The sun., 1906-01-19
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
THURSDAY, Jan, ls

To-Day stOCk tnaTkel WAS IloTe leNeil lo'
and irregular than it has been at any tim
during the week. Reason for this wa
undoubtedly the confusion of sentimen
that prevailed in Wall Street over the matte
of the quarterly dividend upon Anal
gamated stock, which it was known woulc
be decided late in the afternoon Rumor
upon the subject varied, from stories tC
tho effect that no dividend at all nigh
be declared owing to legal proceeding
taken to emf join action by the ANA lgamatet
directors, to prophecies that not only woult
the regular dividend rate on the stock b'
advanced to a per cent basis but that ar
extra dividend would he paid. All thi
naturally tended to number of changes
of front during the day by professional
spectators. In the morning hours th'
security market was strong, Upon large
dealings Reading common stock made al
extreme advance of ~ points, and there
were vigorous upward movements in the
Missouri Pacific and Gould railway stock:
generally as well as in the American Smelt
ing and Refining. National Lead, Canadian
Pacific and Chesapeake and Ohio shares
1t was stated by those who have in the pas
been often we'll informed upon such matters
that the terms upon which the Nationa
Lead Company was to be taken over by the
American Smelling and Refining interests
included guarantee Of a 8 per cent. return
upon National Lead common shares II
there was a further falling of in the trans
actions in the railway equipment stocks
especially, there was a notable tendency
in the market toward activity In the low
priced railway and industrial shares and in
stocks az class that have not up to the
present time shared proportionately in the
general advance in values. The most
prominent instance of this, perhaps, was
the movement in the Chicago and Great
Western Railway common and preferred
b stocks, based as was understood upon
the continual Improvement in the physical
and financial condition of the company
1t is regarded as practically certain that
dividends upon the Chicago and Great
Western A shares will be resumed next
month at the rate of s per cent, leaving
further net earnings, which already amount
to a handsome sum, applicable to distri-
button in due course upon the company 8
B stock. On the other hand the local trans
portation stocks were features Of weakness
in the market to-day from start to finish
cause therefore arising possibly from the
introduction of bills in the State Legislature
having for their apparent object the idea
of preventing, or at least impeding, the
proposed merger of surface railway trans
portation lines in this borough. After
midday. however. the rapid declines and
advances in the price of Amalgamat ed
4. H., l. Is ta no ri. OF
and quotations of the leading stocks weak
ened When it was announced shortly
before the close of business that the Anal =
gamated dividend had been declared at the
advanced rate Of O per cent. without any
extra distribution. the price Of the stock
fell quickly to the lowest figure of the day,
afterward rallying and closing at only n
tri1ing net loss, While from an acutely
speculative point Of view the market closed
rather uncertainty, the firm lndertone of
the trading suffered in fact little change.
All the foreign and domestic news to-day
was of highly sat isfactory character Strong
weekly showings of condition were made
by the Bank of England, the Bank Of France
and The Imperial Bank OF Germany. the
English banks proport ion of reserve to
liabilities rising from its last weeks figure
Of 80 30 to $3.50, this comparing with per-
centage of 1919 at the corresponding time
last year The Reichsbank reduced its
minimum rate of discount from to per
cent, with further reduct ion in the rate
rat her obviously impending. Although dis
counts in the open market in London held
firmly. indicat ions were plain that easier
money was approaching there while in
Paris money rates fell and sterling ad-
vanced sterling in Berlin also rising. Here
he price of call and time money tended
until the last half hour of the business
day toward a lower level, the final recovery
in rates to s per cent, being manliestly
in the nature of a temporary squirt caused
bv a too long post poned borrowing; and
o the days weakness Of money was also
RESPONSIBLE the greater firmness Of The
foreign exchange market, where demand
sterling rose a quarter of a cent, The
piling up Of money by the local banking in
stitutiops, owing to The return Of funds
from the West, goes on without cessation,
he banks here having gained up to this
50 1873 900 from he Sub-lreas'iry
or double the gain made at the same time
last week; and the announcement to-day
was. of course. of graf flying sort that the
Chilean Government proposes to gradually
here sum of about 100000
for the purpose of facilitating the conduct
of commercial transact ions bet ween Chilean
: and those of this country. There
was evident to-day in certain quarters
desire to make operative as an adverse
factor in he market the admitted fact that
here has been of late some shading in the
prices of copper metal by the different
copper producing companies. Such con
ressions in price are by no means general,
hut they have been made; and it deserves,
therefore,, to be stated with emphasis that
20 far from being regarded as an unwelcome
incident such reduction in valuations of
his kind as has occurred is looked upon
,y the great copper producers as abso-
rtelv the best thing that can happen for
hem. The present price Of copper is
high, is unduy stimulating
product ion Of the commodity and is bring
NC into the business IA wholly unde
,irable element Of speculat ion, A falling
,ff in the price Of copper much greater than
,as already taken place would be a decided
boon to everybody concerned.
New York stock Exchange Sales Jan. lS.
CLOSING PRICES oy UNITED STATES BONDS