The Sun.
London, England, 1869-08-24 00:00:00

MONEY AND BUSINESS.

(From the Spring field. Republican, Aug 7.)
This has been the dullest week of the summer for the
dealers in currency and stocks. The announcement pre-
viously rumoured and now made public and partially put
into action, that the Government would buy $10,000,000
more of bonds during the present mouth, has so assured
the market of the continued ease of money that most of
the brokers seem now to have taken a vacation in earnest
and to have left Wall and Bread-streets in solo custody of
the financial reporters. One of the features of the almost
featureless week was the failure on Tuesday of Rodoco-
nachi and Frangliiadi, a cosmopolitan Greek firm, with
headquarters in London, and branch offices in all parts of
the world, from Constantinople to Rio Janeiro. It is a
firm of most ancient and honourable repute, and has wea-
thered the crises of many decades, to go down now, when
the sky
,is compmratively clear and the breakers a long
way off. Their failure is attributed to a rise iu gold
at Rio, the firm being short. The London house sus-
pended payment on the saute day. The liabilities aro from
£50,000 to £60,000, on which a "fair dividend" may be paid.
Money has been easy throughout the week at $ ; to $7
per cent, and lower. The only tension whatever, and
that was very slight, occurred on Wednesday; more from
the shiftlessness of the over-confident brokers in neglect-
ing to make up their balance till near the close of busi-
n S 4 hours than from any other cause. Governments have
not ceased to a lvance, and Ton-Forties and Car, oncy
Sixes have been especially active, the former rising two
per cent. and the latter three and a half or four during
the week. Theoccasien of this appreciation in the price
of Ten-Forties is due, of course, to the equivalency of long
and short bonds in the eye of the Government for the
purposes of national bank deposit, while the currency or
Pacific Railway Bonds, which Mr. Boutwell refuses to
purchase, are in good demand as investments, and espe-
cially sought for by savings banks and retired capitalists.
The purchases by the Government through August will
consist of $2,000,000 on every Wednesday, and $1,000,000
on alternate Thursdays, making $10,000,000, as above
stated. The fortnightly sale of $1,000,000 of gold will also
be continued. The announcement of adherence to the
bond-buying policy was so completely anticipated that
there aro not wanting those who charge the Secretary
with giving certain parties a hint beforehand, or at least
being rather careless with his State secrets. Mr. Bout-
' well, on the other band, avers that h 3 admitted no one to
his confidence. The ekpl Illation of the affair undoubtedly
is that the shrawde,t operatcrs in New York saw no reason
why the Secretary should change a policy that is proper
as well: as popular, and on their own judgment laid iu a
store of those securities that the Government was likely to
;demand. At the purchase, on Wednesday, not nearly as
large an amount was offered as there has been heretofore,
the supply being only double instead of treble the demand.
Thein
sscarcityLi them,
was
of
l nB6o7;se, considering the recent large deal-
worthy. The Government paid on
an average about 121.60. While Government securities
remain so high, the Tribune urges the policy of investing
in other stocks, same of which aro just as secure and much
more profitable. Kansas Pacific Railroad Stocks, for in-
stance, now selling at a trifle below par, running for 30
years and paying 7 per cent. in gold, are much more pro-
fitable than 5-20's, which cannot be bought for loss than
121. • If capital is called off from Government Securities,
the Government as purchaser will find an easier market,
and be able to regain its own paper at a less rate than it
is now pa) lug, while foreign capitalists,!naturally cautious
about investing in the stocks of American corporations,
will furnish a market for any Bonds that the Secretary
may wish to dispose of. Tho debt statement for July
is encouraging, not only for the steady reduction of the
debt, bat also for the contraction of the currency,
slight, to be sure, but still encouraging. Tho national
banks, by tho way, are gradually reorganising under
State laws, owing to the easier taxation under the
State than under the national regime. The number since
January, 1868, has declined from 1,642 to 1,620 ; the
capital, however, has increased in this time $2,399,000, and
the undivided profits $21,015,000, the latter item footing
up $126,000,000, or 30 per cent. upon the capital paid in.
Under such a profit as that not many banks aro likely to
immediately forsake the national system. The national
bank circulation is $292,000,000, or $7 per head of the
population. Their gross investments aro $1,170,000,000,
or 150 per cont. over their paid-in capital. There are
about two and a halt millions of outstanding old State
Bank Notes, or about ono and a quarter per cent. of the old
circulation. This is not a large amount to disappear en-
tirely, when we considir the extent of country and of
thee that the circulation covered. Gold has varied very
little during the week. It wilted on Monday, on a report
that bonds were up to 84 in London, but finally recovered
on the contradiction of the story. The bulls aro dis-
appointed at the continued steadinesss of Governments
abroad, and profess to have advises that the trade in them
has been encouraged for the purpose of unloading a large
amount of them which are being "carried." Tho New
York city banks, in the regular statement, show a specie
loss of $2,207,491, a largo part of which went into the
United States Treasury as duties on import, which begin
to arrive more freely. The gold exports fell from $3,000,000
of the previous week to $631,000 for the week ending
July 31. Stocks have been dull. The death of Henry
Keup has relieved the North-W,:stern Railroad shares
of the incubus under which they hove rested during
his illness. The best obituary that has yet appeared of
this prince of financ'ers was the quotation of his stocks at
one and one and a half per cent. lower immediately after
rce.wered, and advanced
his death, though they duce:l3,
upon the rumours that followed. Tho scramble for the
vacant ore,idency of the North-Western at once com-
menced, and Daniel Drew is said to be buying up stock
for the election, which has been postponed one mouth in
memer.am. ; Keep is said to have advised his family to
hang on
to the largo amount of North-Western that he
o:
left to them. Vauderbiits have been fluctuating up and
down to an extent that would make any but a comm3dore
sea-sick. Tho general tendency has been t, since
the disappointment of the speculators that the Saratoga
meeting failed to consolidate New York Central and Hud-
son. St. Paul lots advanced on showing a better exhibit
of earnings. Domestic cottons have not aroused from their
dog-day nap. In fact, all dry goods are quiet as yet,
muslin delaines being the most animated, and woollens
generally looking up. Foreign goods aro not much in de-
mand, but large invoices are being received, especially of