New-York tribune., 1889-12-30
MONEY And BUSINESS,

| Holiday week. rarely pregnant with events. is
o season for reviewing the past and forccasting
the future 1t has brought no events this year.
The stock market was stagnant. the wheat market
rose quarter of cent for the week. cotton.
pork and lard show exactly last weeks prices. as
do lead and refined oil, but crude has fallen
n fraction, with oats and tin Copper has
strengthened slightly, but coffee is 6 of cent
lower. ard hogs 3-S lower. in sympathy with
corn, which has dropped l cent. The only other
change has been in sugar, which has fallen is
for crude. 3S for granulated. and IA for crushed ;
but willie trust stocks lower than week
ago. sugar has recovered about cent since Mon
day. Other stocks declined during the week so
cents per share in average price. On the whole
the speculative exchanges might almost as well
have been closed through the week.
The dying year has not treated Wall Street
kindly say some. True. if Wall Street means
only spectators and the brokers who depend
upon speculative business. But some people about
Wall Street are supposed to own stocks on which
extra dividends have recently been declared. and
large part of the stocks Of railroads whose
earnings are reported monthly In December
eighty-two roads for the first seventy-nine for
the second and thirty-fve for the third week have
earned Sl6.2Oi14O this year. against $l4,629.-
the reported earnings of 142 roads for eleven
months it appears that about half the mileage
| in the country has earned 1884, ,107,777 in 1889,
against 1881 ,942, ,4SO in 1855, a gain of o. per
cent. whereas the increase in mileage was 2.1
| per cent. The owners of stocks appear TO have
| done a little better than the people engaged in
| betting on them.
| Nor has 1889 treated the industries Of the
country badly. The heavy crops, the remarkable
| increase in iron production and consumption, the
| large expansion in consumption of copper, rags,
| furs, phosphates Saltpetre, glass Of home manu-
| facture and building materials generally, leather
| and boots and Shoes and the heavy dividends
| paid by cotton mills, do not indicate decline
| Of industries. Coal has been depressed because
! exceptional weather has enabled people to get
along with less. Wo0en goods for the same
reason, and also because imports have increased
| per cent, have not answered expectations The
rubber trade is threatened with embarrassment
by the monopoly in Brazil But building has
been remarkably active wherever records are kept.
In addition TO the tonnage railroads, the clear
ings through banks indicate general enlargement
of trade In December, Boston, Philadelphia and
Chicago have exceeded last year in cearings by
81 per cent, and all other places outside New
York have gained 80 per cent. For the year
1889 the gain at the three cities has been 92, and
at all other outside cities 9.4 per cent These
things indicate an expansion of about 10 per cent
in the volume of business for the year measured
in values and as prices have ranged lower than
in 1888, the expansion measured in quantities
must have been still larger.
The cotton movement continues heavy. Re-
GENTS in four weeks of December were $4,000
bales less than last year, but exports $4,000
bales r,ore and the quantity already in sight
is close upon 100000 bales. against 100000
at date last year. AS New-YOrI has exported
70 600 bales less in December than last year,
the exports from other points imply an increase
Of about 81 600 in value of cotton alone.
The wheat movement compares with move
mcnt at all year ago. for the month thus far
the increase has been about 1,150000 bushels
wheat. 900 barrels -four and 63l 900 bushels
corn. On the whole, December's foreign trade
will compare fairly with that of last year. though
exports then exceeded imports by S25,0OO,00
From NewYorb exports in December show a
small decrease. but deducting cotton small
increase Adding the gain in cotton elsewhere
and no gain in other exports, the aggregate would
be about S8s, 600. 600 for the month. Imports
for four weeks at Ncw.York show an increase of
10 IA per cent. and at the same rate every
whore the aggregate would be SOS, 100000, or
600 600 600 less than exports.
The excess Of merchandise exports in four
months has not been far from S95, 900, and
vet no gold comes. This makes bankers begin to
suspcct that American securities have been
emntied upon the market by foreign holders.
There was a large buying by foreigners in the
five months-Aprl lAugust-inclusIve, when i'm
norris heavily exceeded exports both Of mcrchan-
disc and precious metals. Now the British
market begins to feel a trace of Indigestion, after
tho craze in buying sO-called industrial stocks
right and left for months and there are not
many sane men who have not expected TO find that
market troubled before long by disappointment
at the results The very fact that money has
NOT been close at London, Notwithstanding the
annroach Of monthly settlements, the large loss
nv thc Bank last week. and the heavy balance
o,ainst London on American merchandise lends
sunnort to the impression that accounts have
been partly settled, al least, with securities in
stead of specie. This would also explain the
severe pressure here and tie expansion in loans
for two weeks
The Treasury reported net cash on Saturday
s2O7 O06 O72, against S209, 9,30l ,l7j the previous
SATURDAY. and bonds purchased during the week
ending Friday in value only Si4i 900.
The large disbursements fer interest and dvi-
dends are expected 10 give relief next week, hut
foreign realizing on securities may indefinitely
defer imports of gold II the turn Of the year,
the usual reliance is on receipts of money from
the interior. But it is open 30 question whether
such receipts will he considerable this winter,
because OF extraordinary activity in business at
the West and South Disputes between enVloyes