Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-04-24
Financial
NEW YORK MARKET

panied by a further easing of all
other monetary accommodations
j Call money renewed at 1-2 per cent
and then dropped to 8, the lowest Of
fetal rate since March of last year,
| but funds were available in the
| outside market" as low as ga.
| Time money was practically on q
nat per cent basis, as against to
Ia per cent yesterday, and prime
commercial paper, which has held
relatively firm at Ia per cent for
| weeks. was quoted today at to
l la per cent.
Wall Street interpreted the re-
| serve banks action as an indication
| that the over-extended speculative
position In the stock market, dis
| closed by the gigantic volume of
brokers' loans outstanding early in
the year, had been sufficiently cor
| rected to warrant the reduction in
money rates as stimulus to general
business, several lines of which had
shown tendency to fall off during
the last few weeks. The banks
action caught bear traders unawares,
with the result that they were forced
into hurried covering of commit
| ments, many blocks of 1000 to 10000
shares changing hands during the
day. Commission houses also re-
! ported substantial increase in pub
| lie participation, with the operations
| Of professional bull" pkooIs stimuli
| ated by the relative cheapness of
money.
While the credit situation was the
| principal topic of discussion in fin
| ancial circles, considerable interest
| also was manifested in the renewal
| of negotiations for the funding of
| the French debt, the announcement
| that General Electric stock would
be split up on a four for one basis
with the dividend on the new shares
| inaugurated at IS cents quarterly.
| the offer of $1,000 per share for
| Michigan Central stock by the New
| York Central, and the report that the
| International Mercantile Marine
Company had received a cash offer
| for the White Star Line.
The weekly mercantile reviews en-
| phasized the fact that the warmer
| weather had been helpful to both
| trade and agriculture. Dun's states
! that As out of the Is price changes
| last week, however, represented de-
| clines from the previous week, but
| Bradstreet's food index number was
| 3.45 compared with 3.41 last week
The advance in stocks was led by
the industrial shares. Net gains of 2
| to points were recorded by such
widely diversified issues as Adams
| Express, Allied Chemical, American
| Safety Razor, American Smelling,
| Baldwin Locomotive, Butterick Pub
| fishing, Chicago Pneumatic Tool,
| Childs and Company, Continental In
| surance, Cuban Dominican Sugar
| preferred, Independent Oil and Gas.
| National Tea, Philadelphia and
| Reading Coal and Iron, Pierce Arrow
| preferred. Remington Typewriter,
| Union Bag and Paper, and L. S.
Realty.
General Electric dropped from
$40 IL to sos Ia, on the traditional
selling on the good news" which
followed the announcement of the
stock split-up, but it rallied later to
$40 Tor net gain of one point, clos
ing 5-S higher at 122 - and Bethle
hem Steel advanced a point to Al IA
with buying Influenced by the splen-
did quarterly report made public af-
ter the close yesterday.
Local fractions were among the
few weak spots, selling off on the
announcement that the state senate
had killed the Thayer bill designed
to relieve them from expense in con-
nection with street paving repairs.
~ Oooh AaoPlu anu
Third Avenue each fell back about
points, closing slightly above the
low levels OF the day.
Big Four" common scared u
points to 1S5 IA, but most of the
other rails showed only moderate
advances on the day. Union Pacific,
Southern Pacific, Southern Railway,
Frisco common, st. Louis South
western and Chesapeake and Ohio
all closed a point or two higher.
Commodity markets were mixed.
Heavy selling Of May and July con-
tracts, said to be for the account
of an eastern Spectator, brought
about a sharp reaction in the wheat
market. Cotton prices held steady.
Raw sugar was unchanged but flu
lures We're slightly easier. Coffee
futures advanced 16 to % points.
Foreign exchanges held relatively
steady. Demand sterling was quot
ed around $4.S5 1916 and French
francs were slightly firmer just
above 1856 cents.
All records for the breadth and
volume of bond trading this year
were broken today when the market
responded with an impressive up
turn to the cut in the federal re-
serve re-discount rate and the re-
newa1 of efforts to settle the French
debt. Total sales of $21, 565,0 900 were
exceeded only by the record break
ing turnover of $25,570,000 on De-
cember II, 1924.
The enormous flow Of buying or
ders for all types of securities car
ried prices of many issues into new
high ground for the year, although
sharp recessions in some of the trac-
ton issues, carried on under the
cover of the advance elsewhere, held
the closing average around yester-
days high mark.
The ease of credit conditions
| traditionally favorable to a rising
bond market, was more pronounced
today than at any time within more
| than a year. Time money was vir-
| tually on a four per cent basis and
| the official rate on call funds fell
to 3 percent following the reduc-
| ton OF the rediscount rate to 3 LIZ
Supplies of funds were so plentiful
| that money in the outside market
loaned as low as 2 ga percent.
Liberty bonds quickly reflected the
| change in conditions, six Of the gov
l ernment's obligations reaching new
| top prices for the year under the
expanding demand for investment
securities. Some OF the French is
1 sues, which only a few weeks ago
sold at the lowest prices Of the year
were carried back to 1925 highs II
response to the favorable outlook fol-
an early settlement of the long
l standing French debt problem.