No logical reason can be seen for a bear movement which implies necessitous liquidation or any insistent preference for cash. However, the failure of the anticipated January rise to materialize in the first week of the month has turned into positive dissatisfaction, sending industrials below the lowest level touched in November and off six points in the sharpest break since last April, The liquidation has been mainly for investment trusts and counsellors' accounts, with 9,000 Safeway Stores sold and also 5,000 shares each of Consolidated Edison, General Motors and General Electric.
The old maxim is recalled that a market that will not go up on good news, which we have had for four months, may readily go down on bad. Of course, business is slipping, and what the Spring may bring forth is anyone's guess. However, January's estimated output of 470.000 automobiles is the greatest of any month in history.
A 10 per cent. additional super income tax is rumoured.
So-called riskless stocks like American Telephone, American Can, Corn Products, American Tobaccos and Commonwealth Edison have held steady.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.