Business: Earnings: Feb. 17, 1930

How great was 1929's gain in corporate earnings over 1928? The answer cannot be given until the last late report is issued, but last week the National City Bank issued a preliminary summary of the first 806 companies to issue statements. Total earnings showed a gain of 12.5%. Big gainers were the amusement companies, up 85.6%, steel and iron up 70.7%, shipping up 67.3%. Losers included the automobile companies, down 10.2%, fertilizers, down 21.1%, and the sugar companies whose loss represented a drop from earnings of $5,376,000 to a deficit of $1,532,000 and therefore cannot be expressed in percentage.