STATE OF BUSINESS: Damper on the Boom

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The U.S. Federal Government last week put another credit damper on the boom. From Washington went an order to the 4,200 savings and loan institutions that supply mortgage money for about 37% of the nation's houses. From now on, they must finance new mortgages out of savings and loan repayments only, not by borrowing from the Federal Home Loan Bank. Despite other attempts to slow the boom by restricting credit (TIME, Aug. 8 et seq.), there is little evidence that they have yet had any effect. Items:

¶ Industrial production in August hit a record 140 on the Federal Reserve Board index (1947-49 = 100), 17 points above a year ago.

¶ The Dow-Jones industrial average pushed to new high ground for three successive days on the New York Stock Exchange, set a new mark of 483.67.

¶ Construction contracts in the 37 states east of the Rockies, reported F. W. Dodge Corp., rose 20% above a year ago to a total of $1.9 billion in August, another record for the month.

¶ The SEC and Commerce Department reported that new plant and equipment outlays would total $7.3 billion in the final three months of this year, the best quarter of the year. The estimated 1955 total: $27.3 billion, only 1% under record 1953.

¶ Chain-store and mail-order sales in August topped last year for the twelfth successive month. In the first eight months of 1955, they were 8.6% ahead of 1954.