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FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD STATEMENT FOR THE FBESS X-1737 For Release In Morning P a p e r s , Monday, December I , 1919. The following i s a review of g e n e r a l b u s i n e s s and. f i n a n c i a l conditions throughout the s e v e r a l F e d e r a l Reserve D i s t r i c t s during the month of November, as contained i n the forthcoming i s s u e of the Federal Reserve B u l l e t i n : Hie r e p o r t s on b u s i n e s s and f i n a n c i a l conditions f o r the s e v e r a l Federal Reserve d i s t r i c t s continue t o emphasize the prevalence of an unabated b u s i n e s s a c t i v i t y due t o p e r s i s t e n t demand f o r goods a t a l l stages of production- The eagerness and sustained buying c a p a c i t y of the u l t i n a t e consumer appear t o be the explanation of a continued Expansion of wholesale and r e t a i l t r a d e , which i s to be found even i n those d i s t r i c t s most immediately a f f e c t e d by the c o a l and the s t e e l s t r i k e s . Curtailment of i n d u s t r i a l operations because of the c o a l shortage had been only s p o r a d i c a l l y enforced up t o the middle of the month, but the imminency of d r a s t i c a c t i o n looking toward the conservation cf vanishing c o a l supplies was already apparent at that d a t e , the shortage being e s p e c i a l l y acute i n the Kansas City a i d S t . Louis d i s t r i c t s . Notwithstanding the demoralizing e f f e c t s upon general b u s i n e s s t h a t might have been expected t o accompany any widespread i n d u s t r i a l d i s t u r b a n c e i n the b a s i c i n d u s t r i e s of the country, there was* v i r t u a l l y unanimous testimony concerning the i n c r e a s e i n the volume of wholesale and r e t a i l trade i n terms of p r i c e measurement. In s e v e r a l d i s t r i c t s emphasis i s placed upon the i n c r e a s e in p h y s i c a l volume of s a l e s , d i s t r i c t No. 1, f o r example, r e p o r t i n g t h a t the general r e t a i l trade shows " i n c r e a s i n g b u s i n e s s over l a s t y e a r , not only i n amount as measured i n terms of money r e c e i p t s , b u t i n volume". In d i s t r i c t No. 2 , i n q u i r i e s covering over 4q establishments engaged i n v a r i o u s brandies of r e t a i l trade i n d i c a t e d percentage i n c r e a s e s i n s a l e s values ranging from US p e r c e n t i n j e w e l r y t o 141 per cent i n c l o t h i n g , while the percentage i n c r e a s e s i n number of u n i t s sold varied from per cent i n f u r n i t u r e to 4S p e r cent i n f u r s . D i s t r i c t No. 3 a l s o t e s t i f i e s t h a t the volume of r e t a i l s a l e s f o r the f i r s t p a r t of November was q u a n t i t a t i v e l y g r e a t e r than f o r the corresponding p e r i o d s l a s t year and last month. In d i s t r i c t No. 8 alone the r e t a i l trade i n the r u r a l d i s t r i c t s had f e l t the e f f e c t of bad weather, which had a l s o influenced unfavorably the s a l e s of wholesale dry goods i n c e r t a i n s e c t i o n s . Orders placed with wholesale boot and shoe concerns, however, were improving and even e x c e p t i o n a l l y heavy i n some cases. The r a p i d turnover i n wholesale and r e t a i l trade i s e v i d e n t l y o u t s t r i p p i n g i n c r e a s e s i n c u r r e n t p r o d u c t i o n , as evidenced by d e p l e t e d o r exhausted d e a l e r s ' stocks and by the o f t e n r e p e a t e d complaints of manufacturers, who a l l e g e s c a r c i t y of labor and of raw m a t e r i a l s . Widespread d i s a f f e c t i o n on the p a r t of a l l c l a s s e s of workers i s a s s e r t e d to be a f u r t h e r cause of diminished o u t p u t . There i s , p o s s i b l y , a tendency t o exaggerate the magnitude of buying o p e r a t i o n s , by thinking. of p u r c h a s e s and s a l e s i n terms of pre-war p r i c e s , i n s t e a d of c o n s i d e r m g them i n r e l a t i o n to money incomes on the new p r i c e b a s i s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , i n view of the ephemeral c h a r a c t e r of the i n d u s t r i a l s i t u a t i o n i n t h e p r e s e n t t r a n s i t i o n p e r i o d , more c o n s e r v