The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-03-28
The BUSINESS OUTLOOK.
From Bradstreet,s estate Of Trade z

fFrom Bradstreet's Estate Of Trade.n1
The week has brought more favorable
weather. which tends to create a better
Minneapolis, ST. Paul and Chicago, and
70 a moderate degree at other points, re-
mains dull and unsatisfactory. The most
encouraging feature is the advance In
prices OF wheat, Indian corn and Besse-
mer pig iron, the latter being based on
the higher value placed OH lake ores:
dry goods. shoes, hardware. iron and
leather at Chicago, business in other lines
continues slow Crop prospects in Iowa
are good, and Kansas and Oklahoma pro-
ducers are holding Indian corn for higher
prices. The check In demand for .groce-
ries and provisions at the south Is due
20 southern planters having raised larger
food crops this year. Heavy receipts of
vegetables at southern markets are fol-
lowed by reports OF large crops thereof
rave fallen off, but those to Mexico and
Central America are the heaviest on rec
ord. Portland, Ore., is sending large
Of South America, ana Tacoma, cotton
cloth, flour and lumber TO trans-Paclf1c
markets.
One Of the most unpleasant features is
lack OF Improvement in mercantile COL
lections. This. with the commercial calm
at many Of the more important trading
c~enters, points to some of the effects of
the prolonged period Of withdrawal Of
capital from enterprises in the United
States, and to the unwillingIness Of aceu-
49, ~
ventures at present.
Total bank clearings continue the re-
cent downward movement and furnish.
the smallest total for some weeks, $751;
900, 900, or 8 per cent. less than last week,
and only / per cent. larger than in the
fourth week of March, 1895. As compared
with the corresponding week in 1894 this
week increase Is 20 per cent, and with
that in 1898 (more than a month before
the outbreak Of the panic). this weeks
decrease is IA per cent. The falling off
n. 49, - v~7 rya+l %lN fa+o1 tn 1000 1c 1T
per cent, ard with 1881, at a time when
trade was slack following the Baring's
crash in December, 1890. this weeks
clearings are 8 per cent. smaller.
in price. Trade in wool is almost at a
standstill, aside from a few sales made
for export. Foreign dress woollens are
higher. the only Improvement In the out
look for American fabrics. Additional
woollen mills a closed for lack of
orders. Raw cotton IS lower, presumably
on reports of a prospective large crop.
The heavy movement Of gbnghams APP
pears to be the outcome of drives and
auction sales, the effect of-which on
other fabrics is depressing. Large accu-
mutations of white cotton are reported,
and Providence bankers state that cot
ton manufacturers have sought loans
there to enable them to carry accumulat-
ed stocks.
Speculation in the New York stock mar.
ket is stagnant. Quotations are made
entirely by professional traders of the
smaller kind. A disposition of shorts
TO cover early in the week a v place to
renewed bearishness on the prospective
passage of the Cuban resolutions by Com
gress. London has been Indifferent to
American securities, which were weaken
ed there by the news from Washington.
The rise in foreign exchange, which is
firm at 1882 to 48SA for demand ster-
ling. also tends to depress stocks. though
exchange is still some distance from the
gold point.