Most of the familiar economic indicators last week pointed upward:
∙INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION rose in December to a record 115% of the 1957 average, up one point from November and 13 points above last February's recession low.
∙NEW ORDERS for durable goods, spurred in part by hedge buying of steel against the possibility of a strike in July, climbed to a near-record $16.4 billion in December. One strong sign of confidence: new orders of durable goods ran well ahead of sales ($15.8 billion).
∙AUTO SALES spurted 18% ahead of last year's pace in the first ten days of January. From Oct. 1 through Jan. 10,...
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