The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-01-30
y1ERLING HITS
NEW HIGH MARK;
US. BONDS SAG
nv STUART p. WEST.

rev York, Jan. 30.--Moyemeut OF
..rurities on the stock exchange
.odsv was very uneven. There was
renewal of the decline In cotton,
s.other new high for sterling and
trrtber sagging of the United States
sersrument bonds. These were the
e.tstanding features IN the finan-
e;aI situation. In the stock mar
- the line of distinction was
ssarnly drawn between the shares
y companies which are soon to
rnake unfavorable earnings reports
sur the fourth quarter of the full
i months OF 1921, and other shares
vhe have no such tests to face.
special weakness, as in the case of
Atlantic Gulf and West Indies,
american Sumatra Tobacco, Mont
gomery Ward and Consolidated
textile, the whole consideration
vas the bad showing expected in
the forthcoming reports. In in
stances where earnings are good,
a. at least where the bad news in
the shape OF poor statements for
the last year Is out of the way,
stocks as a rule held up and there
we're numerous advances In the
speeialty group.
The rise in sterling was the most
important of any day in some time.
When the rate reached $4.24A ON
Dee. -, it was the extreme of a
violent short covering movement.
The present advance, which has
now got well beyond the December
high. has not been the work OF any
frightened short interest 1t shows
that the international credit situa-
ton is better balanced than it was
month and a half ago. All signs
seemed to point to the conclusion
that these conditions are nearer to
q state of sterilization than at any
stage since before the war. French
francs went along with sterling
and so did the other continental
exchanges, with the exception of
German marks, which were held
back by the enormous deficit dis
closed in the latest German budget
figures. French exchange has now
retraced nearly all of the ground
lost since the change of ministries.
The 1921 figures on French exports
and imports issued today show
that while exports during the year
fell of over five billion francs, i'm
ports were reduced in the enor-
nous amount of over twenty-six
billion francs, q decrease OF fully
60 per cent
Even with this notable achieve
ment in economy France has not
kaa al 10 IN
ton that Great Britain has reached
In the international balance sheet.
II has no invisible credits in the
shape of interest and ocean carry
ing charges to set against any ex-
cess Of merchandise. imports over
exports and this excess still reach
ed total OF 2,00e, 100000 francs in
1921
Selling of Liberty bonds was
again plainly due to uneaSiness
over the soldier bonus legislation
and the possibility of its involving
huge amount of new government
securities. The same consideration
told against the general bond mar
ket. Bonds prices were not off to
any extent, but trading as COM
pared with what it was fortnight
ago, was small.
The supreme court adjourned for
three weeks without handing down
a decision in the Consolidated Gas
rate case. Traders short of Con-
solidated Gas stock had bid it up
early in the day When news of the
postponement came the stock broke
with great violence.
In the course of the afternoon,
the rise in sterling struck a still
more rapid pace and reached $4.2S.
Rates were up cents from Satur-
day and nearly cents as compared
with a week ago. This had
steadying influence in the wheat
market, but it did not have a SINH
lar effect upon the cotton market,
which was still very much upset by
the Egyptian prices.
In the last hour buying was &C
lively resumed in the motor stocks,
under the lead of Studebaker, Mer-
eantile Marine preferred, American
Can and in the shares of the COM
panies interested in drygoods and
chain store BUSINESS
ATLANTIC GULF.
Heavy selling of Atlantic Gulf
and West Indies shares today was
undoubtedly based on advasce
knowledge of the 1921 report. 1t S
understood that enough was earned
to little more than cover bond
interest and depreciation. The COM
pany took some heavy losses during
NE year, notably in the sale of two
OF its tankers, and if these losses
are marked off, as they properly
should be, the report will show
quite a deficit.
OYSTER Bay, n. Y, Jan. 30.-Col-
gale Howl hanlrer and diracfnr of