Arizona republican., 1916-12-31
FINANCES AND
 MARKETS
GRepublican A. p. Leased wne1

of one of the most eventual years Tn the history of the stock exchange is epitomized in it's almost unpreceoent- ed operations. Sales Of stocks ag- gregated about 235,GOO,000 shares. agaInst t73000,000 in 1915. Bond sales achieved a new record in the enor- nous volume of Sl,152, ,2S9,000, an in crease in round numbers of more than 200,000,000 over the preceding year.
 These totals are exclusive of sales of odd lots" of stocks, which would swell the aggregate by many millions, nor do they include over the cOun- ter" transactions in bonds. in which the dealings are practically beyond computation.
 Quite as important in estimating the increased wealth of the country is the return by purchase. to Amer ican investors of hundreds of millions of dollars of American securities mostly high grade bonds and shares formerly owned by foreigners which Were taken over privately and assimilated in the course of the tre- mendously active 12 months.
 Figures dealing with the cOuntry's foreign loans and the inflow of gold for the year-the latter item approx imating $700 000 000-but faintly COIL
  tic financial structure has been but tressed Economists differ as to the immediate benefits derivable from these stupendous gold holdings but are virtually at one in believing that this vast hoard of precious metal will make the United States financially and industrially supreme for years after the channels or international trade resume their normal flow. Opinions dealing with the future of he countrys financial markets have been revised or modified by the Teu- tonic peace proposals. Quoted values If many securities have dWindled by many millions of dollars in the past few weeks and the process of read justmCnt continues
 Industrial conditions may he sum marized by the statement that many contracts for peace Troducts have been placed as far ahead as 1918. while available supplies of copper and other base metals for the next six months have been largely p~e- omptied. This does not necessarily imply the maintenance of prohibitive quotations for these and other com modities, nearly all of which rose during the year to record breaking levels
 
 fered hv the transnortation stocks whose intrinsic worth was SO firmly established in the final month of :he year. Net earnings of the leading railway systems for the calendar year. exceeding one billion dollars, are @reater hv one-third than those of 1913. .Eraergencv of manv minor ra0ds from their lone reriods of ra- ceivership and embarrassment is one of the outstanding features in the connry's great forward strides.
 WEEKLY METAL REVIEW
 NEW YORK. Dec. 3O-Outnut of iron and steel in the last week of the year was cut down sharply: esti- mates of tte curtailment vary widely hut the decrease for the full month is thoueht tO have been at least from 20 to 40 per cent. compared with No- vemher The production of the year 1916. however. exceeded all otller pre- vious annual achievements. although the output fell short of the great ex- pectations entertained q month ago.
 Preliminary estimates indicate an output of co tons of pig Iron, 2S.372, 000 tons of steel nsots: 29. 150,000 tons of rolled steel products. In 1918 the previous year of maxi mum record, 30,124 900 tons of pig iron, 31.300.S74 tons of steel ingots. and 2019l, ,243 tons of rolled products were produced
 Sales of all kinds Of rolled steel in 1916 are estimated to have been ap- proximately 37,000,000 tons. of whicn between 100000 and 5000. .000 tons were sold for direct export Rail road equipment orders were the heav- jest since 1912 and it is significant -4h 4 Cf he motive sales and about r. per cent of the car orders were for export. Sales of rails were the largest on record, exceeding 5.300.00 tons of which 1,500. 000 to 2,000. 900 tons were for foreign shipment
 Merchant blast furnaces sold nearly 10,O0O,00 tons of various kinds of rig iron during the year of which 2.000- O0O tons were for export. December sales aggregated 600000 tons
 In the last few days while business in rolled steel was relatively quiet: car builders and locomotive shops were in the market for about 6O.0nO tons of steel bars, plates, shapes and foreings to cover recent orders for 5,3OO cars and for g engines.
 Italy and France have placed aGdi- tion0l orders for shell forgings rounds. alloy steel and pig iron. and inotriries are now in the market for S0O,O00 tons of various other pro- ducts for export. half of the prospec- tive nrders being for France. Japan has secured 10000 tons more ship plates and Holland and Switzerland have purchased more American pig iron.
 Structural steel work continues un- comfortable active from the stand roirt of the fabricatinc shoae pe- eonher orders are ostin,ated at 1GO . oaQ tons anA the total for fh" ve1~ '@ abort ff5 0n0 tn-e Co,1t~acts pend ing aggregate 100000 tons