LOWER BEEF PRICES can be expected in coming months. Cattle population will reach a record 105 million by Jan. 1; feed supplies are already at new highs. Prospect: a beef eaters' 1961.

TWA FINANCING hit another obstacle. TWA's eccentric owner, Howard Hughes, who cleared the way for a $300 million loan a fortnight ago by agreeing to relinquish control of the line, backed out of the agreement.

RAIL-CONTROL BATTLE for the Western Pacific, important California rail link, is on between the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe. Southern Pacific started fight by secretly purchasing 10% of Western Pacific; Santa Fe countered by buying 20%. Both now await an Interstate Commerce Commission decision on which will get a clear track to seek control.

TWO-YEAR GUARANTEE, or 24,000 miles, will be given on Lincoln Continental against faulty manufacture. Previous guarantee: three months, or 4,000 miles.

SODA FOUNTAINS are disappearing from drugstores. Only 60% of the nation's 53,000 pharmacies still have them. In coming decades they may rank with cigar-store Indians as curiosities. Reason: pharmacists are too expensive to be selling fizzes; acceptable soda jerks are hard to find at salaries the stores can afford.

RENTAL COMPACTS are so popular with economy-minded customers that agencies are stepping up their purchases, cutting back on standard low-price cars. Hertz says 15% of its 1961 fleet will be compacts, a hefty boost from 6% last year. Hertz rents compacts for $9 a day and 9-c- a mile, compared to $10 and 10-c- for their larger cars.

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