The Washington times., 1930-11-29
Loans Drop

b1OuSI1U GLlC IOCdA uOWAA w oA
other new low for the past five
years. This is the ninth consecu-
tive decline in the total for the
current reaction. The Street is
wondering how much further the
loans total will drop in view OF
the general feeling that most OF
the distress liquidation has been
seen. It is interesting to note
that borrowings by out-of-toWn
banks registered most OF the de-
cline, $59,OOO,0O0 for the week.
This bears out the belief that
interior banks have been liquidat-
ing securities steadily following
the recent failures. This selling
probably also accounts for the
present depressed state OF the
bond market.
4 Interests bullish on Baldwin
assert that the company will earn
It's dividend by a comfortable
margin this year. They also
state that the end of the year
will find Baldwin'S output so
diversified that Locomotive will
make up less than so per cent
of its business. Which is con
structive for Baldwin, since rail-
road equipment manufacturers
seem in for a lean period.
A new batch of "sour" earn
ings reports sent the rails on
their ear. Most of them are
flirting with their lows While
quite a few, including highly re
garded Central and Missouri Pa
cific common, are through to new
bottoms. Everyone is now quite
resigned to cheerless carrier earn
ings for 1890. With the 10 months
so bad, the final two months
shouldn't make much difference
either way.
Some of the selling in the rails
recently has been speculative but
a good deal of liquidation seems
! to be going on persistently, some
. for investment and foreign ac-
count and a lot, I understand,
from banks influenced by the
fact so many investment rails
aren't showing a comfortable mar
gin above dividends, as is re-
quired by law.
= Yet some of the rails are be-
ginning to look attractive. Mis-
souri, Pacific for one hasn't been
doing badly this year and earn
ings should come pretty close to
, 1929. Chicago and Great Western
is doing we'll, too, and then there
are some of the so-called merger
roads, like Western Maryland,
that are way down in price.
CapitalizatiOns
When one considers the enor-
NOUS capitalizations of some Of
our leading corporations. the diff
ficulty of showing decent earn
ings per share becomes obvious.
I times like these, the result IS
particularly sour, and talking
this over with G.. Virgins, we'll
known Wall Street statistician,
the thought came that it would
not be surprising if capital reduc-
tionS became the order Of the
day in the next year or so. Up
to last year everything was split
up and melons" but new day
has dawned and seems likely to
be with us while yet. There
is plenty of precedent for capital
reductions, and it was not so
many years ago that General
Motors, before it became the
giant it is today, hauled in it's
stock sails.
A conservative feeling about
Dupont Is growing in the Street.
The company'S income is so de-
pendent upon Ger Motors,
which provides the major part of
its net per share, that many are
steering clear for the present.
Dupont'S income from its chem
ical and other operations is esti.
mated at lo~T - share.
A Bouncing Ball
The current market has been
well described by an old-timer
as like a bouncing rubber ball