The Corn-Trade and Options-Markets, Considered in Relation to Social Economic Problems (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1899 edition. Excerpt: ... in the 'Zukunft" of November 27th, 1897. Since then we have seen a catastrophe still more disastrous than that of 1891-92, in consequence of the corner of Joseph Leiter. We shall return to this subject in the next chapter. CHAPTER XII. Manipulations in Cereals on the Options Markets. More than 95% of the whole Options transactions have their termination by the payment of the differences that result from them. On the American Exchanges the business thus liquidated amounts to 98%. As always in those transactions which are regulated differentially, there is one party which gains as much as the other loses, there necessarily arises, in course of time, a struggle between the parties, a struggle about which there is nothing commercial. In the Options trade, a knowledge of the goods is useless; there are no customers; there is no need of being prudent in accepting or in giving credit, for there is no credit, and in most cases, the buyer does not even know who sells to him and vice versa. The science of the Exchange consists in this: Foreseeing, whether or not the seller can deliver; guessing, whether or not the buyer will receive, and arrange one's plans accordingly. If the Bourse men lack financial strength to conduct singly a big operation, they found a syndicate, which has the double advantage of diminishing individual risks and of setting aside competition, which might guess the plan of campaign and stand in the way of its success. The syndicate, for instance, buys slowly at low prices, and, having thus secured a sufficient quantity, commences its manipulations to get rid of the goods at a profit. In most cases it is sufficient, to make known, by a calculated indiscretion, the existence of the syndicate hitherto kept secret, and the Bears are...