Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-12-11
money and Other
MARKETS HOLD firm
DURING PAST WEEK

reports concerning the fundamental
conditions underlying the finance mar
kets continued to be satisfactory the
past week. Railroad traffic is holding
at an extraordinary high level consider
ing the season. Thus car loadings dur
ing the week ended Nov. IS totalled
955, 900 cars, which represents an in
crease of oS2,0000 cars over the COR
responding week a year ago and 49,
600 over the same week IN 1920.
Although the weeks movement was
some $4,000 cars smaller than in the
preceding seven-day period, this de-
cline is more than accounted for by the
loss Of traffic resulting from cessation
of navigation on the Great Lakes.
Loadings Of merchandise and miscella-
neous freight were. in fact, greater.
No cessation is apparent, meanwhile.
in the steel industry's high rate of
output, operations still approXimeting
60 per cent. of war-expanded capacity.
Pige iron prices have declined further,
but trade reports state that both buy
ers and sellers are now feeling for
the bottom Of this market.
| Steel prices, on the other hand, re-
| main firm and consumers are showing
some disposition to carry reasonable
| stocks, feeling that another coal strike
next year is not beyond the bounds of
| possibility. Although the total amount
| of coal proposed was cut by the recent
| holiday. it appears that bituminous
output is continuing at a daily rate cor
responding to 100000 tons week.
| Final figures for the earnings of
class 1 roads during October show that
| the total net for the month amounted
| to SS5,000,000, which, while some $780,.
| 5000 below the total in the same
month a year ago, when earnings were
unusually good, is still S27,000.000 bet
ter than the showing in September.
With the freight movement continu-
| ing heavy during November the roads
| should be able to make g fair showing
in that month, although it normally
furnishes smallec proportion of the
years return that October. Buying of
good and it is considered that the num-
Der of freight cars ordered this year
may reach 100000. which was the total
for 1916 and is the largest figure re-
ported for any other year since 1922.
A recession of about 2 per cent. in
| the ratio of reserve of the combined
federal reserve systems brings that
| figure down TO 74.3 per cent This is
slightly lower than any ether figure re-
| corded this year, but is still high
! enough to demonstrate very ample sup
plies of commercial credit. The DC
cline in ratio is very largely a rcflcc-
ton of further increase in rediscounts.
which, in turn, measures the sustained
industrial movement am the prepara-
tons for the holiday trade. Money
| rates remain steady and no material
disturbance is expected to attend the
| large government transactions center
ing around the tax date.
With the census bureau reporting
| cotton Girnings to December l at s.
| $4,000 bales, the trade is more than
| ever inclined to view that the crop
/ will amount TO Slightly less than TO-
O0odOO instead Of the 100000 bales
which were discussed few weeks ago.
| With this change Of attitude. and
with reports of cessation of activity
in foreign textile ccnters, the price of
the staple fell black close to 81 cents.
At this level, however, the market APP
peared we'll liquidated and prices raj
| lied before the end of the past week to
approximately IS cents.
Tho grain markets have been rather
| quiet. partly because of an uncertain
ty regarding foreign developments, but
prices have been firm. Much interest
IS displayed in the meeting of the AL
lied premers now beng held in Lon
don. as il is realized that the need for a
clarlnS up of the German reparations
and inter-Allied debt problem is press
| ing. Restrained optimism prevails on
the basis of better relations between
the French and British governments.