Birmingham age-herald., 1894-12-08
BUSINESS.

NEW YORK, Dec. 7.-R. G. Dun & Co., 's weekly review of trade tomorrow will say: It is difficult to detect any change In cur rent business. Prospects for business after January are quite generally considered more hopeful. h some branches there are larger orders, and the westhound ship ments of merchandise are little larger. But the working force is naturally dimn- ished near the end of the year aud the holi- day traffic brings just now a temporary activity which Is not of much general sig nficance. The meeting of congress and the announcement of he new currency plan and Of various bills proposed have not Affe ced the situation perceptiOly. Pay msnt for bonds have been completed with out disturbance, bu. did not prevent the shipment of some gold to Europe today. On the whole agricultural prodlcts are scarcely stronger and wages Of labor do not advance, but there Is reason to expect the employment of somewhat larger working forces after The holidays.
 Reduction in the price of rails has brought out no large contracts as yet, but some good orders have been given for feight cars, one Tor 500. Payments through the principal clearing houses are a shade less favorable, but show for he first week of December ao increase ot 4.6 as compared with last year and decrease of l9 per cent com pared with 1892, when business began 10 fall below the record of previous months.
 Theiro industry seems to have distinctly brighter prospects at Chicago, where pig iron is firmer and bar in larger demand be- cause of orders Tor freight cars. But Besse- mer iron has sold at S10 25 ct Pittsburg and steel rails have been reduced to s22 there. Wire rods and nails are weaker. Ccnpsri- son of prices there and at the east shows the lowest average yet recorded; taking prices of Octobsr, 1S9), as 100 quotatio ops have fallen to 55.7. Southern works are offering iron here and in New England at very low figures, and though somewhat better demand appears for finished products, it is so far below the output that the mpetition leaves scarcely profi. The money market has not improved and | the drift of idle money hitherward is as | large at any time this year. remark able statement shows that the treasury transfer of money has been almost ex- clusively to New Orleans, being $2, 375, ,000 in October, against s65 ,000 to all other points. and g, 425 ,0Oo Tn November, against S203 GOO to all other points. Com mercial loans show no incrt ase whatever, and heavy sales of American securities by Lon- don this week have advanced exchange to the shipping point, so that Tl 21O ,OOo gold will be exported today.
 The liabilities ih failures for the last week of November were g, ,03S, ,497, against g., 90l, ,475 for the same week last year, but the decrease was wholly In manufdctur1n 2 liabilities, S427 ,644, against S1 675 ,027 last year, while trading liabilities were S1 ,C67, . 348, against s1 .2o8, ,449 last year. For the four weeks or November the aggregate was BIO, ,5S1 ,873, against s20, S41 ,621 last year. The failures this week have been 3S5 in tue United States. against 3s5 last year, and
 40 in Canada, against AZ last year.
 BRADs srREEr'S REVIEW.
 NEW YORK, Dec. 7.-Bradslreet's to- morrow will say: At the larger eastern cities retail trade has assumed the charac terstics of the holiday season. The de- maud from jobbers is mainly 10 fill out de- pleted stocks, and activity is mainly among retailers. An encouraging report regard. ing the outlook is received from Baltimore, but Boston, Buffalo, Pittsburg and Philh- delphia announce trade quiet, with the volume for November less than ln 1893. EAsthe south there is a reasonable activ- ity in staple goods, with a moderate im- provement at Nashville, Chattanooga, Savannah, Augusta and Jacksonville. Southern jobbers are paying as much at tenlion to collecting bills as to selling goods. At Charleston, Memphis and Bir mincham trade is quiet and unchanged. New Orleans and Galveston likewise send unfavorable reports of the movement of merchandise, but at the first named the free marketing of crops makes money small. There has been moderate gain in distribution of groceries, shoes and light hardware from Galveston, but sales Of dry