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Show Stock Market Is Booming By EDWARD THORLUND The stock market boom-there's boom-there's no other word for it-does it-does much to help Republican Republi-can candidates in the upcoming upcom-ing election. That's because many feel the market telegraphs tele-graphs events in the future. THE U.S. bull market has also affected world markets, which have risen in response to the striking recovery on Wall Street. And one factor for investor optimism may be the growing conviction that high unemployment figures, and a high rate of bankruptcies, are not the whole picture. A recent statistic that opened many eyes was the Dun and Bradstreet report that while 20,000 businesses are failing this year, a high number, num-ber, some 500,000 new ones, are opening their doors! IT'S SUGGESTED that while business failures are higher than they're been in years, this reflects in part a changing society. Some old businesses have lost their relevance rele-vance in today's world. The same argument is made by Republicans about high unemployment un-employment figures. Some of the jobs lost in the industrial states in recent years will never nev-er return, it's said. THAT'S because the nation's na-tion's economy is changing from an industrial society to a service-related society. That means computer-related firms, consulting firms, service ser-vice oriented companies are the new direction. Next year unemployment statistics will be computed slightly differently; this will tend to lower the total a tenth of a point or more. The change was recommended in 1979, and will be made only after 1982 elections. THAT difference, including military service personnel in the "Employed" category, will not be great. But that, and a growing perception that many of those in the unemployed unem-ployed category, by government govern-ment count, could find work in newer industries, softens the image of 10 percent unemployment. |