The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-01-15
BUSINESS OUTLOOK.

| LII OODlNNIOO oCAAoo
TFrom Bradstreet,s state of Traae.'1
Distributive trade remains rather quiet,
mild weather Throughout the country
tending to check distribution OF WINTER
| goods: Prices generally remain STEADY OF
f~end~upward,, except for some grades OF
iron, and orders for spring lraue, Where
received, are encouraging. lnaustrlal ny
tiyity is most manifest at the .WeSt,
where the demand for iron is very large.
A feature of the week was the piacimS
of an order by one railroad LOT io9,VvV
tons of steel rails. with smaller ORDERS
| a~ggregating in the neighborhood OF zo,U0
tons more. Pig-iron production Is now
at an unprecedented rate, the furnace
| capacity being estimated at l,000.UD0 tons
a month. Prices and stocks begin TO
show the influence of this immense pro-
duction. AT the south manufacturing ac-
tivity is a feature, sales Nof iron peing
very heavy. A good export demand, for
cotton and grain at steady prices is g
feature. At the east a number OF
| strikes against wages reductions are re-
ported or expected in the cotton indus
try. Some woollen mills. working on
heavy men's-wear goods, are refusing or
ders. their capacity being fully booked;
| Anthracite coal production, 1t Is hoped
in that trade. will be restricted sufficient
ly to allow of the advance of 70 to 40
| cents per ton being maintained. Weather
has been disappointing at the northwest,
but an improvement in the demand de-
veloped at some centres as the week az
begun on the Pacific coast. Freight
charters are reported lower. Export
trade continues large, a gain of 5 per
cotton. mineral oils, cattle and hogs and
provisions being shown both for Deeem-
Der and the calendar year Bank clear
ings Indicate a heavy volume of general
business throughout the country. aggre-
eating for the week 81 442, 000,0 600, an in
crease over last week of 1.6 per cent.
a gain over.this week a year ago of 81
per cent. over 1896 of SO per cent, and
over 1894 of 56 per cent. Compared with
this s1Isin wsek t6 Of l Esin Z IS p 3 pef cent 81 VERY Ks la Wgs
expected, weekly failures are slightly
smaller in number, amounting to 1913 this
week, against 1888 last week, AIS in this
week of 1897, ALP in 1896, 3S in 1895, and
s404 in 1894.
Prices during December and the first
half of January, as already indicated,
ave been well maintained, and in many
instances further gains are noted. The
close of the year found prices. as indi-
Gated by "Bradstreet's monthly tables
and index numbers, at a higher point
than for three years past. The index
number of 9S leading staples on January
/, 1898, was S0.149 as compared with 79,43l
on December 1. 1897, 72.s2s at the middle of
and SO. 700 on January /, 1895. This would
indicate that prices of staples have re-
gained some portion of the loss suffered
during the past four years of slow trade.
AS compared with a year ago prices of
live stock, provisions, citrus and dried
fruits, hides and leather. metals and mis-
cellaneous products, and raw and manu-
featured textiles are higher, conspicuous
exceptions being cotton and cotton goods.
The advance IN cereal prices will be found
evident if comparison be made withsthe
middle of the year 1897. During the month
of December. 1897, q articles showed an
advance, % a decline and As remained un-A
changed. Price s~teadiness was a feature
of provisions, groceries, coal and coke,
mineral and vegetable oils and most build
ing materials. Advances in December.
were most numerous in cereals, naval
stores, hops and tobacco. Cotton goods
and iron and steel were among those re-
porting lowered prices during that month.
The securities market at New York has
developed a broad investment demand for
securities and an active bullish speeula-
ton in stocks at advancing prices, Bond
transactions have been exceptionally
large, with special movements in the low
er priced and newer grades. Public in
and while London has inclined to SELL.
Germany has been a buyer. The active
features are the Northern Pacific, Union
Pacific, Vanderbilt and local traction
shares. The Pacifcs are being bought on
expectations of heavy gains in earnings
from the Klondike and other business.
The market resented the effect of an at
tempted Cuban war scare on Thursday,
and large speculative interests are gener-
ally bullish. Foreign exchange is 1rregu-
lar, having broken to for demand
sterling on foreign purchases of stocks, but
rallied to 4.S5 at the end of the week.
The recent falling off in wheat exports
nT0Va AS WIS l1QlCdltu last WICK III
DDIBHradsfreet's" to have been due to the
usual holiday quieting and not to any fall
ing off of demand from abroad: The total
export of wheat qlour lnciuded as whean
against 3,4S1, 900 bushels last week and
s.e4s,00 bushels his week q y year ago,
ii 1895. Corn exports for the week show
a gain of LOO 900 bushels. amounting to
4.G4l 900 bushels. against 3,4oo,0oo last week
- Z q 00f G1A Ir1chals in tho anrrpGnnn6inU
week of 1896.
pectatiorfs and gains over last year are
both large and numerous. Earnings OF
leading railroads for the month of Decem-
Der increased 10 per cent, while for the
calendar year the earnings of III com.
panies aggregated $565, 757. 600 on a total of
loo, 900 miles of track, an increase of 10 per
cent. over 1896, following a gain in the lat
ter year over 1895 of Is per cent, that
her cent. over 1894. The Pacific roads did
relatively the best of the American lines:
followed by the southwestern granger and
central western roads. Net earnings Tor
November were also very favorable
[From r. G.. Dun & Co.'S Weekly Re
.yiew."1
The week has o,ened with a very sat
isfactory prospect. It is all the better
that there is no wild excitement in the
speculative markets, and while stocks ad-
vance a little, grain yields a little. Inc
payments through principal clearing
.houses, Notwithstanding q decrease at
New York, owing to less activity in stocks.
are &c per cent. larger than in 1892: and
10.1 per cent. larger outside New York;
Earnings of all railroads in the United
States reporting for December, $43,364,2l9,
indicate substantially the same. rate of
increase exceeding last years by 1913 per
cent. and the earnings. of 1892 for the
same roads by 1.3 per cent. Since 1892 was
on the whole the most prosperous year
thus far. comparisons indicate, notwith-
Nah Al