Facts & Figures

Over the Counter. Hudson Motor Car Co. announced a new-sales policy designed to end gouging, notably on accessories. To make sure that at least 50% of its customers got only the extra accessories they really wanted, half the Hudsons delivered to dealers will be stripped of gadgets. On trade-ins, Hudson told dealers to pay "a fair market price."

Master's Master. Flush with earnings from its booming sales of television sets, Philco Corp. decided to 1) declare a 7% stock dividend; 2) expand in the home appliance field (it already makes refrigerators). Philco bought Electromaster, Inc. (electric ranges) subject to approval by Electromaster's stockholders, for 68,212 1/2 shares of Philco stock (market price: $2,700,000). Philco will continue to sell the ranges as "Electromaster."

Divorce. U.S. trustbusters won the first round of their fight to end Technicolor Inc.'s alleged stranglehold on the color-movie industry. The Eastman Kodak Co., charged with helping Technicolor to dominate the field by exclusive color film processing arrangements, signed a consent decree to make its patents available to all comers. Technicolor refused to sign the decree, may carry its fight to the courts.

Productivity. Before World War II U.S. workers produced 2.8 times as much per man-hour as British workers. So the International Labor Office in Geneva reported, following a survey of 32 industries for the period 1935-39. In agriculture and transportation, productivity was about the same in both countries. The U.S. productive edge was highest in automobiles, radios, tires, tin cans, etc., where the "scope of automatic machines is great."

Eastward Ho. San Francisco's 49-year-old American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. will move its headquarters to New York, leave its West Coast business in the hands of Williams, Dimond & Co., a wholly owned subsidiary. The reason, said President Lewis A. Lapham, who had moved to Manhattan six months ago, was that high operating costs had forced the line to consolidate its offices and concentrate on its intercoastal trade, which could be directed as easily from New York.

Two-Faced Woman. In Paris, Schiaparelli showed a new cocktail hat that would make even the lightest drinker see double. One side is a profile of the wearer (see cut), with a glittering brooch to simulate the eye, and a pendant "earring." Price, including jewelry: $80.

Hara-Kiri. The Commonwealth & Southern Corp., the public utility holding company once bossed by the late Wendell Willkie, has been under SEC's "death sentence" since 1940. Last week SEC approved C. & S.'s plan to dissolve itself. Holders of C. & S.'s 1,441,247 shares of preferred stock will receive cash and stock in subsidiary companies worth between $106 and $111 per preferred share. Holders of 33,673,328 shares of common stock will get what's left, from $4.50 to $5.25 per share in stock. Holders of C. & S. stock option warrants will get nothing.

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