Business Notes

CORPORATIONS A $12 Billion Hangover

Texaco's headaches continue to multiply. After a Houston jury ordered the company to pay $10.5 billion for snaring Getty Oil away from Pennzoil, with which Getty had agreed to merge, many oil analysts believed that Texaco would appeal the case and a court would reduce the award. Last week Texaco President Alfred DeCrane said that his company might have to file for bankruptcy to appeal. Reason: Texas law sets bond at an amount equal to the jury award plus court costs and interest. In this case the sum would be $12 billion, more than Texaco's stock-market value of $8.6 billion.

Texaco stockholders shuddered upon hearing DeCrane's announcement. In one morning, the company's stock fell $1.75 a share, to $32.50, before trading was halted for 59 minutes because of a rush of sell orders. Texaco moved quickly to cut its losses. The oil giant issued a statement stressing that it could ask to have the case retried by a different jury. If such a motion were granted, it would remove the need for Texaco to post bond. Some answers may be forthcoming this week, when Judge Solomon Casseb is scheduled to review the jury's decision. He will decide whether to uphold, overturn or reduce the award. CLOTHING Firehouse Sale

For most of his 18 years as a fire fighter, Dennis Smith was stationed in the South Bronx, a grim, burned-out section of New York City. But that is not all he did. In between combatting flames, he founded Firehouse magazine (circ. 120,000) and wrote three best sellers, including Report from Engine Company 82. In 1981 Smith retired from fire fighting, but now he is trying his hand in a new field: selling clothes. His Turnout Coat (price: $240) is a stylish replica of the coats firemen wear when they go out on calls. It is being marketed in such stores as I. Magnin in San Francisco. Marshall Field in Chicago, and Neiman-Marcus in Dallas.

The idea for the coat, like the concepts for Smith's magazine and books, was sparked by his experience battling flames. Says Smith: "After wearing a fire fighter's coat for 18 years, I decided it was the warmest coat I've ever worn in my life. In the punishing cold of some of those bitter nights, it was the only thing that kept me from perishing." Smith does not see his clothing as a totally new idea in fashion. After all, other outfits worn by professionals, including trench coats, pea coats and painters' pants, have been turned into popular streetwear before. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES The Overtaxed IRS

The Internal Revenue Service encourages taxpayers to be quick, efficient and thorough in filing their annual returns. Yet lately, the IRS has been slow, confused and incomplete in processing those documents. Last week the IRS said that it still had a backlog of 1.9 million 1984 tax returns. Furthermore, IRS Commissioner Roscoe Egger told a Senate panel that the agency so far this year has paid $47 million worth of interest on refunds for returns that had not been processed within the required 45 days after the April 15 filing deadline. That was nearly twice the $27 million paid during same time period last year.

The IRS disclosure came as the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, announced the findings of a study conducted on the IRS. The GAO report said that at some IRS processing centers, refund checks were mutilated and tax forms were left on loading docks. The GAO also said that kinks in the new IRS computer system and inadequate staffing had made matters worse. IRS Spokesman A. Ernest Acosta said the agency was "taking corrective action." Ideally, the difficulties will be resolved soon. Tax-filing season for 1985 is bearing down. AGRICULTURE Catfish Are Jumpin'

While most American farmers are suffering the effects of the worst a agricultural depression since the 1930s, the catfish farmers in Humphreys County, Miss., are content and prosperous. That is because the catfish business is booming. Mississippi accounts for some 80% of the nation's crop, and Humphreys County is the catfish capital. This year an estimated 185 million lbs. of catfish will be processed, more than four times the 1980 level. The commercial value of the crop is about $255 million.

The public's new appetite for Southern delicacies like deep-fried catfish is part of the reason for the piscatory success story. Texas-based Church's Fried Chicken, a fast-food outlet, introduced the fish last April, and it is now a strong seller in the chain's 1,600 stores. Says Kay Richardson, Church's public relations director: "When I receive a letter from someone in Seattle asking about catfish, I know it's made it." According to a recent report by the Department of Agriculture, foreigners may soon be craving their own catch of American catfish. Among the likely importers: Spain, West Germany and Japan. TRADEMARKS Tussle in Tinseltown

A familiar sight to California visitors for more than 60 years has been those big letters. Nestled among the slopes of Mount Lee, the 50-foot-tall Hollywood sign has become a Los Angeles landmark. Now the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce wants to have that sign, along with the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Hollywood Christmas Parade, protected as a trademark. The association claims exclusive licensing rights to any and all products bearing the name Hollywood that are either made or sold in California.

The trade group aims to levy initial licensing fees ranging from $1,500 to $10,000 and royalty charges of between 7% and 10%. With the help of a recently passed state law that protects service marks, the chamber hopes to raise $300,000 within the next 18 months. Predictably, the move has drawn few hoorays from local businessmen. Says Jim Arthur, president of California Lifestyles, a maker of souvenir sportswear: "The notion is absurd. If the name of the city isn't in the public domain, then what is?" The courts may ultimately determine if the chamber's claim is valid.