The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-27
CONFIDENCE IN
 MONEY MARKETS SoIidity of Stocks Is Evident In
 Every Way FUTURE PROSPECTS GOOD Reports of Early Resumption of Many Idle Industrial Plants Give In- creased Strength To Posi-
 ton of Finance.
FUTURE PROSPECTS GOOD

New York, July 26-The financial mar kets all gave clear expression last week to the growth of confidence in the im- provement in the situation of affairs and to the hopeful spirit over the future In the stock market the movement was so pronounced and carried to such lengths as to give rise to some apprehension of ex- cess. The broadening outside demand for securities was taken advantage of for this reason to effect large realization of the speculative holdings. The professional board room traders expressed their doubts over the movement by persistent short sales on the advances. It was not until the end of the week that prices yielded. The manner in which the market digested these sales for various accounts gave a most striking demonstration of the scope of the new movement, and It's pass ing from the more artificial stage of pro- fessionalism and manipulation which have been conspicuous for several weeks
 Evidence of solidity of the movement was found in the kind of reports regard ing some of the industrials which were put In circulation, and which were met with formal denials from official sources Alleged arrangements for immediate re- sumption of the full mill capacity by the United States Steel corporation and by some of the railroad equipment com panies offer confirmation of such reports More authentic information confirmed the gradual betterment in demand which was being felt but moderated the terms of the accounts for speculative effect Thus President Corey of the United States Steel corporation placed the pres ent rate of activityeof their works at 56 per cent of capacity.
 These occasional admonishments against speculative exaggeration did not discour- age the new growth of confidence Evi- dently the movement of the speculative markets was disposed to look to the long CT future, arguing from the extreme de- pression which resulted from the financial upheaval of last year, the prospect of coming resumption of normal conditions of activity and the contrast in price valu- ations of securities which this prospect suggested Besides, the growth of outside speculative operations prompted by this view there was a notable increase of more solid investment demand, based onacon- vinced assurance of intrinsic values at present levels of prices. This kind of demand was especially marked in the bond department at the stock exchange, where the weeks sales rose to the extra ordinary total of $25, 100000 par value. This heavy aggregate of transactions was cherished also by unusual variety and ab- sence of excessive congestion in a hand full of issues from any individual causes. testifying thus to the breadth and gen. eral factors of the demand.
 Not only in the business in the bond department of the stock exchange. but amongst bonds houses outside the ex- change was this revival of investment de- mand to be seen. Placing of new bond issues by railroad companies in the hands of bankers and the ready sale of such is sues showed the extent to which the vival was having it's influence. These new issues, for the most part. are of a high grade of security, old treasury hold ings of first mortgage bonds being re- sorted to in many cases and the issue price being at a rate of discount which evidences the distance still to be trav- ersed before normal conditions of corpor- ation credit are re-established.
 The weeks bond business IS recognized nevertheless, as proof of the material progress made towards this normal condi- tion, and toward facility in raising new capital necessary for the resumption of enterprises brought to a standstill by the drying up of the springs of credit An other important development in this field was the placing of some large blocks of American bonds abroad
 Sales of exchange against these foreign subscriptions was sufficient to cause a break in the price of foreign exchange to put stop to gold exports
 The reversal by the court of appeals of the s29,O00,00O fine on the standard oil company, decreed by a lower court, was given a place of importance in the weeks developments by the financial community. It is relied on to quiet fears of foreign capital that American corporations are in danger of encroackment to the point of confiscation.
 Confidence Is unabated The country's crop will offer a profitable yield and af- ford a substantial underlying basis for repair of wealth. The evident turn in the tide of the currency movement shown by the fall in New York exchange at Chi cago is viewed with tranquility in view of the heavy surplus of banking reserves. The only effect has been a slight harden ing in time money rates for periods car rying over the end of the year. The de- velopment of an interior demand for cur rency in fact. is made a factor for ad- ditional encouragement as proof of n- hue ivi