Word: coppers
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
According to Bolingbrook police, Fred Flynn, a steel-and-copper salesman, was in desperate financial straits and had been moonlighting as a cab driver when he met Miller, who mentioned his yearning for a child bride. Flynn offered his stepdaughter, Miller offered the $30,000 in bonds, and the sale was concluded...
Apparently satisfied that he had disposed of part of his price problem, the President took a more activist line on the cost of nonfood commodities, which have begun to rise at a worrisome rate. Wholesale prices of industrial commodities, such as copper, lead, zinc and lumber, jumped 1% last month. In this case, buyer power is definitely not the solution: the increases have occurred largely because manufacturers are scrambling to purchase materials to take care of expected increases in production. So Nixon announced that, to help keep prices down, the Government will sell off some of the $6.5 billion worth...
...Only $1.7 billion of the stockpiled commodities can be disposed of easily under current law. Of that amount, more than a third is already promised to industrial buyers under long-term contracts at present prices, including $369 million of aluminum, $162 million of lead and $109 million of zinc. Copper and some other materials cannot be sold from Government stockpiles without explicit approval from Congress, which may not be easy to get. Hendrik Houthakker, a sometime Nixon economic adviser, once lamented: "Every commodity has its political loyalty...
Administration officials voiced hope that the mere threat of stockpile sales would help keep prices in line. The announcement did throw a scare into commodity traders. Prices of copper, silver, zinc and tin futures retreated-but copper and silver had recovered by week...
Last week's "victory" hardly solves his problems, however. Although the soaring price of copper (up from 460 to 680 per pound) could bring Chile an extra $300 million in hard currency this year, the nation will have to import twice that much in food just to maintain current standards...