Evening star., 1961-06-25
Business Improved in First Hall,
Survey indicates Further Climb
BY JACK LEFLER
Associated Press Business Writer

BY JACK LEFLER
Associated Press Business Writer
NEW YORK, June 24.-Busi
ness is improving and peopll
are cautiously optimistic bu
there's no boom as 1856
reaches its midpoint.
Expectations of better time
in the second half of the yeal
are general.
Those are the findings Of ar
Associated Press survey of busi.
neSsmen and economists in 81
cities.
Business began nosing it:
way out of the recession ir
March after hitting a low
point in the late winter
months. But the climb, &C.
cording to many businessmen
has failed to match some en-
thusiaStic statements about
the rate Of improvement.
Recession in the Past
Recession talk has shifted tC
the past tense. And it was
generally conceded that the
economic lapse was pretty milo
and didn't compare in severity
with that of 1858.
The mood of buyers and SELL
ers alike has taken a turn fol
the better in the last Siz
months. Merchants are build
ing up their stocks and going
after sales more aggressively
Buyers, less worried about the
future, are not as reluctant tc
open their pocketbooks as they
were a few months ago.
The two biggest industries =
automobiles and steel - have
increased production but are
far behind the 1860 first hall
rate. Both industries in tn
first half of 1860 were going
full blast to catch up after
the steel strike.
THE economy of Detroit is
much stronger than six
months ago because of the up
swing in the automobile in
dustry but it will still fall
short of a year ago." says Don
Rucker of the Detroit Board OF
Commerce.
Employment Is Sore Spot
Pittsburgh, the hub of the
steel industry, reported general
business activity on the up
swing but employment still q
sore spot. The University OF
Pittsburgh Bureau of Business
Research recorded general
business at 98.7 per cent OF
the 1947-49 average, compared
with 80 last December.
Steel men say they expect q
moderate production rate the
rest of the year with a pos
sible slight improvement.
Retail trade in most areas
has edged up. Merchants ex-
pect improvement in sales ir
the second half but are wor-
ried about profits because oi
higher operating costs.
The National Retail Mer-
chants Association forecast 9
S per cent gain in the second
half over the 1860 period.
After a miserable sprin g
which we feel was largely due
to the unSeasonal weather, We
are feeling much better" sale
a st. Louis department store
executive.
Better Frame Of Mind
People are in a better frame
of mind" said an Atlant 9
banker. Withdrawals from
savings accounts are increas-
ing and people are beginning
to spend more"
Seattle reported retail trade
up 2 to 8 per cent over six
months ago. Kansas City sales
were up about per cent.
I'VE are experiencing a nice
gain over last year and we
have a feeling that further ad-
vances are coming" COM
mented a Denver clothier.
San Francisco merchants
called business sluggish and
said second quarter sales
Stacked off after a pretty good
first quarter.
Consumers, although step
ping up their buying, are
cautious. A Portland. Me-. mer-
chant said of them: Buyers
are extremely critical, quality
conscious, want good, fast
service"
Auto Sales Improving
Automobile sales are i'm
proving but this situation, too
is spotty with some dealers re-
porting brisk business an6
others moaning.
Employment has been climb
ing in many areas but diff
Guilty has been encountered in
trimming the unemployment
rolls. Generally employment
was somewhat higher than six
months ago but lower than a
year ago.
Depressed areas continues to
resist the general tide of i'm
provement. In the Southwest
Virginia coal mining area, for