GREEK shipowners who bought surplus U.S. vessels despite the law banning such sales to aliens are in for more trouble from the Department of Justice (TIME, Sept. 14). This week a grand jury indicted Greek Shipping Tycoon Manuel E. Kulukundis on the ground that he illegally bought U.S. ships through a series of subsidiary U.S. corporations. Federal agents are planning to seize the 10,172-ton tanker S.S. Sweetwater and some 24 other ships allegedly owned by Kulukundis.
TURNABOUT in farm prices in December (up 1.2% after a four-month drop) was due largely to unseasonally high hog prices. Normally, hog prices fall in December, the month of heaviest marketing, but this year hogs went to market earlier, keeping December shipments down and prices up. Market will probably stay firm until farmers bring in their big new hog crop next fall.
SINCLAIR OIL, along with Carter Oil and Socony-Vacuum, has just brought in the first well in what may be a rich new oilfield in the Williston Basin 100 miles northwest of Bismarck, N. Dak.
MERRITT-Chapman & Scott, one of the top-U.S. construction and salvage firms, is going into the steel business. Having recently bought the Milton (Pa.) Electric Steel Corp., it now wants to buy a second steelmaker, the $31 million Newport (Ky.) Steel Corp., which has an annual ingot capacity of 709,000 net tons. The offer: one share of Merritt-Chapman stock (value: $28 1/2 per share) for every 2.1 shares (1,078,547 outstanding) of Newport Steel.
JOHN L. LEWIS, who rarely loses a battle in the coal fields, has lost a bitter, 16-month fight to organize West Virginia's Independent League of Widen Miners (some 600 members) under the U.M.W. banner. The miners, working at the big Elk River Coal & Lumber Co. at Widen, one of the largest outside Lewis' union, refused to join because their pay is higher than the union average and their dues much lower (50-c-a month v. $4 plus for the U.M.W.).
COMPETITION in the woolen industry is forcing American Woolen Co., world's biggest woolen and worsted fabrics weavers, into disposing of plants. Company, which lost more than $12 million in the past 21 months, plans to sell eleven of its Northern, mills, concentrate production in newer Southern mills.
PARKER Pen Co., last big holdout against ballpoint pens, will finally bow to the trend. After nine years of experiment, it will bring out its first ballpoint this week, for $2.75. The company claims it will give 60 hours of writing (v. 14 for most other pens) without replacing the cartridge.
THE swing to diesels on U.S. railroads is still picking up speed. Union Pacific, already 60% dieselized, placed a $35 million order with General Motors for 205 more engines (190 freight, 15 passenger units) to be delivered in 1954, thus give the road 100% diesel through service along its main line from Omaha to the West Coast.
TV broadcasting may be nearing the saturation point. The Federal Communications Commission, in a survey of 83 TV stations in operation since April 1952, reported that only 16 have an overall profit; the rest are in the red, with 67 taking losses of from $2,100 to $14,700 a month.
WORKING control of the famed Glenn L. Martin Co. has passed to its top officers, Chairman and President George M. Bunker and Financial Vice President J. Bradford Wharton Jr., who bought up 10% of the stock (217,152 shares) through a personal holding company. Bunker and Wharton, who have put the company on its feet, stand to clean up for their job. They also have options to buy another 102,000 shares at $9.75 to $10.25 (current price: $16.88), which could give them a capital gain of more than $600,000.
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