What we may expect;

              ATLANTA
BALTIMORE
BIRMINGHAM HASKINS & SELLS PHILADELPHIA
PITTSBURGH
PORTLAND
BBOUFSTFOANLO CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS PSAROINVTID LEONUCEIS
CHICAGO SALT LAKE CITY
CINCINNATI SAN DIEGO
CLEVELAND BULLETIN SAN FRANCISCO
DALLAS SEATTLE
DENVER TULSA
DETROIT WATERTOWN
KANSAS CITY LOS ANGELES BERLIN
MINNEAPOLIS HAVANA
NEWARK LONDON
NEW ORLEANS executive offices PARIS
NEW YORK 3h7a swkeinsst 3&9 thse sltls., nbeuwil dyionrgk SHANGHAI
VOL. VIII NEW YORK, JANUARY, 1925 No. 1
AGAIN it appears that the stock ex­change
may be used as an index of
forthcoming business conditions. In the
light of the past, its recent activity seems
to presage an era of prosperity. Facili­ties
of brokerage houses have been taxed
to the limit in order to handle the enormous
volume of transactions which have taken
place at continually rising prices. Every
day has seen a long list of stocks reach
new high levels for the year. 1 he trading
has not been confined to a few issues, but
has been widely diversified and represen­tative
of the country's leading industries.
The unusual activity of the exchange has
not been unwarranted. The business out­look
appears to be the best in several
years. Our country has practically
emerged from the period of depression of a
few years ago. The uncertainties of the
"election year" have passed, and the
return to power of the present conserva­tive
administration has been a stabilizing
factor in our industries. The situation in
Europe has begun to look more favorable
than at any other time since the war.
German rehabilitation is being accom­plished
through the agency of the Dawes
plan; and the relations among the nations,
at least on the surface, are again cordial.
Apparently, it may reasonably be ex­pected
that there will be a rise in the
general price level during the coming
months. The leading price indexes re-cently
have begun to show an increase.
Professor Irving Fisher's index number of
the wholesale prices of two hundred repre­sentative
commodities stood at 154.6 for
the week ended December 5, as against
142.3 for the week ended July 11, the low
point of the year. Prosperity is conta­gious.
When the producers in one group of
industries begin to receive more for their
output, their demand grows for the prod­ucts
of other groups, with a resulting
tendency towards higher prices for the
other products. The movement thus be­comes
a progressive one.
It seems that there may be expected
also an increase in volume of business,
accompanied by an extension of facilities
for production. The railroads have an­nounced
an ambitious program for 1925.
The number of corporate security issues
for purposes of expansion is already on
the increase.
Present tendencies indicate that we are
not in imminent danger of another period
of inflation and over-expansion. The
present signs of prosperity appear to be
warranted by conditions. A general
betterment has become manifest in the
status of almost all our industries, includ­ing
agriculture. The general attitude pre­vailing
seems hopeful rather than over-optimistic.
It is not amiss, nevertheless, to bespeak
caution in expanding our industries, lest
What We May Expect