The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-09
PRICES IF STOCKS ON TOP IF LADDER Continued Advance Is Made In
 the General List UNION PACIFIC IN LEAD Reading Shares Also Go Up Full Three Points and the Whole Market Acts
 Buoyantly, Closing Almost
 at the Top Figures.
UNION PACIFIC IN LEAD

New York, May S.-Explanation of the further rise in the price of stocks today was directed to the play of general causes rather than to any immediate new devel- opments, or to anything specially affect ing the individual stocks, which were strongest The Hartman, Pacifics and Reading were brought forward once more into the foremost rank of the move ment. and their activity and strength had the usual power of the effect on specu- latve sentiment on the whole list The principal fact regarding Union Pacific is the well known immnence of bond issue of $25,000, ,OOo to $50.O0O, 0OO. Many .rumors circulated today of the amount of these bonds to be offered and the price to be realized. One was that $35.0QO.00O of the bonds had already been disposed of to foreign buyers Another was that terms of the underwriting were in dispute be- tween the railroad officials and the bank CTS.
 Meantime Union Pacific forged aggres- sively upward with scarcely pause at the round figure of 140. Readings move ment was even wider, the extreme ad- vance running to over points. The prin-
 
 cipal news item regarding this stock was an unverified report that 100000 shares of it held by Lake Short had been sold in the course of the present rise. This sup posed large increase in the market sup ply of the stocks did not check it's sharp upward tendency. marked feature of the market in fact was the light supply of stocks at any stage of the advance.
 A readjustment of the price level to con- form to the emergency of affairs from the profound depression and distrust of the panic period is avowedly one of the main purposes of the persistent marking up of stocks in the present movement. A similar process made itself plainly mani- fest in the bond division today, where some low grade and contingent interest bonds were revived suddenly from dor mant condition into one of considerable animation. Comparatively small amounts of these bonds had to be taken by ad- vancing bids, while the higher prices thus reached establish a quotation for these securities accepted by bankers and money lenders as a basis on which to figure their security as collateral in loans
 The forecast of the weekly currency movement gave promise of another large addition to bank cash estimates running from 100000 upward. The Pennsyl- vania bond allotments and the rate of New York city revenue bonds may affect considerably the loan item of the banks, but with an expansion in loaning power of s45OOO GOO or upward it is not likely that such a cash increase should fail to add materially to the surplus, which was up- ward of S62000,000 on last Saturday. This outlook in our money market made eX- plfcable the sharp rebound in foreign ex- change rates today in spite of an easing of discount rates in London. While for eign subscriptions to Pennsylvania and New York city bonds helped to carry the exchange rate away from the gold ex- mort point, other factors are at work to restore it.
 The British foreign trade statement shows a falling off in our cotton ship ments to that country for April of $ll,- bO0OOO Foreigners also are selling us our own securities on the present rise Tn prices, sales by arbitrage brokers for foreign account today reaching a con siderable amount There was momentafy halt in the rise upon appearance or the government crop report, which was less favorable than expected, but the market became strong again afterward.
 Bonds were active and firm. Iotal sales. par value, $7,946,000
 United States bonds were unchanged on call.