The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-05
PERPLEX|TY IN
 FINANCE CENTERS Report of Steel Trust Had Bad
 Effect on Markets
BUSINESS IS STILL GOOD
Some Little Anxiety is Felt Concern ing Foreign Financial Matters as the London Stock Market is in
 Such Stagnant Condition.

New York, August 4.-Last week saw evidences of continued perplexty over the financial and industrial outlook re- flected in the action of the securities mar ket. The immediate developments served to weigh on sentiment and induce a heavy undertone to the speculation, although there was a mixture of favorable factors which acted as a restraint on weakness.
 The most notable of the latter class of incidents was the showing of the United States steel corporal ton for the quarter ending July 30 of record net earnings of over S45,00OOOO exceeding the most san gulne of the preliminary estimates.
 The falling off In the unified orders on hand from the preceding quarter was re- stricted to a little over 10000 000 tons. and left that item well in excess of the figures at the corresponding period last year. As the period covered was thst subsequent to the break in March fin the security market, which was the herald Of the reaction to come, the report on its face be regarded as highly gratifying as an exhibit of the moderate reaction to which general industrial activity had been sbjected
 The large sums made available and set aside for the enlargements and exten- sions in which the corporation Is engaged insured it's immunity also from the em barrassments from scanty available cap- ital and generous interest charges, which have been such grave feature in the situation of railroad corporations for some time past
 All or this was practically overborne however, by the frank aclnowledgement Of the corporation that new orders re- ceived during July had fallen 9 to 90 per cent below those of July last year. This fact was accepted as conclusive evil dence or the sharp set back to which the iron and steel trade had been subjected as belated effort on the curtailment in enterprise which had been foreseen as soon as the difficulties of the railroads in securing capital for carrying out protected betterment had developed
 copper prices abroad have continued to decline and the expected waiting demand has not yet come in sufficient volume to nX stable conditions in that market With this condition in the metal trades the influence is lessened or lost on reports Of activity of other lines of trades. and the evidence in the still expanding bank clearihgs or the country of undiminished activity in mercantile lines
 This evidence of sustained mercantile &C., tiVity and the large requirements on bank ing resources thus applied help to com plicate the outlook in the money market rom which relief is considered essential to insure any effective revival of invest ment demand of capital. During the week British consols sold at the lowest level since 1S4S and the incident Is a central testimony to the exciting proportions of the investment situation. The immediate factor in the fall of consols was the forced liquidation growing out of the over extension of the Egyptian industrial ven lures. Foreign money markets and the reports of conditions of the great cen tral banks give warning of the coming pressure and the restriction of resources It was only by rise in money rates Tn New York that the French demand for gold, which inaugurated an export move ment from New York on Monday. vas avoided. At the higher interest rat,s here bankers negotiated finance bills through the foreign exchange market and placed the proceeds in loans in New York
 The bond department of the stock ex- change shows no stirring of activity. and the bond dealers are not able to re- port any important absorption for de- mand investment An incident If ,he week. however, was the sale by the Atchison. Topeka and Santa Fe railway to J. P Morgan & Co. of the unsubscribed portion of the $26ooO,00o of 5 per cent con- vertible bonds which had been offered to stockholders at par, the residue thus sold being stated at about $15,oO0, ,ooo. and the price to the bankers supposed to be about 9S
 The transaction was regarded as evi- dence of the continued difficulty in se- curing capital.