a t i v e buying m i # i t have been expected. But t h e r e a r e not as e tFRASER many i n d i c a t i o n s of a d e s i r e t o r e s o r t to the p r a c t i c e of t h a t econojcy which Digitizedyfor h a s been urged upon the country f o r so many months. - -2- X-173T 915 P a r a l l e l i n g the t r a d e a c t i v i t i e s j u s t o u t l i n e d , a growing volume of speculat i o n has developed. In the review of b u s i n e s s f i n a n c i a l conditions during October i t was pointed out t h a t s p e c u l a t i v e a c t i v i t y throughout the c o u n t r y was reaching dangerous l e v e l s . This a c t i v i t y continued unabated u n t i l e a r l y i n November the F e d e r a l Reserve Banks advanced d i s c o u n t r a t e s . The advance was s l i g h t b u t accompanied, as i t was, by an announced discount p o l i c y , i t was e f f i c a c i o u s i n causing a r e d u c t i o n of l o a n s , » Reports from the a g r i c u l t u r a l s e c t i o n s of the country i n d i c a t e a considerable amount of crop damage due to excessive r a i n s and i n s e c t p e s t s . D i s t r i c t No. 6 s t a t e s t h a t the c o t t o n crop i s t h e s h o r t e s t on record in t h a t t e r r i t o r y as a r e s u l t of the a c t i v i t i e s of the b o l l weevil, while the Texas c o t t o n crop, although i t promises to be the l a r g e s t from the p o i n t of view of money value, i s 15 per cent below the 10 year average of condition because cf bad weather. The q u a l i t y of Oklahoma c o t t o n has been damaged by r a i n s which have a l s o i n t e r f e r ed with c o t t o n picking i n d i s t r i c t No. 8 . For the same reason, the sowing of winter wheat was delayed i n d i s t r i c t s No. 8 and 11, the acreage being reduced i n consequence. A large area has been p u t i n winter wheat i n d i s t r i c t No. 10 and a good stand i s r e p o r t e d - Sowing was i n p r o g r e s s i n the P a c i f i c Northwest, the p r o b a b i l i t i e s being that the acreage would l a r g e l y exceed that of 1918. The corn c r o p , although raixwianiaged i n c e r t a i n l o c a l i t i e s w i l l , i t i s estimated, prove t o be l a r g e r thafi t h a t of 1918 except i n d i s t r i c t s No. 5 and 6, Pennsylvania r e p o r t s the l a r g e s t corn crop in the h i s t o r y of the s t a t e . D i s t r i c t No. 1 r e p o r t s t h a t the tobacco grown i n the Connecticut v a l l e y r e g i o n w i l l exceed the output f o r 19I8. The Kentucky and Tennessee yield., a s r e p o r t e d from d i s t r i c t No. 8, a l s o shows an increase not only over the preceding year but i n excess of the 10 year average. The crop grown i n d i s t r i c t No. 4, however, i s estimated t o be from one-quarter zc one-third s h o r t , and the y i e l d i n d i s t r i c t No. 5 w i l l probably be about 60$ of normal. Bright tobacco i s bringing 40 to 70# per pound and the export demand : s very i n s i s t e n t . The q u a l i t y of the crop i n Pennsylvania i s poor and production below the ten year average, as the r e s u l t of adverse weather conditions.. With the year ending October ) 1 , d i s t r i c t No. 12 r e p o r t s t h a t C a l i f o r n i a has rounded out "the l a r g e s t c i t r u s and deciduous f r u i t season" i n the h i s t o r y of the s t a t e . F l o r i d a c i t r u s f r u i t s are not maturing as w e l l as they should and the market i s s a i d t o be poor, The g r a i n movement has been slow, the Minneapolis d i s t r i c t r e p o r t i n g that the farmers are holding t h e i r g r a i n f o r higher p r i c e s , while d i s t r i c t No. 10 r e p o r t s that corn and oats are being held back f o r s i m i l a r r e a s o n s . U n t i l th® middle of the month, wheat p r i c e s i n Kansas City showed continued s t r e n g t h ; oats remained p r a c t i c a l l y unchanged, and corn advanced a f t e r a p r i c e r e c e s s i o n . Receipts of wheat a t 16 i n t e r i o r markets during October were 50,774,164 bushels, as compared with 65,178,605 bushels during October 1918. Receipts of c o m and oats show a marked f a l l i n g off from the t o t a l s f o r the same month l a s t y e a r , being 12,364,107 bushels and 24,041,974 b u s h e l s , r e s p e c t i v e l y , a g a i n s t 2),2$7,o50 bushels and 