Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 January 1906 — COMMEPCIAL AND FJINANCIAL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

COMMEPCIAL AND FJINANCIAL

• ‘The volume of bank llLCdjO. exchanges this week has - swelled to abnormal proportions. Allowing for the distortion caused by enforced bank liquidation ami readjustment of deposits, the actual gain is substantial and reflects sustained, healthy growth iu business geuerajlyv- .... . : , .. I —" In coping with the difficulties of the Chicago National bank and allied connections the method and promptness of the Chicago clearing house never .before were so efficacious in averting serious danger and in- restoring couti- . doitgit - That body’s action in vohr.iimmediate payment of „ all deposits practically eliminated apprehension and testifies to ths\sjj?ndness of the banking situation. Other developments have moved along progressive lines. . Christmas 'trade has been of unprecedented magnitude, the aggregate largely exceeding the high-water mark of .a year ago,, people and their ability to buy freely. Stocks of seasonable merchandise have undergone rapid depletion, and this notwithstanding the highest known average- cost* Advices show that stores throughout "The interior have done equally well. Upon these gratifying results there is little reason to fear that stoeks will be carried over to any material extent. Mercantile collections remain prompt and commercial defaults compare very favorably in number and liabilities ■with-those of- the corresponding week last year. . Production in iron and stdel add other manufacturing branches maintains exceptional volume, except where temporary shutdowns occur for repairs and new installation. Priees maintain extreme firmness and a higher tendency is seen in furnace output. Bank clearings, $254,783,391, exceed those of the corresponding week in 1904 by 31.1 per cent. Failures reported in the Chicago district number 18, against 22 last -week and 29 a year ago.—Dun’s Review of Trade. ' 1 r— —j As the season draws to N6W lOrk. a close holiday buying * gains force, and early predictions of unprecedented business are being fully realized. Retail trade in heavy winter goods still drags, owing to unseasonably mild weather. Reorder business in jobbing lines adapted to holiday needs is more than ordinarily active for a usually quiet stock-taking period, and some lines, especially dry goods, are really active, despite the approach of the turn of the year. Spring business reports continue excellent and far in excess of previous years, though holiday influences tend to somewhat restrict immediate new engagements. Business failures in the United States for the. week ending Dec. 21 number 235, against 226 last week, 249 In the.like week of 1904, 243 in 1903, 160 in 19Q2 and 210 In 1901. Failures in Canada number 38, as against 32 last week and 37 in this week a year ago.—Bradstrcet’s Commercial Report.