The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-02-07
APPREHENSION IS
 FELT OVER LOANS Worries Stock Market More
 Than War News PRICES REBOUND SLIGHTLY Tone of Market Underwent Marked Change After Issuance of the Bank
 statement-coffee Exerts
 a Strong Influence.
PRICES REBOUND SLIGHTLY

New York February 6.-The action of today's stock market indicated a feeling of greater apprehension over the sub ject of banlsloans than over the impend- ing war in the far east s->.
 Prices rebennded from the slightest opening depression reflected from foreign stock markets where the hope of a peace full outcome, was reported practically abandoned The borrowing of s5O,OO000t by the Pennsylvania company induced heavy selling of that stock, the latter company owning the stock of the borrow ing corporation. This loan and the fear that it was prelude to similar heavy borrowings by other railroad corporations caused marked impression in sentiment all through the list.
 The list in Pennsylvania itself reached 1A att he lowest price of the morning Wabash preferred was notably firm in spite of the official disclaimers from Pennsylvania sources that the loan was to figure In any settlement of differences with the Wabash. United States Steel also showed conspicuous resistance to the weakness elsewhere manifest.
 The home of the market underwent a marked change after the issuance of the bank statement and this was due to the moderate expansion shown by the loan item, which was not large enough to
 wipe out the narrow margin below the billion dollar mark at which the clearing house loans now stand.
 This effect of the bank statement was
 made the more clear by the fact that the
 T. s-t& r1I a dn- crease of g, 4Sa,100, where an increase of almost equal amount had been indicated.
 The inference drawn from the small im- precision made upon the loan item by the large money market operations of the
 week was that large corporate require ments had already been provided for by the enormous loans since the first of the
 year Pennsylvania's rally left its net loss less than point, and United States Steel preferred and Wabash preferred
 finished the day about a point higher than last night. The closing was firm and practically at the best prices. The period of redundancy of money was passed by the normal course of events But the market has been over shadowed also by several developments and the news of the week has contained little to encourage an upward movement of prices The approach of the crisis in the question of peace or war between Russia. and Japan has overhung all the speculative markets with grualling in- fiuence Foreign securities have been all
 most stagnant.
 The coffee market was another though less important source of large and small influence. Industrial reports have not | been of a kind to help in sustaining values. The returns of railroad net earn ings for December compare unfavorably with December of the preceding year, showing the effects of the growth of op- erating expenses in nearly all cases.
 Business failures for the month of Jan nary were larger than for any month since May. 1900. with the exception of December last year In spite of the sev- erely cold weather the mining of an- thracite is being curtailed to avoid an accumulation of stocks and the wage dis pute between miners and the operators of bituminous coal has given rise to threatening talk of great strike to come. Definite news from the iron and steel trades has been lacking but ru- mors have persisted of a coming cut in steel rails. and of concessions from schedule, prices In other lines of finished products
 The extraordinary figure at which New
 York bank loans now stands. offers a promise of additional large requirement for railroad and corporation purposes, and prompt a conservative use of credits for speculative uses.
 Bonds have turned heavy on a dimin- ished volume of business United States 2s, the 3s coupon and the old As have de- clined A per cent on call during the week.