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Show Business, Industry Near Peak, Yet Stock Prices Toboggan (Peter's 4 Tlt U the but aa a eerlee ef three artartea rwHUaf the hae.tra.4 of Hrel naae-a wlee Meek oarha.se Blame, the mmH aer.pt la four leers el WaU Kml lrrita.l ' By FREDERICK GARDNER and SMITH REAVIS NEW YORK, Oct. 7 (AP) American business; measured by the ; date of industrial activity, has dropped about 8 per cent since the boom time highs of last Msy. This has been small compared with the i 30 per cent drop in stock market prices. It indlcatea a halt In wheat has been described as tha longest sustained sus-tained rise in the business history of tha United 8tates. Is tha halt merely a resting place or a takeoff for a major fluctua- Why, then, the abrupt decline In stock prices? Observers say the business slow- ' down does not altogether account for tha market's behavior in September Sep-tember and again this week, when shares dropped $4 and 15 at a tlma, tion? Tha Associated 'Press index of industrial activity stood last week at 102.0, with the activity of 1929-30 taken as tha bass figure of 100. Last May It was 108.8, a recovery high, contrasted with tha 1932 low of 49.3 and tha 1929 top of 112.5. Analysts now see the rush to buy goods and raw materials, with resulting re-sulting boom symptoms In some Industries, In-dustries, probably was overdone for tha time being. Wages and prices Jumped. Costa got out of line, stopping a promising promis-ing bailding revival Retail prlcea and living coata moved up. Some merchanta found themselves overstocked over-stocked with goods and producers Inwerl down to five them an inter- and rallies were feeble. They point out there is somewhere In the neighborhood of $8,000,000,000 of foreign money in this country, much of it Invested In stocks and bonds. Subject to tha usual influences influ-ences of the market it responds also to other conslderationa, such as the fear of war, European market mar-ket conditions and home politics. There Is little doubt analysts said, that European selling frequently gave the tone to the stock exchange during the long sinking spell. Whether the sharp stock market slumps of the last few days have told tha final story none can tell. Wall street can give no single reason rea-son for tha fall In prices. Many observers, however, feel that as far aa business is concerned, the market mar-ket has mora than discounted whatever what-ever recession is visible so far. val In which to work off surplus. Steel MlUa Falter In August residence building had dropped 27 per cent under the figure fig-ure of August, 183. Even more significant, analysts found, was this week's drop in steel production. A week ago tha country's coun-try's mills were looming along at 744 ner cent of capacity. Thia weeW output was at tha rata of i only 66 1 per cent, while a year ago it was 75.3 per cent Other Important industries modi-fled modi-fled the picture traced by the drop in steel operations and residential building. Electric Power output reached a record high In the week ended September Sep-tember 3, and so far into October it haa maintained a level near that peak. This, analysts say, Is an example of the underlying health of buaineas once It has completed its leveling off proeeaa. Economists holding the theory recovery re-covery is merely Interrupted point to tha still vast need for homes, new factories, electric power plants, machinery, railroad equipment, ships and tools of tha machine age classified as "durable goods." Until Un-til that need Is filled, they believe, production must continue, If at a mora sober rata for a time. |