Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-07
BOND PRICE index
AT RECORD LEVEL
Demand for Investment Sc
curitieS Continues at
Brisk Pace.
BY BYRON SELLER.

NEW YORK, September 6.-With a
substantial amount of interest and
dividend distributions at the end of
August to provide for, the volume Of
buying in the fixed income securities
market during the past week was much
increased and prices went to new
high level for the year on the average.
Standard Statistics index of 80 bonds
stood within a point of its peak of
1924, made in the Winter of 1927-1928
in the booming bond market"
Since the investment market has adj
vanced over the past few weeks at a
slow though steady pace, it has almost
caught the economists and market
forecasters unawares and little talk has
been heard recently of the strong in
vestment market that additionally
marks the beginning of a business up
turn. However, there is no mistaking
the tremendous strength of the bond
market.
Inactive Bonds Gain.
Tape watchers during the past week
or so have been interested to see ordi-
narily inactive bonds brought out and,
in sales sometimes consisting of a single
bond, marked up / or more points
This has occurred in bonds like Long
Island Railroad refunding As Q949),
Southern Railway SIPS of 1856.
Another case that points out the
scarcity values that have been estab-
lished for prime investment favorites Is
the way m which Baltimore g. Ohio
first As, which normally sell ! to IA
points below Atchison general As, have
been driven up until the two bonds are
both selling on approximately a 4.10
per cent basis.
Toward the end of the week traders
found that there were very few offer
ings of high grade legal rails and
public utilities or municipals on the
market. Investors were forced to re-
sort to less desirable issues. The re-
suit was that long list of second grade
rails, public utilities selling on S to
5l2 per cent basis, and Semi-speculative
industrial descriptions were advanced
one or more points, thus effectually
decreasing the spread between the top
and secondary grades.
Volume Increases.
Volume reached above the $4,000 900
mark daily against a little better than
$4,000, 900 last week. This, of course,
only includes transactions on the ex-
change and is but an indication of the
much larger counter trading.
Against such a demand, the weeks
OoIdl VI new DOnQS at 9Of, 1OS,UUU was
absorbed without a flutter. Most of 1t
consisted of high-grade public utility
bonds. The total compared with $67,-
100000 in the previous week and ST.
$4,000 in the same week of 1929
Meanwhile there was merely a thin
stream of municipal offerings, not
nearly enough to check the demand
Current yields in this section of the
market have declined until Middle West
and Far Western communities, which
ordinarily have to pay slightly higher
price for accommodation, have been
able to borrow well under 4 per cent.
Buffalo, N. Y, secured record price
for an issue of long-term obligations,
at total cost to the city of 3.91 per
cent.
The threatened tightening of money
rates has failed to arrive or even give
any sign of its coming AS a matter of
fact, the London market has such a
glut of funds on hand, with British
treasury bills selling on 21s per cent
basis, that the New York money market
has been more or less assured of the
further retention of low money rates
by moderately large export of British
balances TO this market
Copyright 1901