Omaha daily bee., 1922-06-06
Financial
@r Ntn 4 srk WmeS
By ALEXANDER DANA MOVES

| Onsahs Dee i.eassd Wire.
New York, June S.--On today's
market nearly all active stocks de-
elined. some OF them two points or
more. and sterlias exchange crossed
the long discussed $3.50 mark. Sell
ing OF stocks. apparently from pro-
tessionAi sources, began with the
opening OF the market. II had no
obvious cause IN new Developments
over the week end, unless one were
to assume that the somewhat resul.
tory inquiry into the steel mergers"
by various public bodies provided
such . cause.
As q matter OF fact. all the merger
stocks were weak, even Bethlehem
and Laekawanna steel losing " and
IA points. respectively. while de-
clines Of u point in Midvale steel
and 2 points in Republic Iron and
Steel brought those participants in
the latest amalsamation plan four
points or more below the prices
which ruled on the day before the
announcement that the papers had
been signed.
Changes Irregular
This need not be interpreted to mean
n. blocking Of ths mergers. Il does not
even reflect conviction that nothing will
Be gained In efficiency or economy 'of
production. All that II Indicates 10
either the rueful checking up OF ac-
counts by outside spectators who had
ina agined that compani become vastly
mora valuable over night merely because
they have combined, or else the selling
out BY professional operators who had
supposed that outsiders would not regain
their common sense.
Elsewhere the days changes were ir-
regular and not a. rule large. Some
o. the oil stocks rose while others de-
clined. Railway shares stood virtually
mosiHniss; Taos,s,s tn, The % broad trading. 80 long
with the equally familiar. general main
tenancs OF prices. Averages" in that
market. covering mostly home company
securities. stand y point below the high
above the years. lowest. Tho war loans
would make better average comparison.
Sterling Climbs.
The really interesting thing about to.
days rising Of sterling to tt60h was not
80 much that . round number .objec-
tive point had been passed on the re:
more than 81 cents since last Thursday
when the British exchequer appears to
have completed its sales Of exchange to
establish American credits OF settlements
with our treasury. This Is the most rapid
advance into new ground that has oc-
CURED In four months: indeed the rate q |
week ago today was scarcely above the
rate OF February. .-
Hitherto the reaching Of such q rate a.
today's has been the signal for reaction
and II may turn out to be soon this oc-
casion. But the position Is peculiar. 1t
is In some ways the exact converse Of that
which existed when the rate was declin.
Ing 10 to 80 cents a month In 1919 and at
the beginning OF 1920
Among the many causes which COM
bined to make that market, by no means
the least potent. was the cessation by
merchants and bankers over the whole |
world Of their practice OF remitting their
foreign balances to, London. When they |
did not fear the British financial or
political situation. they were not willing ]
to risk = further loss Of 10 or 20 per cent !
in the principal, through still lower rates |
when they should wish to draw upon such |
balances.
The fact that the opposite process is at |
work today, and that confidence In finan.
cisl London 10 restored. must mean re-
sumption on a very important scale Of |
this movement Of foreign capital into |
Lombard street