Indicator

Last week, although indices showed varying trends and the stockmarket wobbled on its lofty perch (see below), business could take comfort in one indicator solemnly tested by economists. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, there are some 20 statistical series that usually call the turn;*among the best of these is inner-tube production. Motorists must replace casings when they wear out but can patch old tubes in hard times. Last week the Rubber Manufacturers' Association announced that in June a whopping 450.000 more inner tubes were produced than in May, by far the biggest monthly increase since Depression II's February low.

* Statistical Indicators of Cyclical Revivals, Wesley C. Mitchell and Arthur F. Burns, Bulletin 69, National Bureau of Economic Research.

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