Market report

“ If the supply, or present stock in hand, be entirely in the possession of one person, he will naturally endeavour to put such a price upon it as shall produce by its sale the greatest quantity of money; but he will be guided in this estimate of the price at which he will sell, both by the knowledge that increased price will cause a diminished consumption, and by the desire to realize his profit before a new supply shall reach the market from some other quarter. ”

“ We recognize a short-loan market, a stock exchange, a number of "markets" where lenders and borrowers are brought together by the aid of various intermediaries, such as banks, bill brokers, and stock jobbers, who correspond to dealers in commodities. ”

“ In this splendid work of conquering a continent the Stock Exchange has kept pace with the march of industry. It has supplied the one great central market for the expression of the country’s progress as measured by the country’s securities, and it will continue to do so as long as an evergreen faith in America exists among its people. ”

“ The business of the Stock Exchange may be described as the business of businesses. The institution may be defined as the nerve-centre of the politics and finances of nations, because in this mere market all that makes history is focussed and finds instantaneous expression. It is worthy of being defined as the barometer of their prosperity and adversity, for a glance at the tone of this mere market, whose wares are more mercurial than these of any other mart, suffices to indicate their condition. ”

“ Now it is important to notice, that in November, the time of greatest speculation, the quantity in the market was held by few persons, and that it frequently changed hands, each holder being desirous to realize his profit. The quantity imported since that time has also been considerable. [2]
(195.) The effect of the equalization of price by an increased number of dealers, may be observed in the price of the various securities sold at the Stock Exchange. The number of persons who deal in the 3 per cent. ”

“ By rapid degrees the American fluctuations become generally circulated; the market seems to be full of the little pink slips that come flying in at the hands of boys and clerks stationed in a line that stretches from the offices of the cable companies outside the House to the very heart of the Yankee Market in the Stock Exchange. ”

“ I think that if you look at the news of the week I think the market probably prices in not just -- probably prices in a lot of information whether it's price increases, whether it's I think a lot of news throughout the globe about a deteriorating economy. I think it's more likely that what you're seeing is what the President continues to talk about, some of our greatest challenges, but certainly not just a reaction to what we're doing. ”

“ Concerning grain, cotton, coal, and oil, the government collects and publishes regularly, at frequent intervals, current information on production, consumption, and stocks on hand; and Boards of Trade furnish freely to the public details of current market prices of those commodities, the volume of sales, and even individual sales, as recorded in daily transactions. Persons interested in such commodities are enabled through this information to deal with one another on an equal footing. ”

“ You know, Monsieur, that, in the stock-market especially, and more or less in every other kind of speculation, the greater part of the transactions are fictitious, to a certain extent. Par exemple: you buy or you sell so many barrels of flour, at such a price, on time, as it is called,—that is, you engage to receive, or to deliver, so many barrels, at the prices and in the times agreed upon, in the hope, that, before the period of your contract comes round, prices will have so varied as to enable you to buy, or sell, the quantity bargained for, upon terms that will give you a profit. ”

“ Every advance in the perfection of statistics and the rapidity of collection makes more certain the bargain of every producer and consumer. People have sometimes opposed the gathering of statistics for fear that large dealers and speculators may take unfair advantage from [pg 111] such information. But a careful consideration will show that managing of the market depends chiefly upon want of information on one side of the bargain. ”

“ In the only remaining and by far most comprehensive class of cases, in which the Supply of Commodities and Services and Credits can be readily and indefinitely increased to meet enhanced Demand, and easily withdrawn from market and stored when Demand declines, each rise and fall of market-rate tends to be speedily checked through the mere action of Supply ”

“ It is the consensus of opinion of economists and of many of the most important agencies of government that the public interest is served by the gathering and dissemination, in the widest possible manner, of information with respect to the production and distribution, cost and prices in actual sales, of market commodities because the making available of such information tends to stabilize trade and industry, to produce fairer price levels and to avoid the waste which inevitably attends the unintelligent conduct of economic enterprise. ”

“ At each of the posts, and along the north wall, the specialists in these various groups of stocks are at work before the opening of the market, entering the day’s orders in their books, some with the rapid energy that betokens an active opening, others with an indifference that spells dulness in their particular line. ”

“ If the stock is much larger at the end of the second year than at the end of the first, it might indicate that the business man is speculating in merchandise, that he considers the buyer’s market during the year particularly favorable and has laid in an abnormally large stock. A banker with large experience in similar businesses can formulate a fairly accurate judgment of how much working capital a concern should have invested in merchandise. ”

“ The balance between consumption and production makes price. The market settles, and alone can settle, that price. Market is the meeting and conference of the consumer and producer, when they mutually discover each other's wants. Nobody, I believe, has observed with any reflection what market is, without being astonished at the truth, the correctness, the celerity, the general equity, with which the balance of wants is settled. ”

“ The market tipsters, the financial editors of newspapers, the brokers’ letters and all stock market literature, with but few exceptions, were crowing loud and boastfully for still higher prices, and after the whole group of stocks had risen in unison for a time, some individual stock was singled out every day or so, pushed into the forefront and skyrocketed to dizzying heights. The brokers and all the customers were delirious with joy and excitement. ”

