THE GOVERNMENT said wholesale prices for September fell 0.6 percent, driven sharply lower by the prices dealers paid for automobiles. The decline was the third in four months. Meanwhile, retail sales last month rose 2.7 percent to $120.2 billion, the biggest increase in five months.
THE NATION`S major retailers said September sales were disappointing. One industry analyst said the poor results reflected a combination of continued weak consumer demand, the impact of Hurricane Gloria on several major Eastern markets and competition from automakers offering rebates.
THE SENATE, wrestling to balance the budget by fiscal year 1991, rejected three specific proposals to cut the federal deficit after overwhelmingly voting for a far-reaching, controversial budget plan.
THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission charged the brokerage firm of Kidder, Peabody & Co. and one of its top officers with improperly using $145 million in customer securities. The SEC complaint said the securities were used for bank loans and certain repurchase agreements.
TRANSPORTATION Secretary Elizabeth Dole gave tentative approval to United Airlines` proposed $750 million purchase of Pan American World Airways` trans- Pacific operation.
MANUFACTURERS Hanover Trust Co. of New York cut the annual interest rate it charges on credit-card balances to 17.8 percent, a drop of 2 percentage points. Other large banks that issue credit cards said they had no immediate plans to lower their own rates.
INTERNATIONAL
U.S. TREASURY Secretary James Baker outlined a bailout program for coping with the world`s $1 trillion debt crisis at the 40th annual International Monetary Fund meetings in Seoul. The plan`s foundation is based on commercial banks and the World Bank making $47 billion available to debtor nations over the next three years.
THE HOUSE approved major trade legislation to force sharp cutbacks in textile imports, but the 262-159 vote was short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a threatened veto by President Reagan.
CHICAGO/MIDWEST
BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL, Ill., was named the site for the $500 million automobile plant to be built as a joint venture between Chrysler Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. The plant will employ 2,500 and build 180,000 small cars a year.
CHICAGO OFFICIALS are considering partially or completely abandoning Commonwealth Edison Co. as the electricity supplier to municipal properties and the city`s 3 million residents. Meanwhile, Edison may not be allowed to charge its customers for expenses associated with the Braidwood nuclear power plant incurred after Dec. 1, if the plant is canceled, the Illinois Commerce Commission said.
CONTINENTAL Illinois Corp., recipient of a $4.5 billion government bailout last year and parent of Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Co. of Chicago, is looking to acquire other banks in the Chicago area.
THE INTERNAL Revenue Service is investigating a government-securities arbitrage program formerly run by Chicago`s ContiCommodity Services Inc. for allegedly creating nonexistent trades that allowed as many as 700 customers to take millions of dollars in improper tax deductions. Meanwhile, Conti filed a lawsuit against two major investors in the program that charges the plan`s manager racked up losses of $27 million in customers` accounts in the two months before he was fired.
ITEL CORP. made an offer to acquire Great Lakes International Inc. of Oak Brook, the nation`s largest dredging and marine contractor, for $60 a share. Great Lakes, which has rejected a previous proposal from Itel, will consider the latest offer this week.
CORPORATE
DISCOUNT AIRLINE pioneer People Express Inc. will acquire Frontier Airlines for $24 a share, or $300 million. People Express beat out Texas Air Corp., which had offered $22 a share for the airline, owned by Frontier Holdings Inc.
BANKAMERICA CORP. plans to sell its FinanceAmerica consumer and corporate lending subsidiary to Chrysler Corp. for $405 million. The banking firm is parent of Bank of America.
FORD MOTOR Co. will purchase Sperry Corp.`s farm-equipment division for $330 million in cash and assume an estimated $110 million of the division`s liabilities. The acquisition will make Ford a major competitor of Deere & Co. of Moline, Ill., and J.I. Case of Racine, Wis.
U.S. STEEL Corp. said it will raise the price of steel plate in a step to fight massive, industrywide price discounting.
MARKETS
STOCKS: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 11.20 points for the week to close at 1339.94. The New York Stock Exchange index was up 0.62 point, to 106.56, while the American Stock Exchange index edged up 0.01 point, closing at 222.81. The Nasdaq index of over-the-counter stocks closed up 1.29 points at 281.75. Composite volume of NYSE-listed stocks was 560.6 million shares, down from 718.6 million shares a week earlier.
BONDS: The Dow Jones bond index closed down 0.62 point at 79.02.
COMMODITIES: The Dow Jones index of commodity futures rose 0.59 point, to 117.75, while the spot index was up 1.44 points at 115.60.
