Boom Through the Gloom

"Just like Christmas" was the way a Denver merchant described his sales last week. All over the U.S., despite the steel strike, retailers had the same kind of good news. Boston department-store sales spurted 6% above last year. Dallas stores chalked up a 16% gain. Sears, Roebuck reported monthly sales of $262 million, a new June record.

Some of the spurt in retail sales was apparently caused by the feeling among consumers that prices might not be heading down any further. There was evidence to support this. In June, said the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices went higher, and the cost of living probably set a new record. Textile prices edged higher as the trade reported that sizable orders were once more coming in, and prospects looked the best in years. Mills which had been in the red were in the black again. Last week the Joint Committee on the Economic Report took a look in its own crystal ball, predicted good business for the next twelve months. One big prop: an expected $71.3 billion in defense outlays, up from $57.4 billion in the fiscal year just ended.

Encouraged by all this, plus Eisenhower's victory, the stock market kept rising steadily. This week the Dow-Jones industrial average hit 275.08, only a shade below the bull-market peak.

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