The herald., 1896-02-01
ralstreet's Review

BrauStreet'S stock review says:
The rise of the bullish sentiment in
speculative circles has been very marked
during the past week. Not only has it led
10 IA somewhat wider market he greater
activity. but TO the development of the
development OF the manipu aion on the
part of the larIe speculative interests
which have fou I'd the rank and file of the
Wall street professionals rcadv 10 follow
their leadership. Willie public interest
and participation in the stock marXes has
increased somewhat it is sIlll upon a
limited scale, and the advancing tenden-
cies which prices have exhibited may be
attributed mainly to the manipulation of
particular p,rti )ns of the list. The decline
in exchinge rates to below the
specie export point has had some
considerable effect in keeping up
'he buoy ncy of specula' ion Europe has
also bought stocks, though on a limited
scale. and at the close of the week a revv-
al OF the puDlic appetite for speculation
was no iceable, it's manifestations, how
ever, Being mainly conflued to the low
priced shares
Friday market continued to show great
underl, ing strength, but the expectation of
the passage of the free silver bill in the
senate was regarded as a possible reason
for reaction. Interest has centered
mainly in sugar, in the coal shares and in
the grabgers.
stocks, particularly Reading and Jersey
Central, early in the week, foreshadowed
an agreement on the part of the companies
to restrict production and fix its division
among ,he competing roads. The group
eXerc sed "A sustaining effect upon the gen
eral market.
Bradstreet's review of general trade will
say:
Tue features of the week are continued
retarded demand for merchandise and
checked Industrial operations. Least sat
isfactory is the waiting attitude of some
of the more important industries. Shoe
factories at philadelphia are shutting
dowu or running on part time; cotton
goods makers regard the outlook for their
present pr duct unpromising. There is a
reaction i'll the price of steel bllets ;
among fifty pig iron furnaces in the Pitts
burg and Shenango districts. fourteen are
idle and the position of woolen goods man
ufac,urers is shown by the fact that foreign
wonlen goods are relatively most active.
General trade at the close of January
proves disappointing, particularly in cent
raj, western and northwestern states,
where the movement of merchandise for
jobbers has been slow and unsatisfactory,
it being only fair at a few points.
The volume of spring goods distribu ed
from Chicago in january fails behind ex-
pectations, although larger than in Janu-
ary, 1895. some traders in territory tribu-
tary 10 Chicago are making orders small,
owing to having carried over large stocks
and to a desire to confine purchases to
actual requirements. AT St. Louis spring
demand is slow. The condition in the
Northwest is such that grain moves freely
in some regions irrespective of low prices.
Exports of wheat (tlour included) both
coasts of the United States his week show
marked falling off, amounting to only
$500, 900 bushels, compared with 3,S49,-
600 bushels last week, and 2.4S3 900
bushels in the week a year ago.
Business failures throughout the United
States this week show another large in
crease. not only as compared with the last
week but as contrasted with the total for
the fourth week in January, 1895, 1894
and 1898. The total is 393: last week it
was 341 last year, 3 | 6; in 1894, $40; in
1898, 271, and in S92 il was 279.