Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-18
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
MARKET DROPS TO
4 new LOW LEVEL
Rates Again Collapse, but
Late Recovery Develops.
Decline Imparts Greater
Strength to the Financial
Situation.

.,,or collapse in foreign exchange
Allo.m s the feature of today's trading.
rates ,ouched the lowest level reached
fliVe f rurone began its general war ana
sloe lo.uit was TO inipart to the market
the ,aor Ie feeling of confidence than has
80, anparent for many weeks.
oeea' .in apr In the trading the market be-
80 erratIc and rates broke as low as
Iss sssI IN de3 for demand sterling ana 4.o9
=. ~ o2N for cable. There was q later re-
U.sV, W however, the advance pushing UP
coVeig,a eterIing to 494A to 4.95 and
on,o. oene ,o e5m to 4.96. There was active
.,.,,,o from many investors at the low
igures -, 20 Ma, yor,y r;t,-,u
.u,s, deht and freer offerings of cot
.O. and grain bills influenced, In a large
,n.os,,re, ~" the drop in exchange rates.
Tp,era Is reason to believe that within
,ha next few days the exchange market
uNl assume fairly normal proportions
Inndon news is more optimistic ana the
,rUnroveuent there has been one of the
,a,r, r.n., notable features of the whole finan-
nioi sit,,ation. There still continues taN
~ reoponing the Stock Exchange there,
O,d conferences are daily under way be-
,veen English bankers and brokers and
,bo government representatives looking TO
some early action along this line In view
~ recent French and English successes
an the European battlefield. French
treasury bills are being offered in London
m & per cent basis, and are reported
10 have been taken freely at this figure.
LONDON SITUATION IMPROVES.
Another evidence of the Improvement
,hroad Is shown in the weekly return
AZ the Bank of England, which has just
been issued, and which gives the propor-
ion of reserve to liability at Ellis per
rent, This represents gain of per
cent. as compared with the reserve as 1t
stood at the outbreak of the war, and
an increase of about ~ per cent. over
last week. The institution has added
DO2 to its reserve during the week,
and s6,OeO,OOO to its bullion holdings, while
there has been big contraction in
hans. other securities showing a decrease
AZ sl565O0O0. There is net falling off In
deposlts of 100000. A decrease in cir
rulation is noted of S2,995.OO0. This finds
explanation in the contraction in trade |
and restricted expenditures in different |
directions.
There was good attendance of |
brokers' in the London financial district |
today, but trading in securities was not |
brisk Gilt-edged investment issues were |
'lIfeless, as brokers are not willing to |
take risk of advising clients because of |
.fxed prices Australian mining issues
hardened on the announcement that the |
sydney and ADELAIDE Stock Exchanges
would be reopened on Monday and that |
the exchange at Melbourne would resume
business shortly.
An issue Of 100000 sterling Sac
paolo Brazil, notes matured today.
Metropolitan Water Board bills to the
amount of G1,O00.O00 were paid for
Call loans were plentiful at 11a per cent
Three months bills were per cent. An
Issue Of $4,000 Indian Government bills
will be offered next Wednesday.
Thanks to an Improvement in the Eu-
rOpean war situation, due largely to the
reported victories of the allies each day
witnesses an easing up of conditions in
the financial markets, with buyers show
Ing more noticeable desire TO get into
the trading. There is a broader dis
position to buy stocks. This is apparent
In the increasing number of daily sales
In the market here and in New York.
Securities that last week could find no |
takers because of an Indifferent demand.
are now being bid higher. Quotations
maintain stability which is surprising to
investment brokers, and the situation, on
the whole, is considered in general good
shape.
4 meeting was held in Washington
Today between bankers and special
committee, appointed by the Federal Re-
serve Board, TO report OH the advisability
ot forming $3.50, 100000 gold pool TO re-
AeVe the foreign exchange situation. The
general belief prevails that only a small
amount Of this sum will be actually
needed, but the fact that 1t Is proposed
70 make such a large sum available is
expected to aid materially in the further
fauction Of foreign exchange rates.
BIG LOAN OVERSUBSCRIBED.
An announcement from New York this
ilternoon said that there has been a very
eheral demand for the unallotted portion
u the slW,Oo,OOO New York city per
eh'' corporate stock and two and three
ear revenue bonds. and that the loan
'ould undoubtedly be oversubscribed.
Corporation and individual investors
Ire taking extensive accounts of the
eW issue, No figures were given out
" the syndicate managers as to the
mount or applications, but IL was made
'hown that subscriptions were coming in
spuIy from all parts of the country
ha also from abroad. Ono New York
oFporaticn subscribed for $500, eco, and
ihother for 100000 At the same time
sfest many letters and kilograms were
seeVed al the offices of j. r. Morgan
Co', and Kuhn, Loeb & Co, where
tN'N''7 VIC ldhtllt DllulHB LOT |
9nds in amounts ranging all the way
iOm y 500 up to many thousands.
,a''iual poha houses today reported that more
au'Iles' which became manifest yester-
~ ~, were continuing today. and in some !
ases actual sales were made. Small
MOUNTS oIg Of Reading general mortgage As
W. W. tor 92ls, OF = from the July 30 clos
81 81, Electric Storage Battery changed ;
nus .aIIt at we, and fractional offerings of
,,u,sneIn ,.nIn Central sold at from 50 TO IS.
ne ,o,! wanna Company convertible 3las,
ss E 1918, sold at o..
ortsa ioHo~lng bids and offers were re-
Isysn blds-Mine Hill and schuylkil
laoS lSSsn; =; IS. Asked-Pennsylvania, So; Har-
rc !, Hteelrie 6s, l0l; Philadelphia Elec- ;
nd Ph,Ias, sU, ,Meslmoreland Coal stock, so.
Ady,aasad ,'illadelphia Traction. 1914.
bia ICES ICES from New York to a Philadel- ,
,ss ,,', roIse were to the effect that a bid
5ova made .q for 1000 Westinghouse slightly
m stoone me closing of July 30. STANDARD
uotatIonss are in demand at advancing
tates ST. sto. here was trading in United :