Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 September 1900 — COMMEPCIAL FINANCIAL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

COMMEPCIAL FINANCIAL

New York—There has been no change of importance in the business situation. No great amount of activity is ever expected in August for the reason that it is one of the “between seasons” months in trade, and this year there has been an added adverse influence iu the shape of political uncertainty. General trade is said to be somewhat better in the West, but signs of improvement in the New Englund States are still scarce. The most important factor in the situation just now is the better tone to the iron and steel markets. In this industry the buying movement is spreading in a number of directions. Considerable new business is being done in bars and prices are again showing an upward tendency. The sheet trade, too, is more animated and in better shape. There arc some encouraging features iu the speculative situationfeatures which in ordinary times would bring about a sharp advance in values. But at the moment these are entirely ignored and politics treated as the principal consideration. ■ The consequence of this is that the trading is on a limited scale and prices, as a rule, are barely holding their own. People evidently do not want to buy stacks, and, on the other hand, those who hold them are not disposed to soil. It is not believed this condition of affairs can continue much longer. Chicago—Wheat was generally firm during the week, although at the close Saturday the market price showed little change compared with its value at the end of the week previous. The causes of the improved feeling among speeulabased upon conditions rather expected than at ivesvnt existing. One quite tangible and present factor, however, was the export demand, which, although not to be characterized as urgent, was of dimensions sufficient to be recognized by the bears and restrain them from selling short to a degree that might result disastrously to themselves in case some of the other bull anticipations should suddenly be realized: The looked-for reduction in the winter wheat movement was not sufficiently apparent to beget confidence in its reaching within a short time a falling off that would be recognized as a sign of the predicted coming of the bulls’ days of< undisputed preponderance. Neither did anything in the movement of spring wheat toward the markets of Minneapolis and Duluth indicate the exceeding smallness of the Northwestern spring wheat crop, as generally claimed of it. The shipments of wheat to Europe from other than United Slates, Danubian and Argentine ports continue to run small; notably from Russia, whose competition in the markets of the world is always a menace tp the bulls. The Danubian countries promise to makii.amends to European consumers for any possible shortcomings on the part of Russia, the heavy movement to market in that region of tlie wheat-producing world being in accordance with what has been heard of the excellence of its wheat crop. The problem of the season’s supply is yet sufficiently obscure to warrant cautiousness as well by the bear as by the bull speculators. Favorable weather for the speedy maturing of the corn crop has had the double effect of causing farmers to part more freely witli their old corn and of inducing purchasers in the Eastern States and foreign countries to defer their orders for shipment to the last possible moment in expectation of an early’ movement of the new grain.