SODIUM GLUCONATE (Sodium D-GIuconate)
IF METAL CONTAMINANTS ARE A PROBLEM TRY THIS POWERFUL NON-TOXIC SEQUESTRANT BOTTLE WASHING COMPOUNDS Sequesters calcium, iron and aluminum in caustic soda washing solutions.
ALUMINUM ETCHANTS Extends bath life — · equalizes etching r a t e — prevents f o r m a t i o n o f hydrous aluminum oxide.
BRIGHTENERS Imparts a f i n e - g r a i n e d finish to deposited metal when used in c o p p e r , zinc, and cadmium plating b a t h brighteners.
PAINT STRIPPERS W h e n used with caustic s o d a , s p e e d s up removal and improves dispersion o f loosened paint.
ALKALINE DERUSTERS Improves rust a n d scale removal f r o m steel surfaces and depresses tendency to re-deposition. For information on product
applications
a n d technical d a t a , write for c a t a l o g .
Chemical Company Division of Stauffer Chemical Company Cleveland, Ohio 44120 56
C & E N J U N E 10, 1968
C&EN CHARTS For a few fleeting days last month prices of some chemical stocks showed signs of perking up. Through several trading sessions a sprinkling of chemical issues managed to tack together some nice gains. Some even graced the "most active" on occasion.
But the boomlet, if that's what it may be called, petered out fast. Chemicals resumed their downward drift. Quotations for most major chemicals now hover near their lows for 1968. The 1968 C&EN stock price index for the Big Saven of the
chemical industry reflects this well; ending May only a shade above the lowest level reached in April. The situation isn't surprising. First-quarter earnings for most chemical companies were lackluster. The combined first-quarter 1968 earnings of 17 large chemical companies exceeded the first-quarter 1967 total by about $18 million, or 6 % . On the surface, not bad. But—consider that Du Pont's earnings alone gained some $19 million and thus could account for all of the gain and then some. Still, the outlook for chemicals
THIS WEEK IN BUSINESS isn't as bleak as the current market seems to be indicating. Du Pont's earnings for 1968, for example, should be about 2 0 % ahead of 1967 (assuming no tax surcharge). Union Carbide could earn $3.25 per share this year, up 15% from 1967 (again,
assuming no tax surcharge). And Allied Chemical's earnings could well be up about 1 0 % from last year. These earnings prospects apparently are respectable enough to pique the interest of some of the more alert institutional investors. There
JUNE 10, 1968
are signs, for example, that a few mutual funds are now starting to accumulate Du Pont. Institutions held less than 2 % of Du Pont common stock at the close of 1967. Monsanto is another issue quietly going into some institutional portfolios.
C&EN INDEX OF STOCK PRICES Chemicals
Drugs
Petroleum
Rubber
JUNE 10, 1968 C&EN 57
