Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-12-01

BUSINESS POINTERS.
Bradstreets Can Find But Little Improvement
In General Business Circles.

New York, Nov. 0.-Bradstreets, to-
morrow. will say: There is no general or
radical improvement in business at the
South, the Southwest or Northwest. In
the Central and Western states. and par
ticularly some important cities in the old
Middle and New England, the reverse is
true, and material gain in demand for
many seasonable staples has shown itself,
with a corresponding increase in the vol
unles of goods distributed or orders for fu-
ture delivery. This is Independent of the
stimulus to trade in certain lines due to
the approaching holidays, and in spite of
the check to the volume of general bust
ness within the week, caused by the
Thanksgiving holiday.
A sharp revival in prices is shown by
the quotations for some grades of lumber,
and more particularly for cotton, wheat,
oats and lard, the improving prices Of the
first two of which having had an influence
for good. Decreases in prices of steel rails
and bars, cattle, hogs Indian corn and
naval stores are reported, while quotations
for structural iron, rice, whiskey. tobacco,
pork coffee and sugar are steady. 1t
should be explained that rails are now held
at S22, the lowest price on record and
steel tillets and pig iron respectively at
50 and $50 below the English quota
tions. AT Chicago pig iron dealers are
trying to force an advance, and at st.
Louis that market is without life and the
price is low.
Cottons are weaker, since the cut made
by New York house. The decline in the
London and Melbourne wool markets is to
get ON parity with the American market
New England woolen mills are generally
well supplied with spring orders. At
Philadelphia some worsted spinncrs had
to refuse orders for immediate delivery,
and textile manufacturers report good or
ders for delivery after January l. The
Eastern manufacturing jewelry trade was
smaller than in October, while the whole
sale dry goods business was much larger
in November than in October, with a bet
ter feeling among the textile manufact-
urers.
Boston and Baltimore report trade in
staples quiet and of the hand to mouth
variety, but at Providence there is a
greater activity in almost all lines; at
Philadelphia in textiles, morocco leather
and drugs; at Buffalo in all the more i'm
portant jobbing and retail lines, and at
Pittsburg as well, the chief complaint
being continuance of very low prices
At the South, Augusta and Jacksonville
alone announce improvement. Mercantile
collections are generally fair for the sea
son, except in some of the heavier cotton
growing regions, being especially classed
as unsatisfactory at Savannah, Birming
ham and Galveston. There is moderate
activity in groceries at Nashville. Gal
weston says trade is dull and unsatisfac
tory. and at Charleston, Chattanooga,
Memphis and Atlanta, quieter without
feature,
From Cincinnati, Louisville, Detroit
and Chicago moderately encouraging re-
ports as to the volume of trade are re-
ceived. Similar advices are sent out from
st. Louis, with only moderate business at
Kansas City and Omaha, the county mer
chants tributary to these cities manifest
ing disposition to buy more sparingly.
Milwaukee iobbers are the more active,
and early in the week the like was true at
Minneapolis Portland, Oregon, and San
Francisco.
The stimulating influence of purely
statistical nature is a decrease of 2,0OS,-
900 bushels of wheat in quantity
afloat for and in store in Europe,
last week, nearly overcoming the
increase of 2,12s, 900 bushels of wheat
available in the United States and Canada,
last week Exports of wheat, dlour as
wheat), from both coasts, amount to p
667 900 bushels this week, against ?, 4i0,-
900 in the week "A year ago. The data pre-
sented to Bradstreets point to the CniGed
States having exported about 50, 600, 00o
bushels of wheat (flour included since
June 80, having 80. 900, 600 bushels avail
able for export during the next seven
months, Notwithstanding the alleged ex
cessive home demand of this year.
Bank clearings throughout the United
States, this week, We're sharply checked,
the total being only sS04, 96S, 600, or p
per cent less than last week, and nearly
per cent. more than the last week of
November 1898. Contrasted with the like
week in 1892 the weeks decline was Al
per cent.
Three hundred and seven failures were
reported in the United States this week,