New-York tribune., 1911-12-18
MONEY!. AND BUSINESS.

MONEY!. AND BUSINESS.
Improvement i'm our industries is more
in evidence than at any time before IN
the current year. Notwithstanding
little pessimstic talk heard in some
quarters. signs of business expansion
multiply daily. and Developments in
trade circles encourage the expectation
of conservative growth i'm all lines or
trade for months to come. Fundamental
conditions are sound. The country is
well supplied with money, and AS a con
sequence Of our credits abroad local
bankers are in position 70 draw gold
from Europe i'm the improbable event Of
stringency in the money market. In
November exports CT merchandise from
the United States exceeded imports To
the value of more than S1j,O0OO0O, max
ing a total excess for the eleven months
Of the year of more than S4iJ,OoO,ooO,
and for the twelve months ended No
vember 80 an excess Of upward OF So6I-
100000. The products Of our farms and
the output Of our manufactures have
found a good market abroad in recent
months. and there is no reason to as
sumo that the results of 1872 in the
country's foreign trade will not be as
favorable as those reported in 1911, es-
pecially as European consumers exhibit
an increasing disposition to spend their
money on the things we have to offer.
Our foreign trade position presents one
OF the strongest features of the situation
affecting money and business
The iron and steel industry, which Is
the recognized barometer of trade, IS
enioying a forward movement. orders
for finished steel products are heavy, the
railroads are becoming important fac
tors in the market. and prices, which FOR
many months have been tending toward
lower levels. are now apparently being
adjusted to a range that will give the
manufacturers a fair margin Of profit.
In bank clearings and railroad earnings,
i'm the advance of the price Of copper, in
the increased activity in drygoods, In
the record breaking cotton crop and in
the better demand for money the bust
ness man and the Wall Street financier
find adequate reason for confidence about
the future. Commercial agencies cover
ing all parts Of the United States report
a brisk holiday trade and a tendency in
commercial centres to make contracts
for the delivery of goods in distant
months. il has been so long since any
activity has been reported in the matter
Of forward commitments that the cur
rent development of orders Of this sort
naturally induces optimism in general
trade circles. The outlook for the new
year appears TO be unusually promising.
The stock market is discounting better
times
Bank clearings for the week just closed
show a gain Of more than . per cent as
compared with the same time last year,
improvement being confined to no one
section Of the country, while railroad
earnings for the first week in Decem-
Der exhibit a gain for the companies re-
porting Of more than Il per cent. The
increase in transportation receipts is
particularly significant, as the reports
compare with period in 1911 when sub
stantial increases were shown over the
CORRESPONDING period in 1909. Local
money market rates are somewhat easier
than they were a week ago but quota
tions are Aill high enough to attract
currency from the interior, shipments
from out-of-town points in the last
week reaching extraordinary proportions.
Money is not dear and there is no pros
pect of ordinary borrowers being COM
PEELED to pay high rates for accommoda-
tion in the rest of the year or i'm 1912,
may be forced to make their commit
ments at fairly stiff figures i'm the clos
ing week of the present month. New
York is still lending money abroad,
where discount rates show a fTmer ten
dcncy. Sterling exchange at this point
is nrmer, the stronger tendency reflect
ing the usual demands upon this market
for year-end requirements, especially
those to cover January interest and divi-
dend payments on American securities
held in Europe.
In the commodity markets prices as "a
rule show no important change irregu-
lar tendencies prevailing in most lines,
except in iron and steel figures, which
present a well defined movement toward
higher quotations. Wheat is higher than
at this time a week ago. while cotton
has improved to a small extent under the
influence of speculative operations. Ex-
ports Of wheat in the last week amounted
TO 3.1j7, ,733 bushels compared with g.
391 $50 bushels i'm the preceding week
and 2.S93.J9 bushels in the same time
/. 1911 making total exports for the
fiscal year 10 date 17,2S3. 40 bushels,
against jG12O1s7 bushels in the CORE
spondin6 period year ago. The visible
supply of American wheat is heavy,
while the worlds stock Is about 10000
600 bushels larger than that reported
last December. Downward price revisions
~ the cotton goods market arc looked
for Copper trade conditions are better
than those recorded al any time i'm many
months Demand for coal is not espe-
cialll active. but the companies are pro-