LOCKHEED F-104, the U.S. Air Force's hottest jet fighter, is working out so well that Air Force is boosting orders, possibly by as much as $200 million. Airmen buzz that needle-nosed ship, already a Mach 2 (1,320 m.p.h. at 30,000 ft.) performer, has done close to Mach 3 or nearly 2,000 m.p.h.

COLOR TV will come close to meeting black-and-white price levels next year, predicts Allen B. Du Mont Laboratories. Du Mont has signed royalty contract to make Lawrence color tube developed by Chromatic Television Laboratories (50% owned by Paramount Pictures), plans to bring it out at factory price of less than $50, some 30% cheaper than current R.C.A. tube. New tube, says Du Mont, will simplify color sets, cut retail prices to around $340 for 22-in. color set v. $495 for cheapest 21-in. color set currently on market, and about $200 for comparable black-and-white model.

FREIGHT RATES will go up for second time in year if railroads have their way. After getting 6% rate hike from Interstate Commerce Commission last March, roads want another 15% boost to improve and maintain equipment in face of rising costs. Cost to shippers, if ICC approves increase: about $1 billion annually.

NEW EXECUTIVE PLANE, first U.S. four-engined transport designed specifically for business flying, will be produced by Cessna Aircraft. Now being test-flown, Cessna's new Model 620 will seat up to nine passengers in fully pressurized cabin, will have 260 m.p.h. cruising speed, and range of 1,700 miles. Price tag, for 1958 delivery: $375,000.

CHEMICAL MERGER will push Union Carbide & Carbon Corp., already one of biggest raw-plastics producers, deeper into consumer fields. In $99 million stock swap, Union Carbide plans to acquire Visking Corp., big producer of cellulose meat casings and polyethylene film (raincoats, containers).

PIPELINE EXPANSION by the Tennessee Gas Transmission Co. will add 25% to its Eastern supplies if Federal Power Commission approves. At cost of $166 million, Tennessee Gas wants to add 1,085 miles of new pipe and a series of bigger compressor stations to boost capacity of 2,200-mile system running from Texas to New England by 456 million cu. ft. daily, bring it to nearly 2.5 billion cu. ft. capacity.

UNION SALARIES for top executives are shooting up. United Steelworkers voted $10,000 boosts to President David J. McDonald and his two top aides, bringing McDonald's salary to $50,000 annually (same level as United Mine Workers' John L. Lewis and Teamsters' Dave Beck), those of his ranking aides to $35,000 annually.

FORMER RAILROADER Buck Dumaine, who was ousted two years ago as president of New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (TIME, April 26, 1954), is going into new form of transportation. With group of Boston backers, Dumaine has picked up Richard S. Robie's Avis Rent-A-Car System, with 1,044 locations in U.S. and abroad and gross of $35 million a year.

SMALL-BUSINESS LOANS will more than double this year, says Small Business Administrator Wendell Barnes. In first eight months of 1956, SBA funneled out $69 million in 1,717 loans v. $32 million in 693 loans for comparable period of 1955. SBA has still another $50 million available "to meet all the anticipated needs of sound small firms that are unable to obtain credit elsewhere."

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