SALES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20990, 29 September 1931, Page 5

SYDNEY WOOL SALES.

STRONG COMPETITION. ADVANCE IN PRICES. (Received September 28, 3.45 p.m.) SYDNEY, Sept. -28. At the wool sales to-day 10,804 bales were offered and 9970 were sold. In addition 3078 bales were disposed of privately. There was strong general competition, a feature being the increased Yorkshire demand. Prices showed a further advance of 10 per cent, for best descriptions, and 5 per cent, for all other sorts, excepting very inferior lines. Greasy Merino made up to 15d, the top price for the season. The average price of the wool sold at Sydney last week wa3 £4 4s 4d per bale, equal to 6.3! M per lb. THE COTTON' TRADE. FALL IN VALUES. J. AND P. COATS' SURPRISE. [FROM OTTR OWN CORRESPONDENT. I LONDON, August 21. While variations have been made in tha annual bonus—last year it fell to nothing—there has been no reduction in the dividend paid on the ordinary shares of J. and P. Coats since the sharps existed in their present form. At the annual meeting of the company held in June, Mr J. O. M. Clark, chairman of directors, said the company had decided to pay an interim dividend At the rata of 9d a share, equal to 3} per cent., for the first quarter of the current financial year, and he hoped it might be possible to continue the quarterly payments at this rate, but he thought it only fair to warn shareholders that the board nmst be guided by circumstances. This week the directors announced that, owing to the recent severe fall in cotton values, they had decided to reduce the quarterly dividend on the ordinary shares from 9d to 4-W. The latter payment i 3 at the rate of 7£ per cent, per annum The extent of tha surprise may be gauged from the sharp fall of 6s 9d to 36s 9d in the shares. Coming on top of the announcement that the Bradford Dyers' Association had made no profits for the half-year, and that the interim ordinary dividend would not be paid, the Coats' decision suggests that the difficulties of the textile industry have recently been intensified. If there is any comfort for the shareholders in their disappointment, writes a City editor, it is to be found in the fact that tha reduction in the payment 13 directly attributed to the recent severe fall in cotton values. From this it would seem that the writing-down of stocks made a deep inroad in the second quarter's profits. , DOMINION'S PRODUCTS. PUBLICITY IN ENGLAND. " Advertising of New Zealand's produce in England shonld be widely extended, and considerable sums made available to extend the work of the Empire Marketing Board on our behalf." maintained Mr. A. F. Cade, a Christchurch importer, when interviewed on his return from a nine months' visit to the industrial districts Gf England. The work of the board, he said, had had invaluable results in making New Zealand goous known in England, but it was hampered by restricted funds. Conditions in England at present varied considerably, and were vpry bad in Bradford, Sheffield and the potteries areas particularly, but there was generally an optimistic outlook, with strenuous endeavours being made to extend overseas trade.

" People in England realise that trade with the overseas Dominions must be developed," he said, "and look, forward to tho setting up of reciprocal tariffs between New Zealand and Great Britain. They are really keen to do business, and instead of talking about depression, set themselves out to get it. There is still a lot to be done, and unfortunately a large number of people confuse NewZealand and Australia. The term Australasia still hangs to us. " The Empire Marketing Board is doing wonderful work, but it- is hampered by not having enough money. One method of advertising New Zealand goods that they have adopted is to take a stop in a town for a week and fill it with a really attractive display. Even at an exhibition in Birmingham, arranged by local merchants to advertise their goods, the board had an exhibit of New Zealand butter." BUTTONS FROM MILK. AN ENGLISH INDUSTRY. The monthly bulletin of the Department of Overseas Trade mentions that a factory ha 3 been established in York for the manufacture of buttons, buckles, combs ind cognate ornaments. This factory is practically unique, for not only does it manufacture the finished goods, but makes the raw material from which buttotis and other articles are made. Other factories engaged in the indnstry concentrate on either the raw material or the finished articles. The skimmed milk from which the raw material is made produces a powder which is mixed with dyes and by means of heat tnk"S up sheet form. The sheets are impregnated with formaldehyde. which, by hardening, renders them unresponsive to climatic conditions. The present weekly output of 10,000 buttons, it is anticipated, will be considerably increased. STOCK EXCHANGE HOLIDAY. DOMINION DAY OBSERVANCE. Yesterday, being Dominion Day, was observed as a holiday by members of the Auckland Stock Exchange, which will reopen this morning. The market closed fairly firm at the end of last week-, following the developments in financial circles overseas, and considerable interest attaches to the resumption of business to-day. CALL AND DIVIDEND LIST. Dividends— Due. Britwh Tobocc.o (Australia) quarterly. 1} p.c To-morrow Pukemiro Collienes. final. 10 p.c., making 15 p.c. for year To-morrow Thames Theatre—B p.c. p.a. . . Oct. 1 Beath, Limited—filial, ord.. 3 p.c., pref., '22 p.c Oct. 1 Bank of Australasia—interim, 5a a share (subject to English income tax and exchange) . Oct. 3 Howard Smith—quarterly, pref., 6 p.c. p. a. Oct. 6 Amalgamated Zinc—interim. 5 p.c. p.a. Oct. 8 Amalgamated Wireless—final. fi p.c. p.a. . . . . . Oct.. 3 Milne and Choyro—final., B pref., '{J. p.c.; pref., ord., deb. stk., 2\ p.c. .. .. . - Oct. in Rawang Tin—3d a share . . . Oct. 16 Waihi Gold iMining—interim. Is a ahare Nov. 4 Call— Timaru Brewary, eon.—2a 3d a | sham .. ». .. . « Oct. 3