31,567,793 b u s h e l s . Wheat f l o u r production i n October amounted to 15,00$,000 b a r r e l s , as compared with 14,087>000 b a r r e l s i n OctoberRecei-pta of c a t t l e a t 15 primary markets during October were somewhat i n excef of thP t o t a l f o r the same month l a s t y e a r , the r e s p e c t i v e f i g u r e s being 2,317,4$? http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ corresponding t o an Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis > • -3- „ X-1737 October, 1918, corresponding to an index number of 123* Receipts during September, 1919. amounted t o 1,704,944, the indeat nuniber being 7? R e c e i p t s of c a t t l e a t the s i x p r i n c i p a l markets of the Kansas City d i s t r i c t vt sc 5 per cent l a r g e r during October than i n the same month of the preceding y e a r , but the t o t a l s f o r the 10 month p e r i o d were 8,5 p e r cent below the f i g u r e s f o r the corresponding months of the preceding y e a r . The decrease i s " a t t r i b u t e d i n p a r t t o the large t r a n s f e r of c a t t l e from the dry regions of. the Northwest to the South, where a p l e n t i f u l supply of f e e d abounds,' The car shortage and a d i s p o s i t i o n to hold c a t t l e on f e e d f o r higher p r i c e s are a l s o considered as f a c t o r s i n the r e d u c t i o n of supplies of c a t t l e on the markets." There was a shprp f a l l i n g off i n r e c e i p t s of hogs a t the markets of the /Kansas C i t y d i s t r i c t , 31 per cent below the f i g u r e s f o r October a year ago. I t i s said t h a t while t h i s i s taken as a sign t h a t there are fewer hogs now i n t h i s country than l a s t y e a r , i t i s a l s o contended t h a t many hogs are being h e l d back f o r f a t t e n i n g as there i s more corn i n the country than at t h i s time l a s t y e a r . Sheep r e c e i p t s f a l l off i n October 5 - 5 per cent from the monthly record of a year ago, while marketing of horses and mules was 17 per cent h e a v i e r . Receipts of c a t t l e during October i n the p r i n c i p a l markets of the Chicago d i s t r i c t , a l s o show a 6 per cent i n c r e a s e ; although f o r the f a l l t e n months the 1919 r e c e i p t s decreased 7 per c e n t as compared with the corresponding period of the preceding y e a r . Average p r i c e s of beef and mutton i n the Chicago market f or October show a d e c l i n e from the p r i c e s of October, 1918. Kansas City s t a t e s that c a t t l e p r i c e s advanced s l i g h t l y i n October, "but t h a t there was a sharp drop i n the market f o r hogs. Lumber stocks are e x c e p t i o n a l l y l i g h t , being reported as 75 per cent of normal i n d i s t r i c t s No. 6 and 11 and about 70 per cent of normal i n d i s t r i c t No. 12, Production i n d i s t r i c t No. 6 i s not over 60 per cent of normal f o r the season, the prime causes being labor s&ortage and bad weather, although there has a l s o been a s l i g h t l e t - u p i n volume of orders r e c e i v e d . On the other hand, d i s t r i c t No, 12, r e p o r t s a. s t e a d y increase i n orders at a time when a normal seasonal d e c l i n e might have been expected. In g e n e r a l , b u i l d i n g a c t i v i t y has been unpreaedsntsd f o r t h i s time of. the y e a r . Where a f a l l i n g off i n c o n s t r u c t i o n a c t i v i t i e s i s i n d i c a t e d by a drop i n b u i l d i n g p e r m i t s , the movement i s not as pronounced as u s u a l a t t h i s season and s e v e r a l d i s t r i c t s r e p o r t i n c r e a s e s i n . p e r m i t s during October over the preceding month. x According to d i s t r i c t No. 6, " F l o r i d a r e p o r t s i n d i c a t e that the weather has been f a v o r a b l e f o r n a v a l s t o r e s p r o d u c t s , and r e c e i p t s have been p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y l a r g e r than f o r previous months. Notwithstanding the h e a v i e r r e c e i p t s , the market has kept up w e l l and p r i c e s continue e x c e l l e n t . Export demand i s i n c r e a s i n g and there i s a large domestic demand f o r both r o s i n and turpentine*" Production of bituminous c o a l during October was 54,579>000 tons as compared with 47,403,000 tons during September, the r e s p e c t i v e index numbers being 147 and 128. The high record f o r production during the week ending October 11 was surpass A by the output f i g u r e s f o r the week ending October 25, which were 2,000,000 tons in excess of the e a r l i e r f i g u r e s , the speed up being due to p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r the impending c o a l s t r i k e . Anthracite c o a l shipments d u r i n g the month of September were 6,560,150 tons, corresponding t o an index number of.117. as compared w i t h 5,687,401 tons during September, corresponding to an index number of 101. 