ROCKET ENGINE of 1.5 million Ibs. thrust, enough to send big payload to the moon, will be built by North American Aviation's Rocketdyne Division. Under new Army contract, company will put together a cluster of eight engines, using Thor and Jupiter components. Engine will be ready for tests by late 1959. Rocketdyne also won recent Air Force contract for 1,000,000-lb.-thrust engine (TIME, Aug. 11).

AIR-MISSILE MERGER is set for Northrop Aircraft (sales: $255 million) and American Bosch Arma (sales: $134 million). Deal would link Northrop's production of entire planes (T38 trainer) and missiles (Snark) with American Bosch's output of components.

FARM HARVEST will be 9.5% higher than ever before, despite federal crop controls that cut back planting to smallest acreage in 40 years. Good weather and better growing methods will raise per-acre yield of corn from last year's 46.8 to 49 bu.; of wheat, from 21.7 to 27 bu.; of cotton, from 338 to 486 Ibs.

RUSSIAN TRADE SHOW will be staged in Manhattan's Coliseum for four weeks next June-July, history's first major Soviet exhibit in U.S. In return, U.S. will set up exhibit at Moscow's Gorki Park.

MUTUAL BROADCASTING, with 448 affiliates in the U.S., has been taken over by Scranton Corp., controlled by Detroit's F. L. Jacobs Co., auto-parts maker. Scranto'n paid more than $2,000,000 to syndicate headed by Los Angeles Oilman Armand Hammer, which bought Mutual for about $660,000 last year.

NEW OIL GIANT with $500 million assets will be formed by merger of Signal Oil & Gas Co. with Hancock Oil Co., both of Los Angeles County. Together, firms produce 142,500 bbls. per day in U.S., Middle East, Venezuela.

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