MISSILE MERGER will bring together Reaction Motors, Inc. and Thiokol Chemical Corp., two of industry's fastest-rising pioneers. In $7,200,000 stock exchange, Thiokol, which specializes in solid-fuel engines for Nike-Hercules, La Crosse and Lockheed X-17 missiles, will absorb Reaction, a leader in liquid-fueled engines.

COKE FOR REDS, who long reviled U.S. drink as typical of imperialist West, is on the way. Coca-Cola, which operates almost everywhere outside the Iron Curtain, expects to close deal with Poland to open bottling plant in city of Danzig.

EXECUTIVE FAT is melting off. An insurance-industry study of 10,000 businessmen in the 35-65 age bracket shows that 25% fewer are significantly overweight than the same number tested in 1939.

AIRLINE TRAFFIC flew out ahead of both railroads and bus lines in 1957 for first time in history, reports CAB. Box score: 25.8 billion passenger-miles for U.S. airlines v. 25.2 billion for intercity buses, 21.6 billion for railroads.

THUNDERBIRD SOFT TOP that will fold back into trunk like Ford's automatically retractable hardtop, will be put out by Ford this spring. Unlike hardtop convertible, new four-seater Thunderbird wi'l be only semiautomatic, require driver to lower trunk himself.

AEROSOL-DISPENSED FOODS will be selling at rate of 1 billion cans a year by 1965, says M.I.T.'s Dr. George Fuld, assistant professor of food engineering. Food was contained in but few of the more than 350 million aerosol-type containers sold last year, but food firms are working hard to spray dozens of products (.e.g., pancake mix, barbecue sauce, soda-mix flavoring), hope to surge forward when government approves pressure chemicals.

BUILDING BOOM of "dazzling" proportions will push construction expenditures up 50% in next decade, says ARCHITECTURAL FORUM after survey of future plans. Predictions are for outlay of $600 billion by 1967, more than value of all existing private structures.

TANKER CUTBACKS are hitting U.S. shipyards because oil-import curbs have slashed ship charter prices. At Newport News, Bethlehem and Sun yards, $130 million in ships ordered by independent Greek contractors (Onassis, Livanos, Goulandris) has been canceled.

HELICOPTER TRAVEL is growing up. New York Airways, Inc. will put five Vertol 15-passenger, twin-rotor copters in service to ferry passengers between metropolitan area's three major airports.

ECONOMIC TROUBLES in Latin America will knock sizable dent in trade with U.S. this year. Latin nations are cutting down purchases of both machinery and consumer goods, will probably chop trade by 10% to less than $4 billion.

PRICE CUTTING by big corporations to meet local marketing conditions, long opposed by the FTC, is O.K. U.S. Supreme Court ended 17-year legal wrangle between Standard Oil Co. (Indiana) and FTC, which argued that such flexibility will nullify price discrimination laws.

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