Facts & Figures

Sweet News. Decontrol of sugar, only food still under price ceilings, set many a housewife to hoarding against a possible price jump. But the first day of free trading passed without an increase, although the week before some New York grocers had to ration their more apprehensive customers. The Department of Agriculture said there was enough sugar in sight for a per capita consumption of 95 lbs. this year, 21 lbs. more than last year.

Automatic Pickup. General Motors' Buick division, which plans to make only minor body changes in its 1948 model due in January, still plans a major mechanical revolution. The '48 Buick Roadmaster, said the division, will have no clutch, clutch pedal, or customary gear shift. For normal driving, the motorist will merely have to push a button; the accelerator will do the rest. There is also a reverse gear and "emergency low" for snow and mud. With rising production and a backlog of 520,000 unfilled orders, Buick hopes next year to pass Plymouth, into third place behind Chevrolet and Ford.

Gold-Plated Greetings. As a publicity stunt, Bendix Home Appliances, Inc. sent a gold-and-silver-plated duplicate of its one-millionth production unit to the Vatican as a present for Pope Pius XII. The Edison Institute at Dearborn, Mich. fared even better; it got the actual model--entirely goldplated.

Broker's Tip. New York Stock Exchange members decided that commissions on stock transactions will henceforth be charged on money volume rather than on a per share basis. Estimated increase in commissions: 20%. Brokers have been doing none too well this year while the market has drifted in the doldrums. But in October it picked up to 28,634,629 shares, the year's best.

Help Yourself. In a new self-service gas station in Los Angeles, motorists helped themselves to gasoline, oil, water, and air for their tires, paid the station's cut-rate charges to girls on roller skates. The customers liked the new prices, but some found the system confusing. One was prevented just in time from putting oil into his battery, another misjudged the automatic cut-off on the gasoline hose, doused one of the cruising cashiers.

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