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Show i Economic Highlights Industrial News Review Happenings that Affect the Dinner Pails, Dividend Checks and Tux Bills of Every Individual. National Nation-al and International Problems Inseparable In-separable from Local Welfare. As is usual at this time of the year, business sentiment is somewhat mixed. mix-ed. Reports from various parts of the country point to a change for the better in industrial activity, always an encouraging sign. Financial observers ob-servers seem to be a trifle more optimistic. op-timistic. Even the high percentage of commercial failures impresses many as liaving a favorable side elimination elimina-tion of weak units in the industrial machine is essential to getting it going go-ing at full speed. oOo At the recent retailers' convention, v it was forecast that sales would drop 20 per cent during the first quarter of 1933, with improvement in the second sec-ond quarter. A majority of retail authorities au-thorities Lclieve that prices are gradually gra-dually being stabilized. oOo To many, one of the good events of 1932 was a decline in the cost of living liv-ing of 9.4 per ceiiu This, too, has its other side the continued decline in commodity costs is one of the most stubborn influences in prolonging depression. de-pression. Another barrier to industrial rehabilitation is the growing fear of heavier taxation and the possibility of a general sales tax that will further fur-ther damage purchasing power. The state of the public finances continues to be unhappy, with the deficit hovering hov-ering around the $1,200,000,000 mark. Federal receipts are below expectations, expecta-tions, due principally to the last potency po-tency of the income tax. oOo Consumption of electricity, like car loadings and bank clearings, always plays an important part in the making mak-ing of business barometers. It is, therefore, cheering to know that since July sales of power have been constantly con-stantly increasing and in greater proportion pro-portion than the normal seasonal increase. in-crease. The December advance marked mark-ed a greater percentage gain than did the increase in the same month of 1930 a year of extraordinary electric elec-tric consumption. oOo Latest, reports on major industries show: Building Improved, with contracts ahead of same period last year. Lumber New business continues to exceed production, and in southern pine district is 13 per cent ahead of last year. Steel Fell off after moderate expansion; ex-pansion; concensus of opinion looks to improvement in next few months. Copper Profitless at present 5c price; best side is that domestic consumption con-sumption leads production. Wool Sales close to normal so far this year. Oil The drop in crude from 63c to 38c a barrel, in the face of proration prora-tion agreements, and because of overproduction, over-production, is one of the most discouraging dis-couraging of recent events. Newsprint Price-cutting has led to losses. Shoes, Silk and Automobiles show definite improvement. oOo Employment declined .4 per cent in December, with four out of seventeen major industrial groups marking increase. in-crease. White collar workers consti-. consti-. tute 28 per cent of those out of work. Even slightest change upward in purchasing pur-chasing power should be immediately reflected in employment "statistics, as stocks of finished goods of all kinds are now at an irreducible minimum and only demand is needed to make factories hum, oOo While farm conditions show little change, a good sign is that the fun-' fun-' 'damental supply and demand situation situa-tion in regard to wheat is steadily improving, thusi warranting the opinion opin-ion that price improvement will come in the future. There have been some farm price setbacks, with cattle and hides holding tenaciously to the upward up-ward trend. Foreign demand for cotton cot-ton has been moderately good- Of national interest is the fact that forced farm sales totaled 0.5 per cent of all the farms in the country during the five years ending March 1, 193.2. Tax delinquencies were responsible for 5.5 per cent of these, oOo A rise in prices probably temporary tempor-ary recently occurred in Bolivia, with but little change in the other Soiith American countries. Basic British Bri-tish industries are reported to be more active. For the first time in 30 years the Nationalist government in China has succeeded in balancing its budget. Rumania showed a largo favorable fav-orable foreign trade Wanes for the first nine months of 1932. Canadian business continues low. |