Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-11
WEEKLY TRADE REVIEW Southern Pig Iron Dropped Sl
 Per Ton. BtSSEMER PIG ADVANCED Railroad ta ,'gs for December Show an In.
 $ aee of 88 Per Cent
 "
 FAlLVS WERE UNUSUALLY HEAVY By 2 Bank Cleariugs Showed an Increase / 25 Per Cent Over the Week Be- ..Y fore and 10 Per Cent Over the Same Week Year Ago.
3ESSEMER PIG ADVANCED
WERE UNUSUALLY HEAVY

New York, Jan. 1O-R. G. Dun &. Co. will say tomorrow in their weekly review of trade:
 Liabilities in failures for the first two days in January amounted to $91S795 of which $240,4 were of manufacturing and $65S,3S of trading concerns Fail
 ures for the week have been 431 in the
 united States against 420 last year, and 5S in Canada, against 54 last year.
 The new year begins with such uncer-
 tainty that business is somewhat re-
 tarded. The proposed sale of bonds of- fers ground for confidence in the future but no one is able to determine what it's earliest effects may be in the money market, and for the time 1t is a cause of hesitation rather than of hopefulness. Speculation in products has not been ac- tive. Cotton is unchanged, although the receipts for the week have not been very
 large; but some slackening appears in
 the foreign demand. Wheat is about
 cent higher and corn the same, without distinct reason in either case.
 The industrial situation has not ma
 terially changed. There is much hesita-
 tion in the iron business, with some ad-
 vance jn Bessemer pig because of the ex- pectation that Connellsville coke an,
 lake ore will both be dearer, and yet fin- tshed products of iron and steel are on
 the whole quoted a little lower, and the
 nail association is still in session to de- termine whether 1t will abandon the eff fort to maintain a fixed price. That
 branch of business is extremely slow;
 nothing Is boing in rails, and while there is rather better demand for sheets and plates and several good orders are re-
 ported for structural works, angles are quoted shade lower. Everything turns
 on the contracts for ore, which are still unsettled, but the great excess fin produc-
 tion of pig iron over the present demand
 Is no longer denied, and it Is said that
 quite number of furnaces will present. ly discontinue production. Lower prices for labama iron renew competition with eastern furnaces.
 The cotton mills are generally running, though not all with full force and some are piling up goods without regard to the immediate demand which is compara- lively slack, as they apparently believe that the short supply of cotton this year will insure them profits in the end, 2s 1t has during the past half year. Never
 theless goods have decidedly weakened In price, quite number of changes hav- ing been recorded during the past week.
 The volume of domestic trade indicated by payments through the principal clear
 ing houses shows the large increase of 146 per cent over last year, but in
 comparison with the same week in 1893 shows decrease of 131 per cent. Part of this difference must be attributed to the shrinkage In prices. but there Is also without doubt a considerable decrease in the distribution of goods to final consum- CTS.
 Bradstreet's Review. New York, Jan. 10.-Bradstreet's to- morrow will say:
 General trade has not improved appre- ciably. Mild weather at western points has interfered with business in some n- stances, and the week continues to pre- sent characteristics of a between-seasons period. The impression is general that uncertainty as to financial action by con- gress and the disturbing political condi- tions have an unfavorable in1uence on the prospect for new enterprises. Mer- cantile collections east, west and north- west are complained of, but at the south the comparative ease with which they are made forms conspicuous exception.
 The demand for funds at various western centers Is the most active for a year. Speculation Is narrow and professional,
 but the stock market is strong on the
 belief that the $100, ,000, 900 bond issue will be successful and that no severe deple- tion of the treasury gold reserve is likely during the thirty days of delay for popu- lar subscriptions
 December gross railway earnings are among the best of 1895 as far as increases are concerned The total earnings of 109
  increase of 8.8 per cent over 1894. The course of prices oa staples con- tinues the improvement of last week, with an upward movement in live stock, pork and other meats, lard, flour, wheat, corn, oats, Bessemer pig and bar iron. In addition to these firm prices are nam ed for coal, tobacco, print cloths, steel billets, sugar, lumber, leather and hides, decreases being noted for coffee, cotton and petroleum in addition to the cut of $1 for southern pig and 20 cents for east ern iron.
 The bank clearings aggregate $1,235,- 100000 this week, an increase of about 25 per cent over the week before and 19 per cent compared with the week one year ago.
 There were 446 business failures in the United States this week an exceptionally heavy total. Last week the aggregate was 403; in the week one year ago 1t was 405.
 The general industrial situation is mod erately improved. In no department are there more favorable conditions than week ago, while the idleness of some steel mills and the certainty that the production of pig iron will be curtailed have produced better feeling.