Show ECONOMIC highlights you can find dark spots in the business picture but comparatively speaking they are few and d far between and are dwarfed to insignificance by the brightness ot of the picture as a whole since A august production in this country has gone ahead on almost a boom basis the general index has passed the 1929 level though if ad is made for population growth since then we still have a considerable way to go to again attain that peak of prosperity much of the change fo for the better has oc occurred currea in the heavy industries which took the worst beating during depression and were slowest in starting back unemployment has declined at a rate that has amazed many of the ex cx pelts corporate profits have made a big gain dividend payments are definitely good and few important companies are arc operating in the red cheering late development was ane settlement of the two month id chrysler strike which was a major hea headache lache to industry because of the fear that it might be only the preclude to a more militant policy on the part of labor generally the union got some I 1 concessions from chrysler including minor wage increases but the company won its big point refusal t to 0 accept a completely closed shop some observers find in the terms of the settlement evidence that labor may be pursuing a more temperate course whether or not that proves true there seems little likelihood that more major strikes will occur soon interesting te sidelight on the chrysler r trouble is that according to business week it cost employees in pay checks to say nothing of the millions lost to the corporation arf sales I 1 there has been an increase in our exports this has confounded some economists who thought that application of the neutrality act would hit our foreign trade hard bard 0 october foreign sales passed 14 per cent better than in the month before and 18 per cent better than in october 1938 |