FEDERAL SPENDING will jump $2 billion to $3 billion next year, says Grover Ensley, executive director of joint economic committee of Congress, but there still will be budget surplus of $4 billion for 1957. Predicts Ensley: gross national product of $430 billion to $440 billion, prices up 2% to 3%, business investment up 8% to 10%, housing starts down to 1,000,000.

EXPANSION PROGRAM, biggest in history, will be carried out next year by Bell Telephone System. Bell will spend $2.5 billion in 1957 v. $2.2 billion this year for new telephones, cables, dialing systems, will have to raise $125 million monthly in new capital.

STIFFER ANTITRUST LAWS will be pushed in next Congress by Justice Department. Assistant Attorney General Victor Hansen, top U.S. trustbuster, will ask for power to stop bank mergers carried out by buying assets, in addition to Justice Department's existing power to act against such mergers carried out by buying stock. Hansen also wants advance notice when big companies merge, force them to give information necessary to prepare antitrust suits.

FIRST AFRICAN ALUMINUM source will be developed by Canada's Aluminium Ltd. at cost of $100 million for plants, mines, railroad, port facilities. World's second-biggest aluminum producer (first: Alcoa) will exploit bauxite mines in wilds of French. Guinea, begin reducing bauxite to alumina by 1961.

CANADA INVESTMENT BOOM is pushing Canadian dollar to highest price in four years--$1.04 in U.S. currency. Because of Middle East war scare, British and European investors are selling out at home, pouring cash into Canada.

BIGGEST NAVY ORDER for jet trainers is going to Lockheed Aircraft in $70 million contract for some 250 more T2V-I Seastars.

Two-place plane hits top speed of 600 m.p.h., slows to 90 m.p.h. for landings on carrier's deck. New order pushes Lockheed backlog to $1,580,000,000.

STEEL UNION REVOLT threatens United Steelworkers President David McDonald (TIME, July 9). Steelworkers have nominated rank-and-file slate to oppose top officers in union election in February. Rebels oppose monthly dues hike from $3 to $5 to fatten union's strike war chest (now at $21 million) and pay boosts to McDonald (from $40,000 to $50,000) and other staffers.

EXPORTS TO EAST EUROPE from U.S. are rising sharply. U.S. licenses for future exports to Communist Europe neared $10 million in third quarter, more than double the preceding quarter. Imports from area are running at annual rate of $66 million, more than $10 million ahead of 1955. Reason: U.S. is buying more Polish hams, benzene, Russian furs, platinum.

VODKA SALES are up 146% over last year, will near $250 million for 1956. Vodka now claims 6.6% of U.S. whisky and spirits market, more than double 1955 share, but still far behind the 12.2% for gin.

FIRST NORTH-POLE FLIGHTS from Europe to Asia will start in February, cut 10,300-mile Stockholm-Tokyo hop to 8,000 miles, trim flying time from about 49 hours to 31 hours. Scandinavian Airlines System, which pioneered polar route between-Copenhagen and California, will fly two Far East round trips weekly over pole, make refueling stop at Anchorage.

TIGHT MONEY has forced Sears, Roebuck to form a new subsidiary to finance installment buying. The subsidiary, Sears, Roebuck Acceptance Corp., will take some of load off 200 banks that now finance credit account, which reached 41% of Sears' sales last year, will take an even larger share in 1956.

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