Birmingham state herald., 1896-02-01
WEEKLY TRADE REVIEW Dun and Bradstreet Are Still
 Apologizing. ARE E E MIR. MICAWBER Every They Hope That Something VIII q Turn Up, HE 2 ON MARKET IS IMPROVING AiY $ Works Got Contract for 400 Tons of Cast Iron Pipe at s1e 20 Per
 Ton-Failures Showed an
 Increase.
! 2 ON MARKET IS IMPROVING

New York, Jan. SIR. G. Dun & Co | tomorrow win say:
 fallures in three weeks of January snow liabilities of $17,S36.511 apainst Sio'oS5,O60 last year; in manufacturinp $o'ool, l29 this year. against s2. .479. 1o3 last year; Tn trading, $10317, ,36O. against SS'loo,261 last year. Failures this week
 nave been 4O4 in the United States. against 354 last year, and 70 in Canada. against 54 last year.
 Ihough business is still waiting, there are some signs of definite Improvement, It Is now believed that the first pay ment for bonds will cause no further pressure, and the money markets are cas- | fer as respects loans on collateral. though the difficulty of making commercial loans stiil checks operations. But large matu- rites at the end of January have been met more satisfactorily than was expect ca, ana merchants and bankers report that the signs promise a good spring trade. No increase appears as vet in the demand for the principal products, un- | less for some forms of iron and steel. in which good contracts have been made this week. Domestic trade recorded through clearing houses is 6.5 per cent smaller than year ago. Signs of im- pfoVement in the iron and steel business are gratifying, even though they spring rom combinations which have raised the price of coke and allotted the output or lake iron ore A contract for O00 tons of rails, Pacific delivery, taken by an eastern concern in competition with foreign makers; a contract for 5000 tons
 of plates for the East Jersey Water works; contracts for 4100 tons of cast iron pipe, at $19.20, taken by Alabama works, with contracts for the Commer- cial cable and other buildings here, cov- ering $500 tons, are the main features; but there is also a better demand for wire nails, after a long stagnation and also for sheets. Pig iron Is rat ther weak CT. Southern works competing sharply with speculative buyers of some months ago are selling below present furnace prices, but the average for all products l is practically unchanged and IA per cent below the highest last year. The coke production has again been cut down | 1875 tons in single week. The cotton mills are in the curtailment of produc- ton, as goods continue weak. with an output largely exceeding distribution, though the week has brought considera- ply more inquiries, and a larger spring trade is still hoped for. Woolens ard practically unchanged. Cotton is a shade lower than week ago, notwithstanding strong arguments by Neill and othera but receipts from planters go on at nears ly the same rate, spinners taking a fan behind last year as before, and the mar
 
 | brilliant estimates of increased con- sumption this year. Exports in January have been 50 per cent less and receipts from plantations 39 per cent less than | last year, and receipts have been larger, | but spinners' takings and exports are | both smaller than in 1S92-93 from crop | of 6,700,000 bales.
 Bradstreet's Review.
 Bradstreet's tomorrow will say: The features of the week are continued Afa- Ia6 1nv, md f<,. apnln, l lfcA a,A | checked industrial operations Least | satisfactory is the waiting attitude of | some of the more important industries. Shoe factories at Philadelphia are shut ting down or running on part time; cot-> ton goods makers regard the outlook for their product unpromising; there isss re- action in the price of steel billets; among fifty pig iron furnaces in the Pittsburg and Shenango districts fourteen are idle, and the position of wooden goods manu- lecturers Is shown by the fact that for eign goods are relatively most active. An indication of the continued shrink
 age in the volume of business In De-
 cember and its extension into January
 of weekly bank clearings, that for this
 week being the smallest since
 the last week in November and 5.5 per cent smaller than one year ago. General
 trade a the close of January proves dis
 appointing, especially in central, west
 ern and northwestern states, where the
 movement of merchandise from 5obbers
 has been slow and unsatisfactory, it be-
 ing only fair al few points.
 Relatively most favorable features of
 trade are found in the continued strength
 of prices of leading staples, the conserva-
 tive attitude of wholesale dealers and,
 aside from the improvement In the out
 look at Pittsburg and Baltimore the ac-
 tual gain in demand for staples at
 Charleston, Atlanta, Augusta, Chatta-
 Naghyfl1p and Mpmnhi9 The
 traordinarily heavy movement of wheat
 and Indian corn from southern ports and
 the newly developed South African de-
 ma nd for flour on the Pacific coast re-
 main features at Newport News, Calves ton, New Orleans, Tacoma and Seattle. The prospective success of the govern- ment bond issue the absence of dstur- bance in the loan market and the de- cline of exchange below the gold shipping point combined to create a bullish specu- Iation in the New York stock market. The new government loan will, 1t Is thought, be oversubscribed, and intend- ing bidders generally seem to have com- pleted their arrangements. The disposi- ton of Wall street professionals is to discount the resulting improvement and manipulative cliques have advanced va rious stocks, finding buying support in spite of the hesitation of the general pub
 lie. Only $500000 gold was shipped this week (to South America) and several millions are en route from London Tor use in the bond subscription.
 Business failures throughout the Unit ed States this week. as reported to Brad~ streets, show another large increase, nor only as compared with last week, but as contrasted with the total for the fourth week in January, 1895. 1894 and 1885 The total is 393; last week it was 341; last year, 3l2, in 1894. $40; in 1S9S 271, and in 1892 1t was 279. Treasury Gold Reserve. gfse