The New York herald., 1879-09-01
FINANCIAL and COMMERCIAL.
Events of the Week in
Wall Street.
A BIRDS EYE VIEW.
WALL STREET,

SUNDAY. August 81 1879.
The last six days have slipped away into the limbo
OF past and gone weeks without any special
attending their progress or departure The nearest
approach to sensation was offered by the strin-
gency In the money market which, after ell, was
moro Of bugaboo than a reality since the rate of
interest to good borrowers at no time exceeded
seven per cent and for most OF tho time obtain
able ut Six The making up of bank accounts .
subject OF anxiety. however. in some offices. par
t'cularly in those whore collaterals largely
composed of fancy railway stocks and new tangled
favorites. 1t being discovered that money lenders
were indisposed to accept them for "all that
fancy painted" them, but. the contrary,
took . very low estimate of their value
indeed. The sharp demand for money. which
partly due to legitimate and partly to the
bears. who improved the occasion by withdrawing
currency from the loan market lasted until Thurs
day. when easier rates established and contin-
ued 30 to the end OF the week. The improvement
can be directly traced to the largo arrivals Of bullion
from abroad. the larger ones that must inevitably
follow and the action Of the Treasury permitting
q conversion of the bullion into currency imme-
diately upon its receipt at the assay Office About
$30O0,OO0 constitute the amount already received,
and there $6OO 900 more the way. Next to
financial disasters political disturbances nothing
30 easily affects the stock market unfavorably as a
pinch In money. This was plainly discernible
IN the feverishness and irreguarity which attended
the course of prices during the week. Opening
with considerable strength the market yielded
to depression next recovered. and under similar
fttul aternations of cloud and sunshine continued
to the end. It is plain therefore, not much was
achieved beyond the creation of q decidedly aug
mented short interest and very muddled opinion
among spectators to whether they had better be
bulls or bears. The irreeularity of the week was
avld hvf f1,af faah
strength of Others though it must be confessed that
the latter qualify something Of lusus nature.
and of very limited scope. The heaviest stocks on
the list the coal carriers. Erie, Wabash
and Michigan Central The hard road to travel
which the coal companies have been struggling
Tor the last year two is growing rougher than
over. is manifested by the lower prices of 3OH
cents per ton obtained for the Delaware and Lacka-
wanna output at Wednesdays sale and the "falling
out' between the Reading and Delaware and Hudson
companies. which is likely to result in mutual
cutting Of throats that may be greatly to the ava
tago Of consumers. but must be especially tho re-
to unlucky shareholders. Erie was freely sold
by parties with whom Mr.. Jewett's testimony had
left bad taste in the mouth. and the junior mort
cages were made to follow suit Michigan Central
foil Oft from to per for fear
that the Grand Trunk would succeed in
making such competing and predatory extensions
westward would steal away its trade, and Wabash
took downward dip ON Saturday, that, for want Of
better reason. ascribed to Jay Goulds return
from abroad Almost the only stocks that succeeded
In stemming the falling tide Pacific Mail and
Burlington and Cedar Rapids. the former netting
nearly two and the latter eight points for the week.
The question OF lease lease Of Cedar Rapids to
the Northwestern road created sharp and frequent
fluctuations speculative opinion inclined pro
con-; up to the present nothing has been effected.
though the directors powwowed the subject
during two meetings aud promised further dis
cussion Wednesday next. In the railway bond |
market dulness tho rule and activity the excep-
tion. Frankfort and Kokomo irsts steady, |
and Kansas Pacific and Burlington and Cedar Rapids
mortgages strong and higher. Erie second and the
coal company issues were weak and lower, in SYM
pathy with the prices of shares On Saturday after
noon . more cheerful feeling was noticeable in the
stock market, and the week closed with q decided
rally.
business at the Stock Exchange aggregated $1,000
shares for the week. against 1114.OOO the preceding
week and 1900 900 the week before that. The ex-
trcme fluctuations for the past wock in leading
stocks is shown in the following table,