SMALLER COMPACTS, to compete with Volkswagen's snub-nosed Micro-Bus, panel delivery van and pickup truck, will be brought out by Ford this year. In Detroit's best kept secret, Ford has developed new compact line with smallest wheelbase (less than 95 in.) of any U.S. automaker. Engine of new compacts is in front. Price will be in $1,900-$2,600 Volkswagen range.

SWISS-HELD SHARES of Baltimore & Ohio stock are streaming to the Chesapeake & Ohio in the road's fight with the New York Central to gain control of the B. & O. So far, C. & O. has received more than 117,400 shares held by Swiss, who own about 25% of road's shares. In all, C. & O. says it has collected some 750,000 shares--nearly one-quarter of B. & O.'s outstanding stock.

SEC VIOLATIONS may have been committed by company officers and directors of Chicago's Comptometer Corp. who sold their stock during its recent big rise. Directors and officers sold 32,269 shares of stock without registering it with SEC. During runup of price of stock after announce ment that company's Electrowriter had been successfully tested by A.T. & T. for use on its public lines, four insiders sold 15,600 shares.

FIVE NEW FREIGHTERS are called for in $53 million contract signed by United States Lines with Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry-dock Co. as first step in U.S. Lines' $450 million building program. Within twelve years, line will replace up to 46 ships in cargo fleet.

STUDEBAKER-PACKARD CORP. bought Clarke Floor Machine Co. for about $4,000,000. Purchase allows S-P to offset Clarke's profits against its own massive tax losses. It is fourth Studebaker-Packard acquisition in past 16 months and first since Clarence Francis moved in as chairman to speed up diversification.

COCA-COLA and MINUTE MAID are talking merger. In first major diversification move in its 74-year history, Coca-Cola offers to swap about 900,000 shares of its stock (current value: $59 million) for all of Minute Maid's stock at the rate of 2.2 shares of Minute Maid for one of Coca-Cola.

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