THE GOVERNMENT`S index of leading economic indicators rose 0.4 percent in July, matching the gain for June. New factory orders fell 1.3 percent, the steepest slide in 10 months, but the nation`s merchandise trade deficit dropped by 22 percent to $10.5 billion, the smallest figure since January.
SALES OF new single-family homes rose 1.4 percent in July to an annual rate of 704,000 units, pushing housing sales to their highest level in almost two years, the government said. Sales of existing homes in July posted their largest increase in four months, climbing to the highest level in almost five years.
MEMBER BANKS of the Farm Credit System approved an internal $340 million rescue of a troubled Omaha branch in response to continuing deterioration of the farm economy.
THE NUMBER of Americans living in poverty dropped last year to 33.7 million, a decrease of 1.8 million, or 5.1 percent, the Census Bureau reported.
CROCKER NATIONAL Bank of San Francisco, the nation`s 11th-largest bank, will be required to pay a $2.25 million penalty, the largest ever, for failing to report almost $4 billion in currency transactions.
PRESIDENT REAGAN refused to impose quotas or raise tariffs to protect America`s beleaguered shoe industry against low-priced imports. Foreign-made shoes account for about 75 percent of the U.S. market.
FORTY MAJOR U.S. corporations paid no federal income tax in 1984, and all but four of these received rebates from the Treasury because of legal tax breaks, according to a survey by a research and lobbying group.
TOYOTA MOTOR Corp. is reviewing proposals on nearly three dozen sites for its U.S. car assembly plant, a top official of Japan`s leading automaker said. NONFARM BUSINESS productivity rose at an annual rate of 1 percent in the second quarter, with especially strong gains in the manufacturing sector, the Labor Department said.
INTERNATIONAL
TWO TOP Brazilian economic officials resigned amid a growing rift over the future of Brazil`s troubled economy. The country is struggling with a $103 billion foreign debt.
FOREIGN BANKS were reported to be demanding repayment of loans to South Africa totaling more than the country`s gold and foreign-exchange reserves. Barclays National Bank, South Africa`s largest bank, said foreign banks apparently are alarmed by South Africa`s racial unrest.
THE GOVERNMENT of Bolivia floated the peso, effectively devaluing it by 95 percent, and raised gasoline prices 1,000 percent. The country has an annual inflation rate of 14,000 percent.
CHICAGO/MIDWEST
EXECUTIVES OF middle-size companies in Chicago and Illinois are more pessimistic about the business outlook for the next 18 months than leaders of similar businesses in nine other Midwestern states. According to a bank survey, 51 percent of the Illinois executives expect business to improve in the next six months.
TRIANGLE HOME Products Inc., which received a phone call from Gov. James Thompson after it said it would close its Chicago plant and put 100 people out of work, will keep the plant open. Triangle worked out an agreement with Teamsters Local 743 for concessions the firm said it needed to remain competitive.
AMOCO OIL CO. of Chicago is considering offering a variety of financial services, including insurance products, in connection with its credit-card program.
BUILDING PERMITS totaling a record $566 million were issued in the seven- county Chicago metropolitan area in July, according to a survey by Bell Federal.
CORPORATE
UNION CARBIDE Corp. said it will lay off 15 percent of its salaried staff, sell some businesses and buy back up to 10 million of its common shares in a program that will slash $990 million from 1985 results.
EVENING NEWS Association directors agreed to sell the Detroit media company to Gannett Co. Inc., publisher of USA Today and 85 other daily newspapers, for $717 million.
VIACOM INTERNATIONAL Inc. agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in Showtime-The Movie Channel from Warner Communications Inc. and Warner Amex Cable Communications Inc. Viacom also will buy the two-thirds stake in MTV Networks Inc. owned by Warner Amex.
FIDATA CORP. said it is selling most of its New York banking operations to Bank of New York Co. in the wake of the failures of several government-securities firms that used Fidata`s banking unit as a clearing agent.
MARKETS
STOCKS: The Dow Jones industrial average gained 15.69 points for the week to close at 1334.01. The New York Stock Exchange index rose .90 point to close at 109.39, and the American Stock Exchange index finished up 3.60 points at 235.25. The Nasdaq index of over-the-counter stocks closed up 1.03 points at 297.71. The composite volume of NYSE-listed stocks was 490.7 million shares, down from 521.2 million shares the previous week.
BONDS: The Dow Jones bond index closed up .31 point at 80.22.
COMMODITIES: The Dow Jones index of commodity futures was up .46 point for the week, closing at 114.71. The spot index was down 1.01 points, closing at 113.65.
