STEEL PRICE RISE, "considerably in excess of the inadequate increase" of an average $8.50 a ton last year, will be needed when steelworkers' wages and fringe benefits go up about 19-c- an hour in July, predicts Republic Steel Chairman C. M. White.

BIG MISSILE CONTRACT is in works for production of Boeing's ramjet Bomarc ground-to-air weapon. Order will use funds originally planned for additional Lockheed F-104 fighters.

RECORD U.S. EMPLOYMENT of 68 million will come this summer, says Labor Secretary Mitchell. April employment hit new peak for that month, 64,261,000 jobs, v. all-time high of 66.8 million in midsummer 1956.

JAPANESE IMPORT CRISIS is becoming so severe that foreign-exchange reserves will be exhausted in six months if importing continues at present pace. To brake imports, Bank of Japan hiked discount rate from 7.7% to 8.4%. Reacting to boost, Tokyo stock market suffered biggest drop since Korean war ended.

THREE-WAY MERGER is proposed by boards of Textilemaker Bachmann Uxbridge Worsted Corp. (1956 sales: $33 million), American Hard Rubber Co. (sales: $27 million) and Wardell Corp., which sold its Eureka vacuum-cleaner business in 1953. If stockholders approve, stock swap will produce new, diversified industrial company to be called Amerace Corp.

RUBBER PATENT SUIT is being pressed by Government to get B.F. Goodrich Co.'s secret formula for new Ameripol SN synthetic rubber, which is almost same as natural rubber. U.S. says it gave Goodrich more than $1.5 million for synthetic rubber research on condition that discoveries be revealed to all rubber makers. Goodrich claims process was discovered privately by Goodrich-Gulf Chemicals, Inc., in which Goodrich and Gulf Oil Corp. hold 50-50 interest.

NEW LABOR RULING by Supreme Court says that unions can be charged with unfair labor practices against their own employees, are subject to Taft-Hartley rules like any employer. By 5-4 vote, court overturned earlier NLRB decision, ordered board to hear charges that Teamsters attempted to force out some of their office help because they joined A.F.L.-C.I.O. Office Employes union.

POSTAGE RATES will probably not go up this year, even though House Post Office Committee by 2-1 majority approved one-penny boost for first-class, airmail rates.

FARM BARTER PROGRAM, by which U.S. since 1949 has contracted to trade more than $850 million worth of agricultural surplus for strategic materials from abroad, is being suspended, may be cut out entirely. Government thinks barter deals have displaced dollar sales of farm goods instead of creating new foreign markets, stepped up competition for domestic mining industry instead of reducing it.

SHIPPING RATES are dropping as demand caused by Suez stoppage tapers off and new ships go into service. Freighter tolls for coal from East Coast to Europe are at 18-month low of $7.42 a ton v. $9.52 in March and record $16.52 in December.

GOVERNMENT MONOPOLY on atomic energy from hydrogen fusion will be broken by private industry. With ultimate goal of producing peaceful hydrogen electric power, eleven Texas utilities and General Dynamics Corp. are starting four-year, $10 million program in General Dynamics' San Diego lab to research ways of controlling H-bomb-type fusion.

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