The Washington times., 1929-05-04
| IRREGULAR
MARKS WEEK s
TRADING
BY w. 8. COUSINS

NEW YORK, May 4 Q.N.S.).--
Bulls in the stock market made an
other brave attempt to push the
prices of their speculative favorites
TO the higher levels this week, with
the aid OF an easier money market
and unusually favorable operating
and earning reports from represen.
tatlve railroad and manufacturing
eoncerns.
They would have had better sue
cess but for the general tendency OF
the big and little traders to grab for
small profits at every opportunity,
the aversion to long-pull trading and
the persistence of the bears in sell
ing stocks on the "bulges" in the
price lists. A tug of war developed
in which the high-priced Industrial
stocks moved violently UP and down
the price scale in heavy trading, with
q $500 ,00O.share turnover recorded
In three of the active full sessions.
Speculative interest was centered
IN a dozen or more of the nightly
ing specialties, to the neglect Of the
steel, copper and motor shares which
might naturally be expected to re-
fleet the vast Improvement in busi'
ness In recent months. No enthusi'
ment that the United States Steel
Corporation had in the first quarter
OF 1929 earned SIS a share on the
common, or tnat this corporation and
Bethlehem were operating at 1O3
per cent of rated capacity. But
vague intimations of a merger be-
tween airplane and other industrial
concerns was sufficient to bring in
persistent buying demand as prices
skyrocketed all the way from 10 to
80 points.
Pools Active
Back of these sharp advances is
of course the strong-arm manipula-
tion of the pools and professionals,
who are experts at speculative win
dow dressing and understand the art
of distributing their stock to the best
advantage-to themselves. Trapping
of the shorts has also played an i'm
portant part in the swift advance of
prices.
A 10 per cent call money rate, Is
nothing to crow about, but 1t was
at least so per cent less than the
is per cent rate of the previous
week and q move in the right direc.
tlons. Brokers loans increased only
0,000, 900 for the week. the stock
exchanges report for the full month
of April showing a drop of $29,-
000, 900.
Many bankers and business heads
are very much alarmed over the
credit situation, particularly the
invisible banking system" which
has shunted about two billion dol
lars Of corporation money to the
ah - f1r1, HvNfo of
rates, free from the ordinary bank.
ing restrictions, and exempt from
examinations, maintenance of re-
healthy situation, except for the
corporations which are coming
money through this system.
AS was expected. an accumula-
tion of buying orders swept into
the market at the opening on Fri.
day, as the result of the COM
paratively small increase in brokers
loans and brokers on the floor of
the exchange had their hands full
in matching buying and selling
orders the market favorites. In
blocks of 10000 to $4,000 shares
the speculative actors" of the
week bounded merrily across the
tape, to the tune of new ad-
vances Of / to 4 points overnight.
The bulls were in the saddle and
the bears once more paid the
penalty for their over-confidence.
III Trade Reports Good
Business and financial reports of
the week were the best yet" from
the standpoint of industrial pros
perity, indicating a high level of
production and distribution of goods
and top notch corporation earnings
for the whole postwar period.
Another record breaking month
for business" said the National City
Bank of New York, commenting on
the April industrial record. Which
speaks well for the, prosperity of
the country in the first half of
1929.