RAIL-FARE HIKE will send up first-class tickets by 15% on six eastern lines. Together with recent 5% raise, this makes total 20% boost approved by ICC in 1957, brings per-mile first-class rates to 5.67-c- v. 4.73-c- on Jan. 1.

OVERTIME PAY will be eliminated on aircraft defense contracts, except for ballistic missiles and high-priority jobs approved in advance by Air Force. Defense Department's order will cut costs (average aircraft-factory worker earns $10.84 weekly overtime) but aggravate engineer shortage, now so acute that until recently California planemakers kept engineers on steady overtime. BIGGEST SHOPPING CENTER in southeast U.S. will be built in Miami for $15 million by Alcoa Chairman Arthur Vining Davis, 89, and other investors. With more than 4,000 parking spaces and 60 chain stores, new Northside Center expects yearly sales of $45 million. Construction starts this fall.

NEW MORTGAGE PLAN will probably be adopted by FHA to attract more home-building funds by permitting individuals to buy bonds secured by FHA-insured mortgages. Plan would allow formation of private mutual-investment trusts to buy FHA-backed mortgages and sell participation certificates of $1,000 or more. FHA officials say plan's safety, fairly high yield should bring in small investors.

RUSSIAN RUBLE is dropping fast on free markets, now sells for 2-c- to 3-c-, v. about 7-c- last December. Confidence was shaken because U.S.S.R. devalued official 25-c- ruble rate to 10-c- for tourists, postponed for 25 years paying off state loan certificates that Soviet workers were forced to buy.

GERMAN BANK TRUSTS, splintered into 30 postwar regional units by Allied decartelizers, are rapidly consolidating, with two biggest pre-1947 trusts leading way. Successors to Deutsche Bank Group (assets: $1.8 billion) have voted to unite, and successors to Dresdner Bank-Group (assets: $1.2 billion) will vote to combine this month.

BIGGEST URANIUM MILL in U.S. will be built in New Mexico's Ambrosia Lake area to process ores of Kermac Nuclear Fuels Corp. The $16 million plant will go into operation in 18 months, have daily capacity of 3,300 tons v. 3,000 tons for next largest mill. Kermac has 15 million tons of high-grade proven reserves in area.

PEACE MOVES will probably be resumed between Penn-Texas Corp. and Fairbanks, Morse, although F-M President Robert Morse rejected first bid by P-T President Leopold Silberstein. Trying to get off hook of big proxy fight debt, Silberstein suggested a new Fairbanks board of five Silberstein men, five Morse men, one impartial member, with Silberstein man as chairman, Morse as president. Morse wants a settlement giving him working control, says he will press suit against Silberstein's "illegal" deals in Fairbanks stock.

POWER SWAP will be made via underwater cable between Britain, whose coal-burning power plants are overworked in winter, and France, whose hydroelectric plants have surplus of water for power in winter but shortage in summer. Construction of $11 million English Channel cable starts this fall, and by 1960 it will have capacity of 120,000 kw.

CONTINENTAL SALES SLUMP is causing Ford Motor Co. to bring out a new model this fall, although it originally planned to keep same body style for several years. With first-quarter output down to 278 v. 767 in same period last year, production of high-priced ($10,000) Mark II will stop next week.

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