BUTTER SURPLUS, once so mountainous (467 million Ibs. in 1954) that it seemed permanent, has been eliminated. Agriculture Department allocated last 20 million Ibs. to school lunch program. Government will still buy butter, give it away to schools and welfare groups as production increases next spring, but grand-scale surpluses of past years are unlikely to recur. Reason: overall milk production has failed to increase in proportion to consumer demand.

TRUSTBUSTERS' THREATS of court action forced Texaco and Superior Oil Co. (Calif.) to drop merger plans (TIME, June 29). Merger would have given Texaco, second largest integrated U.S. producer and refiner, the advantage of Superior's huge reserves in Venezuela and U.S. Victory was Justice Department's biggest since it halted Bethlehem Steel and Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. merger last year.

BIG-BOARD TRADING will increase to daily average of 4,500,000 shares by mid-1960s v. 3,000,000 today, predicts New York Stock Exchange President Keith Funston. Listed shares will increase from current 5.5 billion to 8.5 billion in 1960s.

RAIL MERGER between Erie and Lackawanna was approved by stockholders, needs only ICC's O.K., which is expected. Merger will save $13 million a year on the two roads' 3,200-mile system between Hoboken, N.J. and Chicago.

NEW PASSENGER LINERS will be built by the Italian Line for New York-Mediterranean service. Two 35,000-ton luxury ships will each have accommodations for 1,600 passengers, cruise at 26.5 knots to Italy in seven days, one day faster than the line's 33,500-ton Leonardo da Vinci, which will be put into service next summer on the transatlantic run.

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