916 * 917 » x-1737 The o u t p u t of beehive coke decreased f r o m 1,790,466 t o n s d u r i n g September t o 1,551,980 tons i n October, D i s t r i c t No. 3 r e p o r t s t h a t the C e n t r a l Pennsylvania c o a l f i e l d s are t i e d up v e r y c o m p l e t e l y . D i s t r i c t No. 4 says that the C o n n e l l s v i l l e r e g i o n has n o t been a f f e c t e d by the c o a l s t r i k e . " L a s t year t h i s r e g i o n produced f o r i t s r e c o r d weekly output a i d f o r i t s own coking o p e r a t i o n s 500,000 t o n s , b e s i d e s shipping s e v e r a l hundred thousand t o n s . Recently the r e g i o n produced 300,000 f o r i t s own coking b e s i d e a much l a r g e r tonnage t o o u t s i d e consumption." D i s t r i c t No. 9 r e p o r t s s u f f i c i e n t c o a l s u p p l i e s at the docks t o c a r e f o r t h e needs of the interior. D i s t r i c t No. 12 r e p o r t s a decrease both i n the d a i l y output and i n s t o r e d s t o c k s of petroleum. D i s t r i c t N<), 10, on the other hand, announces a new high record f o r p r o d u c t i o n from the w e l l s of Kansas and Oklahoma i n the mid-continent f i e l d . Wyoming has surpassed Pennsylvania as an o i l producing s t a t e and now ranks s e v e n t h . Labor c o n d i t i o n s i n the zinc and lead, mining d i s t r i c t s are r e p o r t e d to be improving, although c e s s a t i o n of operations was t h r e a t e n e d by the c o a l s t r i k e . T r a n s p o r t a t i o n d i f f i c u l t i e s have betn s e v e r e , shippers u t i l i z i n g broken c a r s a f t e r making l o c a l r e p a i r s , while empty c o a l c a r s , t r u c k s , and teams have been used f o r h a u l i n g lead i n order to r e l e a s e c a r s f o r z i n c t r a n s p o r t . There have been only s l i g h t advances i n the p r i c e of z i n c o r e s . No s u r p l u s s t o c k s have been moved. Lead p r i c e s h a r e cdvvnced, however, and s u r p l u s s t o c k s have been, used u p . Copper i s s e l l i n g at a p r i c e not much above the average c o s t of p r o d u c t i o n , while s i l v e r h a s touched new r e c o r d high p r i c e s , the q u o t a t i o n b e i n g $1,363 per ounce on November 2 4 , < fr - 5 - X-1737 918 Except i n c a s e s of enforced, i d l e n e s s due to i n d u s t r i a l d i s t u r b a n c e s , the chief l i n e s of manufacture continue to e x h i b i t the marked a c t i v i t y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the preceding months, r i s i n g p r i c e s of raw m a t e r i a l s not o p e r a t i n g to r e l i e v e the p r e s s u r e of buying orders, although here and t h e r e counseling caution i n the accumulation of producers' stocks. D i s t r i c t No# 1 r e p o r t s the market f o r raw wool more a c t i v e than a month ago, f i n e r grades being i n e s p e c i a l l y g r e a t demand with p r i c e s f u l l y 5 per cent h i g h e r , while medium grades a r e lower and coarse wools n e a r l y 50 per cent below the maximum p r i c e s o b t a i n i n g during the war. Corroborative testimony comes from D i s t r i c t No. 4 to the e f f e c t t h a t the f i n e r grades of wool a r e held f o r exceedingly high p r i c e s , while medium low grades a r e f a i r l y p l e n t i f u l . There appears to be u n c e r t a i n t y regarding the p r o b a b i l i t y of a s h i f t of demand from the higher to the medium grades. The percentage of woolen machinery i n operation i n the New England m i l l s has never been g r e a t e r a t t h i s time of the y e a r . As f o r the New England cotton m i l l s , those manufacturing gray goods are reported to have, had a phenomenal business