The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-11
STOCKS ADVANCE
 THEN DECLINE Early Market Very Active Then
 Grows Dull PROFIT TAKING IS FREE
Professionals Quit Bidding Up the Mar ket and Liqudate Their Hold inas, Causing Sharp Fall
 ing Off In Prices.

New York, January 10.-After opening with a buoyant upshoot of prices, which gave material extension to the rise of yesterday and then maintaining an ap- pearance of great activity for time, it began to be manifest that the profesj siona1 operators in the stock market had been busy taking their profits in the hurly burly of the large transactions. The mar ke4 showed the effect of this change in technical conditions after that. The re- duction of short interests which had been driven to cover by the extent of the advance set demand from one source. The early market today showed some ex- pansion of commission house business, also attracted by the appearance of re- vving interest and strong recovery in the market. This demand facilitated the talk ing of profits by the professional party which has conducted the speculation up to this point. The later market became dull and hesitating in tone in consonance with these developments.
 There was little in the news of the day to indicate the marked change in recent conditions. The usual forecasts of the weekly currency movement agreed in re-
 
 mates differing to some extent on the amount of cash from local sources, which has come into sight during the week. This influx, it is agreed, was considerable and represents the coming out of hoarded funds, held in the hope of profit from the currency premium or from motives of distrust. The inflow of cash from the interior has been larger than last week, the balance in favor of New York on the express movement being estimated at approximately $S,O00000. The arrivals of the last gold engagements have been sufficient to overbalance the last absorp- ton on sub-treasury operations.
 The stock market rallied brisl1ly from sharp reaction when these figures ap- peared A heavy cash gain this week has been taken for granted, however, throughout the week, following the evil dence in last weeks bank statement Of a decisive turn in the movement The speculation in stocks during the week has been based largely on an assumption that the deficit in the legal reserves of the New York banks would be practical ly wiped out this week. Last Saturday the deficit still stood at $11, ,5O9,550, so that it will be perceived that its obliteration seems to depend on substantial loan reduction The revival in speculative &C., tiyity during the week must have some effect on commercial paper, which also would figure in that item. With the de- cline in the interest rate to the neighbor- hood of-6 per cent, which is the rate paid by the banks. on their clearing house certificates, the effect would be to stim- ulate the retirement of these instruments, and such retirement would operate to reduce the loan item of the banks. The factors in shaping the bank statement, therefore, are considerably mixed. Dis counts continued to fall in the great for eign money center and the Austrian lm- perial bank marked down it's official rate. An item of the days news was the off cial statement of gold production at the Rand in December, which rose 553, 526 ounces, a record output for any month With the reaction in the stock market, caused by the speculative profit taking there. came into consideration again some of the topics which were driven into the background by the active rise in prices
 Financial needs of some of the railroad systems, of which the credit is not high, gave rise to renewed misgivings. The