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Show I First Security Bank Report Indicates New Upsurge is Business Climate of Nation Signs of an upsurge in busi-ness busi-ness are finally appearing in leading economic indicators, according to the First Security Bank News Letter which is being distributed this week. Highlights of the News Letter Let-ter were released this week by Francis W. Betenson, Manager, Man-ager, First Security Bank of Utah, N.A., Cedar City. The quarterly economic summary is edited by Dr. El-Roy El-Roy Nelson, vice president and economist of First Security Corporation. The gross national product Increased by only $4.4 billion in the first quarter of 1967, which was about equal to increases in-creases in prices. The second quarter increase, taking place mostly in May and June, is estimated at $10 billion. approaches the 4,000-ton per day level. Total manufacturing continues contin-ues above a year ago, both in output and employment. This applies especially to the non-ferrous non-ferrous metal smelting and refining, fertilizer production, petroleum fuels, machinery, food and apparel. Steel production pro-duction is at 70 percent of rated capacity, about the national na-tional level. Operation "errors zero" at the Geneva complex has proved excellent in output out-put improvement. Construction contracts a-warded a-warded in Utah for the first four months at $72.3 million were down 4.6 percent from a year earlier. However, preliminary pre-liminary data for May and June indicate activity then approached last year's totals. Personal income in the nation na-tion by June was up 5.7 percent per-cent from a year ago, with most segments of the economy contributing to the increase, excepting net farm income and manufacturing wages and salaries. Employment nationally is at an all time high, with unemployment un-employment continuing at less than 4 percent of the labor force. Business in Utah, according to the bank publication, in the first half of 1967 reflected the national situation. Non-agricultural Non-agricultural employment was 4 percent above last year for an increase of 14,200 jobs, making a total of 377,800 employed. em-ployed. The civilian labor force, however, has increased slightly faster than employment, employ-ment, to total 415,500. Personal income totaled approximately ap-proximately $1,340 million for the first six months of this year, an increase of $120 mil- I lion over the same period in I 1966. The News Letter said that the agricultural outlook in Utah is fair. It is expected that gross receipts from farm- I ing will total slightly less than last year, principally because be-cause of the lower livestock and products income for the first half of the year. Outlook for the latter half of 1967 is somewhat better. Mineral production should be about equal to the $400 million total of last year. Copper Cop-per production, largely a result of completion of major capital ' expenditures at Kennecott, is running at about 10 percent above year ago levels. Lead and zinc, and gold and silver production are slightly above year ago levels. Coal production pro-duction is below that of 1966 due in part to substitution of New Mexico coking coal in place of Utah's for steel operations in Southern California. Califor-nia. Crude oil production for the half year is slightly below last year's level. Some resurgence re-surgence in drilling for oil may follow the Middle East war with its attendant reduction reduc-tion in oil from that area. The News Letter reports that fertilizer production is es, tablishing new records for all three major plant foods, including in-cluding nitrogen from Utah production at Geneva, potash from mines in the Moab area, and phosphate from mines in Rich and Uintah counties. Potash ore production in Moab |