Business Notes

FISHING A Harpoon for Japan's Whalers

Under pressure from the U.S., Japan agreed last November to put its sperm whalers, among the last practitioners of an ancient profession, out of business by 1988. American conservationists, who consider whaling a senseless slaughter of an endangered species, were not satisfied. Greenpeace and eleven other environmental groups sued the U.S. Government, charging that amendments to two separate conservation laws require in effect that the Administration impose economic sanctions on Japan for its whaling operations.

Last week a U.S. Court of Appeals, ruling in favor of the conservationists, decreed that within 90 days the Government must order Japan to reduce its catch of fish in American waters by 50%. That would be a serious economic blow to the Japanese, who took in roughly two-thirds of the 1.4 million metric tons of fish caught by foreigners off U.S. shores last year. The Administration, not eager to rock its relations with Japan, may ask the Court of Appeals for a rehearing of the case and could possibly take the issue to the Supreme Court. The outcome will determine when Japan's whalers will have to hang up their harpoon guns. STOCK TRADING An Insider Faces Jail

The penalty was a stern warning to financial journalists who may be tempted to trade on inside information. In a Manhattan courtroom, Federal Judge Charles Stewart last week sentenced J. Foster Winans, 37, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who had been convicted of 59 counts of fraud and conspiracy, to a $5,000 fine, 18 months in prison and five years on probation.

Winans was found guilty of leaking advance information from his influential "Heard on the Street" column during 1983 and 1984 to two Kidder, Peabody stockbrokers, Peter Brant and Kenneth Felis. They used the knowledge to make trades that earned them $675,000. Of that amount, Winans and his roommate David Carpenter, 36, received $31,000.

Winans, who plans to appeal, volunteered to do his time working in programs for victims of AIDS. Judge Stewart denied the request. Before the sentence was passed, Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Romatowski disclosed that Winans had circulated to publishers an outline for a book titled Trading Secrets: Fear, Power and Greed on Wall Street. Winans said it would dissuade others from resorting to "unethical or immoral behavior." MORTGAGES Fannie Mae Gets Tough

For many young couples, the dream of owning their own homes became more distant last week. Reason: the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, tightened its mortgage-eligibility standards. Borrowers who put up less than 10% of the purchase price on a home must now have higher incomes. Under old Fannie Mae rules, for example, a buyer making $36,814 could purchase a $76,500 home by putting down 5% and getting a $72,700 loan at 12.2% interest. Now that same borrower would need an income of $41,232.

Rather than lend directly to consumers, Fannie Mae buys mortgages from banks and savings and loan associations, providing them with money to make additional loans. Most lenders stay in line with Fannie Mae's rules so they can sell mortgages to the agency.

Fannie Mae made its standards more stringent because a record number of borrowers with mortgages bought by the agency are defaulting on their loans. Explains Chairman David Maxwell: "It does no favor to home buyers in the market we serve--low, moderate and middle income--to saddle them with obligations they cannot carry." UNIONS Grape Boycott, Round 3

Like an echo from the past, Cesar Chavez, leader of the United Farm Workers of America, is back in the news. Between 1965 and 1973, he organized two grape boycotts and won passage in 1975 of the first state law guaranteeing farmworkers the right to unionize. Now Chavez is again launching a boycott of California grapes, contending that the 1975 law is rarely enforced. Says he: "Farmworkers continue to be fired, coerced and abused by corporate growers."

Chavez blames California Governor George Deukmejian for much of the problem. The union leader accuses the Governor of ignoring workers' rights and accepting $1 million in campaign contributions from agricultural interests. An aide to the Governor admits that Deukmejian has received money from growers but says that Chavez's figure is too high.

To promote his boycott, Chavez has traveled from Los Angeles to Boston, picking up endorsements from such prominent politicians as Senators Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Paul Simon of Illinois. Chavez thinks that if he can get 6% of the population to stop eating grapes, growers will be forced to listen to his union's complaints. ACQUISITIONS Old Profession, New Offering

The thriving service economy has presented investors with many opportunities, but nothing quite like the stock of Strong Point, a little-known Irvine, Calif., real estate firm. In its strategic plan to diversify, Strong Point has fixed on an unlikely industry: prostitution. Last week the publicly traded company paid $18 million to acquire Nevada's Mustang Ranch, the largest legal brothel in the U.S. "It looked like a terrific investment opportunity," says John Davis, the company's president. The ranch currently features two bunkhouses with 108 bedrooms, a staff of 100, two neglected tennis courts and 495 acres. Since the ranch is popular with tourists and business travelers, Strong Point plans to add a golf course and landing strip.

Strong Point acquired the ranch from Joe and Sally Conforte, who needed the money to pay off $10 million in back taxes. The couple has operated the bordello since 1964, and became legitimate proprietors in 1971 when Nevada lifted many restrictions on prostitution. The new owners hope to make the ranch semirespectable as well. Says Davis: "Since I've gotten more involved, I'm finding the whole attitude toward it is changing."