which has r e s u l t e d i n many c o n t r a c t ing f o r t h e i r e n t i r e output f o r several a d d i t i o n a l months- The s c a r c i t y and abnormally high p r i c e s of the f i n e r q u a l i t i e s of cotton have l e d to the buying of more Egyptian and Peruvian cotton by the oTine goods m i l l s . Present i n d i c a t i o n s are f o r higher p r i c e s of•fcha f i n i s h e d product s i x months hence. I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t D i s t r i c t No. •) mentions i n c r e a s i n g s a l e s of machinery t o c o t t o n m i l l s , l a r g e p r o f i t s having induced expansion. The most r e c e n t a v a i l a b l e news concerning c o t t o n yarns i s to the e f f e c t t h a t t r a d i n g has become slack, the p r i n c i p a l demand now coming from k n i t t e r s . P r i c e s remain s t a t i o n a r y a t achieved hi^x l e v e l s . Summarizing the p r e v a l e n t conditiona i n the hide and l e a t h e r using i n d u s t r i e s , i t appears t h a t stocks of fchu coarser grL.deG of hides are accumulating somewhat. The demand f o r calf skins and f i n e r grades of l e a t h e r i s unappeasable, however. In the boot arid shoe industry, heavy orders i n d i c a t e sustained demand a t p r e s e n t or even higher p r i c e s Up to the middle of the month the coal s t r i k e was not yet proving a f a c t o r to be reckoned with i n the production of iron and s t e e l , e i t h e r i n the P h i l a d e l p h i a or the Cleveland D i s t r i c t s , while the Birmingham region r e p o r t e d business to be very a c t i v e . This does not mean t h a t the m i l l s in (District No. 3 and D i s t r i c t No. 4, were, a s a whole, operat.'.ing any where near capacity, the Cleveland r e p o r t s t a t i n g t h a t the production of s t e e l during October averaged about 60 per cent of the r a t e immediately b e f o r e the s t e e l s t r i k e , while a t the time of w r i t i n g i t had r i s e n to 70 per cent of t h a t amount* The s t e e l m i l l s in the Chicago D i s t r i c t were gradually i n c r e a s i n g the scale of t h e i r o p e r a t i o n s , but excessively s h o r t coal supplies were causing apprehension. The l e a d i n g i n t e r e s t s are i n c l i n e d to r e s i s t the p r e s s u r e to i n c r e a s e .the schedule of p r i c e s f o r s t e e l products, b u t m a t e r i a l f o r quick shipment i s commanding even higher premiums. • Crude and s e m i - f i n i s h e d m a t e r i a l s show a pronounced p r i c e r i s e , while i t i s r e p o r t e d from Cleveland t h a t the p r i c e s of semi-finished s t e e l , p i g i r o n , and scrap are a l l several d o l l a r s higher than a month ago* « ft x-1737 Pig i r o n p r o d u c t i o n , a s was t o be expected, declined, sharply i n October, from an output of 2,487,§65 tons f o r September t o 1,863,555 f o r October, the index number dropping from 107 to 80. U n f i l l e d orders of the United S t a t e s Steel Corporation i n c r e a s e d from 6,2sU e 638 tons a t the end of September to 6,472,66s tons a t the end of October, the r e s p e c t i v e index numbers b e i n g 119 and 123. • Wherever c o n d i t i o n s of employment are r e f e r r e d t o , evidence i s adduced to show shortage of supply. A temporary surplus i n D i s t r i c t No. 12 due to the r e l e a s e of l a r g e numbers of workers i n the shipyards was b e i n g r a p i d l y absorbed. The Boston employment o f f i c e r e p o r t s employers' demands t o be 18 per cent h e a v i e r than a t the same time l a s t y e a r . Numbers employed i n New York S t a t e during October according to the I n d u s t r i a l Commission f e l l about 2 per c e n t , as a r e s u l t of s t r i k e s , although numbers of employees in s t r i k e f r e e l o c a l i t i e s showed a s l i g h t i n c r e a s e . D i s t r i c t No. 3 i s s u f f e r i n g from a scanty supply 0'£ both S k i l l e d and u n s k i l l e d l a b o r ; there i s a shortage of farm l a b o r i n D i s t r i c t No. 6, and D i s t r i c t No. 8 mentions e s p e c i a l l y the l a d e of s k i l l e d l a b o r . In view of the disturbance:; to production occasioned by s t r i k e s , with no counterbalancing diminution of buying p r e s s u r e , i t