The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1908-07-30

OUTLOOK FOR COPPER STOCKS
Prices Have Not Discounted an Adj
vance in Metal-COsts have
Been Reduced.

BOSTON, July 29.-The Finaneia
News says: In many quarters II Is
beginning to be asked Ii the copper
shares have not already discounted
a considerable advance in the price
of the metal which is yet to become
a reality.
In long analytical article on the
position of coppers the Commercial
Bulletin points out by means of COM
parative tables the fact that the mar
ket value of copper shares today is
greatly in excess of their current
market value in March. 1904. when
copper was selling at practically the
same price as 1t is today C3 cents
a pound). and even higher than the
market price of the same shares in
May, 1905. when copper the metal
had advanced to > cents a pound.
The priter figures that it will in the
natural course of events. be January.
1903. before the price of the metal
advances from its present level to
around Is cents, and that the pres
ent price of copper shares has al
ready discounted that event.
We are inclined to take exception
to the conclusions made in the arti-
Gle in question for in the first place
the conditions are vastly different in
respect to many of the coppers this
year to those prevailing in 1904.
Take Allouez. for instance which was
then selling at and Is now quoted
at 80. Four years ago Allouez was
not mine but only a prospect and
since then the Calumet & Heela peo-
pie have bought controlling interest
in it. and it has become subsidiary
of the big company.
Then again the costs of producing
copper have been lowered tremend-
ously over the costs one year ago
on the 26 cent metal market The
producing mines are making more
money today on Is cent copper than
they were four years ago. Consump-
ton has been at so low an ebb for
a year now that any change must
be for the better, and 1t is hardly
possible that the market has dis
counted all the good things that are
due to happen in the metal market
within the next six months.
There is one other point that pre-
walls now which was not in evidence
in 1904. the supply of copper stocks
in the hands of brokers and specula-
tive traders is much less than it was
then. Buying orders in the coppers
are much harder to fill than selling
orders are TO execute. The people
who have the coppers have paid for
them and taken them out of the
market, and 1t will take much
greater advance than has been ac-
complished yet to bring them out. A
great many investors bought copper
shares in the summer OF 1906, be-
fore the real boom began, they car
ried them up through the high prices
that prevailed that fall and through
the first month or two of 1907. be-
cause they were getting a larger re-
turn on their money than could be
had from any reinvestment in other
securities, and naturally they held
onto these stocks through the decline
which eliminated in November. 907.
Since then the market for the cop
pers has shown a steady improve
ment and has not yet reached the
point where these holders feel iusti-
fed In selling. On top of this buy
ing came the operations OF the Calu-
met & Heela interests which absorb
ed large blocks of the floating stock
of such companies as Osceola, Al
! louez, Centennial and led to the TAX