Facts & Figures

Down the Dram. Britain laid her hands on an additional $240,000,000. She "bought" $120,000,000 from the International Monetary Fund, i.e., exchanged pounds for dollars. The rest she got by selling gold to the U.S. As Britain has now drawn $180,000,000 from the Fund, she can draw only around $151,000,000 more. Her total gold and dollar reserves are now down to some $2,500,000,000. Despite new cuts in imports, Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Dalton said that the sterling area's gold and dollars are still being drained "at a ruinous rate of $70,000,000 a week."

Buckling Oil Line. The rise of 20-c- a barrel in crude oil prices caused Standard Oil Co. of Indiana to boost its wholesale price on supply-pinched oil products by as much as 1 1/2 a gallon. Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey still held the price line. But it adopted an allocation plan for its dealers.

Trials of Tucker. It was a mixed week for Auto Designer Preston Tucker. On the good side, the War Assets Administration extended his temporary lease on part of the huge surplus Dodge plant in Chicago for ten years. On the not-so-good side, Tucker took full-page ads to explain that his rear-engined Tucker '48 would be "coming off production lines in a matter of months"--instead of by Christmas, as he had originally announced. He was also sued for $900,000 by Harold A. Karsten, one of the organizers of Tucker's company (TIME, July 7). Karsten charged that Tucker had fulfilled only part of an agreement to compensate him for his efforts.

Spectacular Frames. New aluminum spectacle frames were put on sale by Manhattan's Tura Co. The new frames (trade name: Turalite) are slightly lighter than thick plastic ones, need no rivets, solder or cement, and are virtually unbreakable. They come in twelve colors impregnated in the metal. Present production: 8,000 a week. Price: $12.50.

First-Class Passage. The first postwar Rolls-Royces reached the U.S. The four Rolls and three Bentleys (also made by Rolls) will be exhibited in major U.S. cities. The British expect to sell $20,000,000 worth of the cars in the U.S. next year, can start deliveries early in 1948. The cars are equipped with electrically operated windows and airconditioning, range in price from $12,900 to $19,100.

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