1959 CHEVY will be radically redesigned. Scrapping plans for a facelift, General Motors has kicked off a crash program of retooling to make car larger and restyle its rear. To trim remodeling costs, G.M. will build all its future cars (except Cadillac) around one basic body shell instead of the three used now.

CORPORATE PROFITS rose 1% in 1957 over 1956, says Manhattan's First National City Bank in survey of 2,474 key companies that account for about one-third of total business earnings. Biggest gainers: tobacco, shoe, drug, steel, and auto companies. Losers: textile, clothing, tire, paper, oil, building-material firms.

LIABILITY INSURANCE rates for autos will go up again this year, as much as 30% in some states. Reason: higher car-repair costs, medical expenses and court awards in damage cases caused heavier underwriting loss in 1957.

CITRUS PRICES, a big factor in January's .7% jump in living costs, will stay high because growers will need at least two years to make up for weather-ruined crop. Frozen juice prices will rise 15% to 20% in next two months; orange prices will remain about 25% above 1957 level.

AUTO UNION is tempering demands as dealers' car inventories continue to rise. U.A.W. wants to boost its average $2.46 hourly wage rate by 10-c-; pace-setting General Motors has offered 6-c-. Union also will ask for bigger layoff, pension and health benefits, but will probably scrap its demand for profit sharing if G.M. agrees to more pay for shorter week.

SOVIET GOLD DIGGERS may lead world production this year. In 1957 Soviets turned out about 38% of world gold supply--17 million 02. worth $595 million--to match the longtime leader, South Africa. Gold hoard gives Soviets potent economic weapon to fight balance-of-trade deficits.

CONRAD HILTON will put up two-story, 300-room airport hotels throughout U.S. He has leased land near San Francisco International Airport, is dickering for lease in Los Angeles, has plans for New York, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, New Orleans, Miami, Seattle.

AIR-COLLISION DANGER is diminishing. CAB reports that near misses of aircraft in flight averaged 1.4 per day in last quarter of 1957 v. 3.6 in first quarter. Reason: at urging of Government and pilots' union, more pilots are flying on instruments in good as well as bad weather.

OIL-MAP THEFT has brought conviction of Oil Promoter Odie R. Seagraves, 70, and Extortionist Emanuel Lester, who tried to sell maps for $500,000 (TIME, Jan. 7, 1957). Secret geologic maps of oil lands were turned over to them by a former Gulf Oil Corp. employee who stole maps from the company. Judge fined aged Seagraves $5,000, sentenced his cohort Lester to three years.

FAIR TRADE has been killed by Supreme Court of Kansas, 17th state to outlaw price-fixing by manufacturers.

FOREIGN CARS are selling much faster than last year, when they won 3.5% of U.S. market with record 206,827 registrations v. 98,187 during 1956. In January front-running Volkswagen imported 7,200 cars compared with 5,700 a year ago, and France's second-place Renault shipped in 3,247 v. 1,596.

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