The New York herald., 1921-02-16
FINANCIAL NEWS
AND COMMENT
Stocks Shake Off : Depressing
Reading Influence-Wheat
and Cotton Rise.

A sharp break of Reading company
shares yesterday denoted much confu-
sion about the plan of segregation as
filed with the court in Philadelphia,
and for a time this weakness threw the
market into a great deal OF irregular:ty.
The industrial share list. however. cast
off the depressing Influence OF the
Reading situation before noon and
afterward strength developed among
steel. railroad equipment and certain
oilsissues. 1t was not In the stock mar
ket' that the financial community found
it's chief interest. although sentiment
seemed TO lean toward the constructive
side of values as on Monday. The, cot
for fortnight or more. prices. rising
half cent to the pound. and wheat fu-.
lures, dealt in in Chicago but closely
followed In New York, added 41s to
cents bushel to the. substantial ad-
vance OF Monday. In the last week the
March wheat option has risen % cents,
and as export purchases have been re-
ported rather light 1t is evident that
hedging operations and plain specula-
ton for the rise are playing rather un-
expected part in this market The. other
grains were also strong yesterday. corn
futures advancing about cents a
bushel tt~"
What the last few. days have. brought
ic ~
tons in stocks, foreign exchanges, grain
and cotton. but the explanation for the
concerted movement is hard to find 1t
seems hardly likely that they are all
related unless liquidation of farm prod
iucts has gone further than appears on
the surface and unless the export trade
is in more thriving condition than
is generally believed. Sterling exchange
rose yesterday. to a.so1a, a gain for
the day of cents to the pound. while
Continental rates. II not uniformly firm,
still were steady. The question may be
rais I'd, whether the, forward tendency Of
the. exchanges is less the result of easing
money conditions here and in the lead
ing European countries than of declin-
ing exports from American ports. which
would entail smaller purchases Of dol
lars than were made in January. and
thus work to lift pressure from the for
eign currencies. The usual seasonal
runlors Of crop damage from one cause
or another are assisting the advance of
wheat. AS far as stocks are concerned
a basis for improved sentiment may be
foa1d to degree in the strength of the
exchanges. but to a greater extent in
the growth of the impression that busi-
ness. In lines in, which defiation has gone
far is likely to show betterment when
the spring season begins. In the next
six weeks further reduction of bank
loans is looked for and wages and prices
are expected TO have passed through the
readjustmept process far enough to war
rant .increased buying of manufactured
products and economical plant opera
tion. Call money was again per cent
on the Stock Exchange yesterday.
The r aiding stocks feIl 4 to points,
traders not discriminating greatly be-
tween the comrnon and the preferred
issues. There was a moderate recovery
from bottom levels before the close. but
not enough TO show that the stock mar
ket was In anything except a highly
mixed state of mind over the application
or -fne' pan. It was evident that the.
programme. II carried through without
alteration, which. was considered iriprob-
able, would rot entail benefits for hold
ers OF Reading shares of so substantial
an order rs had been forecast when
dissolution was ordered last summer.
The general mortgage As advanced g.
points losing part OF the gain in the
afternoon. This movement was ex-'
planned by the proposal that a 10 per
cent premium be paid the holders for,
surrender OF the Philadelphia and Read
ing Coal and Iron Companys guarantee
at present made jointly with the Read
ing company. But all that the Street
cav in the plan. as applied to the stock.
was the likelihood of payment into the,
Reading company's treasury of more
than s5.0Oo.ooo for interest in coal lands
that they had expected to get for moth
ing.
The bond market was rather soft, and
the thought was expressed among in
vestment houses that the $4,000 600
Chilean Government, loan would be the
last large offering OF the kind until the
recent large output of new offerings had