New-York tribune., 1910-08-29
FINANCIAL MARKET
Stocks and Bonds Idle, with No
Investment Buying.

Investment Buying.
Stock market prices have lost large
proportion of the advance that followed
the July decline on the sale of securities
bought around the low points of the
year. and on professional pressure. the
selling having been helped by the forest
fires in the Northwest by political and
railroad rate uncertainties, by the
strength in sterling exchange and by
the absence of an outside speculative
and investment demand. Bond houses
profess to see some Improvement in the
market for railroad mortgage issues, but
TO important inquiry is reflected in the
volume of transactions on the Stock Ex-
change. Dealings have been extremely
light and in large part made UP of semi
speculative issues. though there have
been some fair sales for investment ac-
count over the counter The best that
can now be said of this department of
the market for securities is that a more
hopeful feeling prevails in bond circles
and that prices are at level that soon
should attract a more general inquiry
after the cessation of the usual crop
Withdrawals of money from reserve cen
tres, barring the development of pro-
nCunced activity in all lines OF business.
Quiet trade conditions work in favor of
the bond market. There is at present
no foreign investment buying of our Sc
Curities worth mentioning, while a large
part Of the stocks accum ulated for spec
ulative purposes by European opera tors
in the declining July market has been
liguidated al material gains to the SELL
ers.
Current indications do not point to IN
active stock market in the immediate
future. unless factors encouraging a re-
sumption Of heavy liquidation should
develop. Fundamental conditions are
sound. but there are various uncertain
ties in the outlook that call for caution
in the making of new commitments for
higher prices at this time in spite of
the fact that money is easy. with no sug-
gestion in the course of the loan market
Of disturbance in the autumn. 1t is
quite pro- able, however. that money
rates will move TO a higher range at no
distant date. owing to our adverse posi-
Iion in foreign trade which discourages
the idea of imports of gold this fall ex-
cept as a loan. to the heavy demands
that must be made upon New York by
out of-tONn institutions in connection
with the financing of the l1arvests and
to the inability OF the federal Treasury
to increase deposits in national banks
The working balance in the United
States Treasury is only little more
than S2600o.000. and expenditures on all
accounts since the beginning of the fiscal
year have exceeded receipts by about
S21 ,000. 900 compared with an excess in
the same time last year of SIS. 600, 900,
the showing naturally suggesting that at
no remote time the government will be
compelled to come into the market for
money, either by the sale of Panama
bonds or the issue of short term certifi-
Gates. Ordinary government receipts
are running ahead OF those reported at
this time last year. and ordinary dis
bursements should gradually decrease in
the remainder of the year. but against
this we have growing expenditures on
the Panama Canal construction upon
which there has been put out to date
more than s211.0O0.000. OF this amount
about S12400o,000 has been taken from
the general fund of the Treasury to be
repaid from the sale of Panama bonds
Both the Bank of England and the
New York Clearing House institutions
have large reserves at a time of the year
when heavy resources are needed, but in
view of coming demands for accommoda-
ton it need not be supposed that cur
rent holdings, especially in New York,
are any too large to meet the require
don viii be compelled to send large
amounts of gold to Egypt and to South
America and il is conceiva BILE that a
part Of the burden of financing the South
American movement may be shifted to
New York, just as it was last year when
we paid London's debts in Argentina and
Brazil through our own debts TO Europe.
The present technical position of the
local banks is far stronger than it was
year ago. but owing to the large ex-
pansion in the last year in Western
bank loans il is possible that this centre
may be called upon for d much heavier
amount Of actual money in the coming
autumn than recorded in the fall of 1909
when exclusive of gold exports Of about
S20,000.0o0 upward of S44, 100000 went
to the interior. Call money did not go
above 6 per cent in September, October
and November last year, with high of
Z per cent infJanuary, while 3 per cent
was the maximum for time funds. Just
now there is no reason to expect any
thing in the nature of a squeeze in the
months to come. unless there should be
an outbreak of dangerous bull specula-
ton in securities, of which there is little
probability.
Low temperatures reported in certain
sections of the corn belt caused some
thing of a scare in the stock and grain
markets last week. An early and severe
frost would injure corn and cut down
the indicated yield by many millions Of
bushels. while it doubtless would exert
a particularly adverse influence on the
markets. owing to the fact that the
country needs large corn harvest this
year to offset the loss on spring wheat
and TO provide a large surplus aVaila bic