Current Situation

The prices of stocks, which began jiggling up and down a fortnight ago, bobbed more violently last week. There was a definite downward trend. One "combined average" of prices estimated the general drop on the New York Stock Exchange at 2.93 points, the lowest since the 3.89 drop March 26, when many speculators were wrung. Bond prices rose in usual antithesis to stock drops. No underlying cause is yet discernible for this situation, especially since 250 leading U. S. corporations earned in aggregate $568,000,000 the first half of this year. This, according to the American Bankers Association Journal, is 21% more than the $470,000,000 of last year's first half.