“ Hence assembling, grading, sorting and transportation are to be considered as parts of the general marketing function. Similarly financing, that is, meeting the actual expenses of marketing including that of holding the products until the demand is present, constitutes a branch of market study. The risk of loss from destruction may be covered by insurance. Finally there may also be sales and purchases in advance of the appearance of the products on the market or even in advance of production. Dealing in futures and speculation are phases of marketing. ”

“ As a matter of Stock Exchange experience such a condition seldom arises, because the Stock Exchange discounts the future, foresees those economic conditions that spell prosperity for the country, and advances the prices of securities on a money market that has not yet felt the demands of improved conditions. ”

“ Progress regained has renewed our confidence. We can see and feel that confidence in the vigorous increases in consumer purchases, in greater incentives to save, and in the advances to record levels in the stock market. ”

“ Prices of many stocks are higher and intrinsic values greater than they have ever been before. The market has all the qualities that normally would cause intensest excitement and focus the attention of the entire country on the Stock Exchange. Yet in spite of these conditions, the Street is in a normal state of mind, and it is doubtful if the general mass of the people, who get their information from the newspapers are fully aware that there is even an ordinary boom in Wall Street. ”

“ News bureaus form an important cog in the machinery for making stock-markets, as it is through the news they furnish to the Stock Exchange and to the offices where investors and speculators gather together that the big operators affect the market. ”

“ The more of a particular commodity he has the lower his subjective valuation of a unit of that commodity; the more money he owns the lower his estimation of a dollar and the higher his subjective prices; and vice versa. Through a process of competition, selection, and adaptation, some of these subjective prices develop into market prices, that is, prices at which both buyer and seller benefit, and at which therefore an exchange takes place. To paraphrase an old adage, the proof of the market price is in the exchange. ”

“ Estimates for the future must always be based on past performance, as modified by present market conditions and contemplated changes in basic merchandising policies. In estimating the amount of stock to be carried, the volume of expected sales must be taken into account. The other factor is the rate at which the merchandise should turn during the period. Thus, if estimates are made for a period of six months, the estimated sales for the period divided by the number of times the stock is expected to turn during the six months will give the average amount of stock to be kept on hand. ”

“ If, instead of considering only the daily fluctuations, you analyze the movement of market prices for longer periods... you will find that the fluctuations of market prices, their deviations from values, their ups and downs, paralyze and compensate each other; so that, apart from the effect of monopolies and some other modifications I must now pass by, all descriptions of commodities are, on the average, sold at their respective values or natural prices... ”

“ The very circumstance of collecting periodically, at one place, a large number both of those who supply the market and of those who require its produce, tends strongly to check the accidental fluctuations to which a small market is always subject, as well as to render the average of the prices much more uniform. ”

“ There are now six industrial companies with an aggregate capital of 171,927,540 shares outstanding; and from the side lines it looks as if there ought to be time enough to start another boom when the stock market gets over its present case of indigestion.
In the final analysis the following essentials should be constantly borne in mind: The stock and grain markets are always capable of playing new tricks on you—of doing things you never dreamed of. ”

“ Every day we hear of combinations, Farmers’ Alliances, rural co-operative movements, etc., each designed to regulate the market for eggs, butter, potatoes, and such things, and each having for its purpose the very functions which govern a Stock Exchange in its own field—namely, the establishment of a fair price under the nearest possible approach to ideal conditions. ”

“ While the opening up of what the economists call the 'world market,' has necessitated, as a condition of successful competition, improved methods of production for, and carriage to, the market, a third and less obvious force has effected an important change in the method of distribution in the market. ”

“ Buying for future delivery causes advances in prices; selling short tends to restrain inordinate advances. In each case there must be a buyer and a seller and the interaction of their trading steadies prices. Speculation thus brings into the market a distinct class of people possessing capital and special training who assume the risks of holding and distributing the proceeds of the crops from one season to another with the minimum of cost to producer and consumer. ”

“ Many, indeed, go farther and suggest that not only should the prices be recorded in the case of all business transacted, but that means should be devised for placing on record the total volume of that business, as is done in the New York Stock Exchange. ”

“ Market prices of products and of securities are hourly known in every commercial mart, and the investments of the people extend beyond their own national boundaries into the remotest parts of the earth. ”

“ I also believe that -- I mean, I think most economists would also tell you that an accumulation of news both over the weekend and on Monday impact the market on Tuesday, regardless of what individual policy moves might draw attention that day. ”

“ Even though the market-place is largely filled with speculators, it is plain that the greater the number of traders in securities, the greater will be the facility for buying and selling any quantity of securities. The stock market is a powerful aid in floating new issues of public securities. The speculative market takes them at once and keeps them in the floating supply until they have shown their value. The stock market also renders a useful service in giving a continuous guide to the success or failure of industrial undertakings, and the worth of their securities. ”

“ An organization by which all persons interested in the commodity or security can rapidly communicate with one another.
(4) Existence and frequent publication of statistical and other information as to the present and probable future supply of the commodity or security.
The movements which take place in prices in any market, whether fully organized or not, depend largely on changes of opinion among buyers and sellers. The changes of opinion may be caused by erroneous as well Movements of Prices. ”