Business & Finance: Good News

Among the items which helped the stockmarket to new Recovery highs last week were these:

¶ Issuing its annual profit & loss statement for the U. S. as a whole, the Department of Commerce reported that in 1935 the country earned $52,900,000,000, paid out $53,500,000,000. That indicated that the U. S. had dipped into surplus for $600,000,000, lowest figure since 1932, when $48,300,000,000 was paid out, only $39,500,000,000 produced. In 1929 the U. S. produced $2,400,000,000 more than the $78,600,000,000 paid out.

¶ Standard Oil of New Jersey awarded contracts for eight new 105,000-bbl. tankers—four to Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock, two to Bethlehem Shipbuilding, two to Sun Shipbuilding. The new tankers will cost a total of $13,000,000, which is one of the biggest unsubsidized shipbuilding orders ever placed in the U. S.

¶ Building construction for the first six months of 1936 ran 77% ahead of the same period of 1935. June figures showed residential building up 48%, nonresidential 34%, public and heavy construction up 105%.

¶ U. S. citizens spent 15.7% more for general merchandise in June than the year before, pushing first-half sales nearly 10% ahead of the first six months of 1935.

¶ June credit sales were up 14% from the same month last year, collections 10%. No. 1 gainer in both fields was Idaho Falls, Idaho.

¶ May tire shipments were 43% ahead of those of May 1935.

¶ Holding up well was burlap consumption with June sales of 55,000,000 yd., bringing the figures for the first half 27% above the similar period last year.

¶ With June setting an all-time monthly record, Canadian newsprint production soared to a new half-year high of 1,489,000 tons, topped the first six months of 1935 by 16%.

¶ Dun & Bradstreet reported business failures at the lowest rate for June since 1920. Liabilities involved were less than in any June in 30 years.

¶ Eleven leading corn refiners figured that their June corn grind topped the same month last year by about 25%.

¶ In spite of the hullabaloo about canned beer, glassmakers turned out 50% more beer bottles in the first half of 1936 than in the same period last year.

¶ In spite of a price increase last month, John B. Stetson Co. (hats) announced that business was running well ahead of last year, had its Canadian plant working overtime.