IN the last-minute fighting over the excess profits tax, U.S. Steel's Ben Fairless came out for a six-month extension, and President Eisenhower personally asked balky Dan Reed to let his House Ways & Means Committee vote on an extension bill. But Reed stayed firm in his resolve not to send a bill to Congress. Speaker Joe Martin still predicted that "We will get [the bill] passed," but the odds were against it.

SHOPPERS for houses will find better buys in the next six months. Except in a few areas, prices of new houses have stopped climbing, and the unrealistic high prices demanded by owners of older houses have been coming down.

THE Federal Trade Commission has reversed the stand it took under the Democrats on price-cutting. The FTC now supports the Capehart bill, which would make price cuts by companies legal when done in "good faith" (i.e., if the cuts were necessary to meet competition). FTC is now also in favor of allowing absorption of freight charges by a seller, a practice ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in its 1948 basing point decision. (TIME, May 10, 1948.)

INCENTIVES for U.S. planemakers to build commercial jet transports are being pushed by New Hampshire's Senator Charles Tobey. His plan, which has the blessing of CAB Chairman Oswald Ryan, calls for 1) Government loans of up to $20 million on 75% of the development cost of prototype jet airliners and 2) "forgiveness" of $2,000,000 of each loan for every plane built.

"SAIL," a detergent which A & P last week put on sale as its own brand, highlighted a new problem for U.S. soapmakers. Made by New Jersey's Ultra Chemical Co., Sail represents a growing trend in detergent-making by the chemical industry, which formerly just supplied the raw materials. Monsanto, which used to supply materials for "All," now makes it and is giving it a big ad splash.

MORE prospectors are prowling California looking for quicksilver than at any time since World War II. The standard 76-lb. flask still brings $189--almost 2 1/2 times the pre-Korean price. Reason: Spain, Italy and Yugoslavia, the major sources of U.S. mercury supply, keep prices at scarcity levels.

PACKERS will spend an estimated $3,000,000 this year to promote the sale of salami in a fiercely competitive market. Some competitive slogans: A Salami Is an Egg's Best Friend Send a Salami to Your Boy in the Army

COFFEE consumption in 43 Washington cafeterias and snack bars for Government employees has dropped from 44,000 to 34,000 Ibs. a month in five months. Reason: the Administration has cut payrolls, and warned against frequent coffee breaks. Exception: the Pentagon, which serves as much coffee as ever (about 30,000 cups a day).

THE squeeze was put on the Air Force's $389 million heavy press program (TIME, March 3, 1952), designed to speed production of planes and cut costs. Contracts for seven of the 17 monster hydraulic presses, which would stamp out whole sections of aircraft and eliminate the welding of many small parts, were canceled.

PALL MALL and other king-size cigarettes now selling at the same price as regular-length cigarettes will probably go up 1 1/2 a pack this fall. Chesterfield, Philip Morris and Old Gold, whose kings already cost a penny more, have not found sales hurt.

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