There were some encouraging signs for U.S. business last week.
The stock market gained for the third consecutive week. The Dow-Jones industrial average rose 2.84 points, to 170.92, more than nine points above its mid-June low.
The construction industry was coming back to life. In June, the Department of Commerce reported, total new construction topped the June 1948 figure by $294,000,000; for the first half of 1949, it stood at $8,453,000,00, an alltime record.
Two prime commodities, copper and lead, which had taken a severe price shellacking as manufacturers lived off their inventories, made a comeback. Last week, as manufacturers began buying...