The sun., 1909-02-07
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
SATURDAY, Feb, O.

.''.' SATURDAY, Feb. Q.
To-day's stock market was, taken In its
oct results. relatively listless affair. with
o moderate inclination toward heaviness.
The market was fairly animated in the
first Of the two hours OF. business, finan-
cial sentiment being favorably impressed
by yesterdays pronounced exhibition OF
strength in he bond market. Neverthe-
less the trading element were inclined TO
AL stocks In scalping way, basing their
ventures upon the fact that az the market
had risen throughout the first four days
of tEo week and held yesterday at prac-
tioa.y unchanged prices something OF a
slight recession was called fox An i'm
preston was broadly dispersed also
that to-days bank statement would make
poor showing, while more or less absurd
talk was indulRed in regarding Japanese
war scare. The London market was
slightly lower on account Of week end
profit taking, hut little or no business
was done here for London account. Com
pilations as made to-day of the earnings
OF two important railway companies. the
Union Pacific and Louisville and Nash
vile. for the first six months Of the fiscal
year ended December 81, 1908. presented
a showing that was certainly not at all
Encouraging to holders Of railway stocks
and to believers in the future OF the coun-
t!l' & railway business. The Union Pa
ofc earned in the period "A balance appli-
cable to dividends on itg common stock
equivalent TO a distribution on the stock
Of over ll.3 per cent. The Louisville and
Nashville showed surplus after divi-
Ia - 20 m
10 a distribution of $50 per cent. on its
capital stock for the half year alone. The
bank return was n bad one. as everybody
expected. but its unfavorable nature was
Of course due To the special transactions
Of the week caused by the anticipation of
payments by the banks into the Sub
Treasury on the Governments call for
return Of deposits and the accumulation
OF cash by the trust companies to meet
the requirements OF the new reserve law.
The banks this sustained a net cash loss
Under the average system Of calculation
OF over s22 ,000. 600, resulting in decrease
OF $l7, $50, 900 in reserve. The actual con-
dition Of the Banks exhibited a loss in
cash Of something over $40, ,OO0,0 900 and a
decrease in reserve Of nearly s11 100000.
While from one point of view 1t may be
ssid that the conditions of deadlock in
fhe stock market remained this week
substantially unchanged. without any de-
velopments of impo rtance moreover in
the state of general trade and industry,
it is fair to say that both the market sit
uation and the business situation were on
the whole more cheerful than they were
IN the week previous. II was evident that
the market for securities Of n more or less
speculative nature was such that IL be-
came easily oversold. while there was no
doubt whatever of continuation of pub
lilo absorption. of securities of investment
kind. A distinct Improvement in financial
sentiment was perhaps more apparent
IN London than in this country. The sit
uation in London has, however been more
depressed than here. particularly by rea-
con Of the fact that the French demand
for gold caused by the Russian loan CEN
tired almost solely upon the London mar
ket and SO brought it about that the Bank
Of England's reserve was reduced to a
pretty low level. With the Russian loan
out Of the way all the European exchanges
have changed in favor OF London, the
Bank OF England is gaining gold from a
variety Of quarters and has managed TO
divert the Argentine demand for gold, |
seasonable at this time, to New York. F!
The net result has been a considerable
decline in money rates in London and a
corresponding cheerfulness on the part
Of people there interested in financial
concerns. In our own country, although |
II is commonly y said that business is still |
dull, the indisputable truths stand out
that the railroads are pretty nearly all
showing increases in gross earnings as
compared with the same period year
ago and that bank clearings and the rec
ords of failures over the country testify /
to a steady and gradual improvement in
industrial and business affairs. 1t is of
course 70 be remembered in making these
comparisons that business at this time
last year was at low ebb. On the otheS
hand 1t is a fact that most railroad COM
panies are now show ing gross earnings
equivalent 10 those Of the year 1905. and |
in some instances to 1905, and are savisg |
a much larger proportion of these earn |
ings in net than would have been thought !
possible even a few months ago. Busi- |
ness the country over seems irregular in |
character rather than depressed. Dull |
ness is much more evident in the copper |
and metal trades than anywhere else, |
while in the dry goods business and one or
two other trades it appears actually buoy
ant. Call and time rates toward the end
Of the week were just little bit firmer.
the strength being due to the causes here
tofore outlined as productive Of to-day's
bank statement. The fact however, that
our bankers saw fit to anticipate in the
wav they did the return Of public deposits
to the Sub-Treasury emphatically attests
their confidence in the continuance Of
easy money conditions.
"