RECORD DIVIDENDS will be paid out by savings and loan associations next week, says U.S. Savings & Loan League. With 19 million savings accounts, an increase of 1,000,000 since January, savings and loan associations will pay out $520 million in semiannual dividends, $95 million more than July 1955 and $53 million more than last December.

NEW FRENCH SUPERLINER will be built to ply North Atlantic runs, compete against British and U.S. vessels. To be named France, $78 million French Line ship will be 55,000 tons (v. 83,673 tons for Cunard's Queen Elizabeth), have luxury accommodations for 2,000 passengers on five-day crossing from Le Havre. First sailing: early 1960.

RIGHT-TO-WORK LAW, which outlawed union shop, was repealed by Louisiana, fourth state to do so (others: Maine, New Hampshire, Delaware) since laws first went on state books. Overall, however, 17 states still have right-to-work laws.

EMPLOYEE STOCK PLAN is a big hit at General Motors. Of 100,000 eligible workers, says G.M., some 90,000 joined plan in first nine months of operation, are putting an average 8% of their pay into company stock (matched dollar for dollar by G.M. contributions) and Government savings bonds. Employee savings to date: $32 million.

U.S. SHIPPING BOOM is steaming along so briskly that lines do not have enough vessels to handle all new business. Maritime Board has requests from 15 companies to release total of 81 ships from Government-owned reserve fleet for emergency charter service.

CONVAIR GOLDEN ARROW jet transport will go into production with initial orders for 40 planes totaling $200 million. Trans World Airlines will buy 30, Delta Airlines will take another ten of the four-jet, medium-range (3,000 miles) airliner. Originally named Skylark (TIME, April 23), new jetliner will cruise at 600 m.p.h. (slightly faster than bigger Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8) with 80 passengers, go into service late in 1959.

RAILROAD MERGER between Louisville & Nashville and Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway has been recommended by ICC examiner. Under deal calling for stock swap, L. & N. (which already owns 75% of smaller road) will take over N.C. & St. L., combine operations along 5,777 miles of track through 13 Southern and Midwestern states. Though labor unions and Nashville civic groups oppose merger, two roads say it will save $3,000,000 annually in operating costs.

MOBILE PENSIONS enabling workers to carry accumulated pension credits from job to job are being pushed on West Coast. After short strike, Libby, McNeill & Libby has signed agreement giving 1,500 West Coast Teamsters Union members mobile pensions, will pay 10-c- per hour per worker into fund which union and management will administer jointly. With Libby victory, Teamsters have won mobile pensions for a total of more than 200,000 workers in eleven Western states, hope to boost total to 300,000 by end of 1956.

JAPANESE IMPORTS are forcing shutdown of some U.S. mills, complain U.S. textilemen, who are stepping up campaign for stiffer tariffs. Both New England's Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. and Bates Manufacturing Co. are extending vacation shutdowns one week because of increasing Japanese competition, while South Carolina's small Camperdown Mills is closing down completely "in the face of Japanese competition." Japanese, however, are acting to curb exports themselves.

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