i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g to note a s l i g h t increase i n p r i c e s f o r October. The index number of wholesale p r i c e s of the Bureau of Labor S t a t i s t i c s increased from 221 i n September to 223 i n October. A new high, l e v e l f o r raw m a t e r i a l s was reached, the index number r i s i n g from 216 i n September to 220. Among t h e subgroups i n c l u d e d i n the group of raw m a t e r i a l s f o r e s t products achieved a r e c o r d f i g u r e of 234,. . surpassing the previous September record of 227. The index f o r farm products r e g i s t e r e d 253 a g a i n s t 240 f o r September. The animal products group alone declined s l i g h t l y from 215 to 212. Consumers goods rose from 226 to 228 aad producers' goods decreased from 212 to 211. The sudden drop in the p r i c e s of cotucrodi ta.es and s e c u r i t i e s t h a t had been the f o c u s of a s u s t a i n e d speculative i n t e r e s t followed the advance i n d i s count r a t e s announced on November 3 by the Federal Beserve Back of New York# Call l o a n r a t e s rose r a p i d l y to. a spectacular climax on November 12 when a quotation of 30 p e r cent was reached — a f i g u r e n o t a t t a i n e d since the panic of 1907. Heavy l i q u i d a t i o n of stock shares with s a l e s exceeding m i l l i o n shares on the same day caused a v i o l e n t drop i n the i n f l a t e d p r i c e s . of many s e c u r i t i e s t r a d e d i n . The New York c o t t o n market a l s o f e l t the e f f e c " of the monetary stringency and p r i c e s receded h a s t i l y . The d e t e r r e n t e f f e c t upon speculation of high c a l l l o a n r a t e s h a s been somewhat o f f s e t by the a c t i o n of outside banks i n i n c r e a s i n g t h e i r loans on c a l l i n the New York market, thereby to a c e r t a i n e x t e n t counterbalancing the r e s u l t s obtained by l o c a l c o n t r a c t i o n . D i s t r i c t No. 4, f o r example, r e p o r t e d t h a t d e s p i t e abnormally heavy demands both from the country d i s t r i c t s and from i n d u s t r i a l c e n t e r s f o l l o w i n g the e f f e c t s of the s t e e l s t r i k e , the l o c a l s t r i n g e n c y had been i n c r e a s e d by d i s p o s i t i o n to l e n d f u n d s on c a l l . At a time when high c a l l loan r a t e s i n the money c e n t e r s coincide with the existence of s u r p l u s funds i n s e c t i o n s where crops have been harvested-and l o c a l demands a r e smaller the t r a n s f e r of f u n d s to money c e n t e r s may n o t s. only be a s e r i o u s hindrance to the e f f e c t i v e curbing of s p e c u l a t i o n , b u t may go forward a t a time when other d i s t r i c t s are i n need of f u n d s f o r a g r i c u l t u r a l or commercial p u r p o s e s . s 919 -7» x-1737 The New York market f o r conmer6ial paper i s r e p o r t e d t o be d u l l , with r a t e s l a t t e r l y on a 5S per cent to §4 per cent basis* d e a l e r s f i n d i n g t h a i r b e s t market among the i n t e r i o r banks* Bank c l e a r i n g s everywhere have been e x c e p t i o n a l l y heavy* The Board 1 s f i g u r e s of volume of check t r a n s a c t i o n s continue t o show expansion. The i s s u e of new s e c u r i t i e s by uomestic corporations during October i s reported by D i s t r i c t No* 2 to amount to about*$390,000,000, being in excess of the September f i g u r e s * A very l a r g e number of p r e f e r r e d shares were put out* I t i s not s u r p r i s i n g , in view of p r e v a i l i n g high i n t e r e s t r a t e s and the u n c e r t a i n t y as t o the length of time t h a t may elapse before the investment r a t e f a l l s , , to f i n d p r e f e r r e d shares to a c e r t a i n e x t e n t taking the place of long time bond i s s u e s . During the month s t e r l i n g exchange, f r a n c s , marks,and l i r e f e l l to new low l e v e l s , marks s e l l i n g a t 2.05 cents on November 18; s t e r l i n g a t 3.991 and f r a n c s a t 9-&0 on November 20+ Lire were quoted a t 12+60 on November 12* Since then t h e r e have been s l i g h t r e c o v e r i e s , but no improvement i n the f o r e i g n c r e d i t s i t u a t i o n t o warrant any s u b s t a n t i a l or permanent r i s e i n quotations#
@FedFRASER