Daily News from New York, New York • 436

TUESDAY BUSINESS 3 Tuesday, August 25, 1987 9 piDD grpdoodlp sraxisM Personal Income Personal savings, the ratio of savings to after-tax income, fell to 2.8 in July, down from 3.3 in June and from the 4.3 rate for all of 1986. "The consumer has adapted very well to not saving any money, said David Wyss, chief financial economist for Data Resources Inc. in Lexington, Mass. "One may wonder how long this can continue, but it appears low savings will be with us for a while." Despite the low savings, yesterday's report was greeted by economists as a strong sign for the economy and an indication that the nearly five-year-old economic expansion is still continuing. Consumer spending makes up roughly two thirds of the gross national product Personal Spending Trillions ot doSars.

seasonally adjusted 3.00 2.90 II" ilii 1 2.80 2.70 i II 11 CI Ui iiiif ASOND JFMAMJJ 1 19S6 -87 Ally '86 June '87 JutyH? 2.81 2.96 2.99 Source: U.S. Dapt of Commerce On the water front By R.B. PLUNKETT JR. Just shavo no Gillette Co. rejected Rev-Ion Group third takeover bid in nine months, turning down a cash and securities transaction worth about $5.4 billion.

Daze In toyland Daisy Manufacturing will put orange stripes on its line of BB guns to ID them as toys so kids can't use 'em to pull stick-ups. Too much cheko Chrysler killed the Renault Alliance for '88. Skirting tho Issue Massachusetts issued unisex insurance laws so companies can't discriminate against women by giving them cheaper rates. Meals on heels People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals stormed an Ag Dept lab to rescue three dozen kitties being force-fed contaminat ed mouse brains. Gorilla m' dreams Florida ape police have located the hideout of a gang of Asian rhesus mon keys, descendants of escap ees from old Tarzan movie, who were sprung from a tourist trap last year.

Chick It out Philly farmer George Weaver Jr. says his hens lay eggs with 25 less choles terol because they live in nice digs with no dust and good grub. The state Poultry Federation is skeptical. Top 40 knocks Valvoline motor oil is dumping its licks-at-hicks TV spots for heavy metal in its new ad campaign to break on the opening "Mon day Night Football." Father of da bribe Most biz execs say good ethics are good business, -but 20 are always ready to slip dough to a public inspector, says a poll by Crain's Chicago Business. Lexus be friends Toyota plans a luxury line of cars called the "Lexus" in the $30,000 category.

Lawn In the USA SONYMAisgiving4 mortgage to moderate- and low-income home buyers. The top price on one family homes, condos and coops is two-family limit is $90,000. Top incomes are $22,250 for individuals and $28,500 for couples. Call 1-800-382-HOME. he rising tide The Treasury sold three- month bills at an average discount rate of 6.12, up from 5.97 last week, and six-month bills at 6.16 up from 6.12.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Consumer spending, bolstered by brisk auto sales and exceptional air conditioning costs, soared 0.9 in July for the second month in a row, more than twice as fast as incomes grew, the government report-; ed yesterday. The Commerce Department said that personal in-j come was also up, but more 5 modestly: 0.4 in July corn-spared to 0.3 gains in May and June. It was the biggest income gain since a 0.6 advance in April. With the growth of spending far outpacing the growth in incomes, Americans dipped deeper into their savings to make up the difference. Give 'em high Marx for trying By R1CK1 FULMAN Dally News Staff Wnter Russia took the American approach to doing business yesterday and advertised its goals in all editions of the Wall Street Journal.

This wasn't just a mere half-page or even a full-page ad. Rather it was a hefty nine-page supplement, titled "USSR: New Opportunities for Cooperation," that cost the Soviet government $300,000. James H. Giffen, president of the U.S.-USSR Trade and Economic Council said yesterday: "The supplement was part of the government's attempt to expand trade and economic relationships with the United States." Not the first time The supplement followed a Journal presentation to the Soviets in Moscow last December. Dan Cates, managing director of Dow Jones International Marketing Services, said it wasn't the first time the company had tried to sell to the Soviets, having "broached the idea" to the Soviets "several times over the last five or six years." The articles, which discuss business opportunities, changes in the Soviet economy and opportunities for foreign ventures in the Soviet Union, were written chiefly by Russian government offi cials.

Cates said they were edited "strictly for style" and then approved by the Soviets before publication. Loaded with ads for Soviet-made instruments, furs and tractors, the supplement was timed to coincide with a traveling exhibition, "USSR: Individual-Family-Society," which opens today in New Orleans. Trillions of dollars, seasonally adjusted 3.80 3.70 3.60 I 1 3.50 3.40 ASONDJFMAMJJ 1986 -87 Ju1y8S 3.49 3.72 1 3.73 Belli, a well-known personal-injury lawyers and counsel to at least four families who lost relatives in the Aug. 16 crash near Detroit that killed at least 156 people. Belli said in a telephone interview that he always advises clients to reject settlement offers from airline insurance companies.

$5M per victim He said based on past cases, awards could run up to $5 million per victim, depending on their earning ability, number of dependents, education and. social 1 I FERRY NICE: Pan Am launched its water shuttle yesterday to ferry airline passengers from Wall Street to its Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia Airport. The water shuttle, operated by Sloan Marine, uses a high-speed boat capacity 100 passengers to connect with its air shuttle flights to Washington and Boston. The water shuttle trip takes about 30 minutes. The one-way fare is $20; round-trip is $38.

The Pan Am Water Shuttle departs Pier 11 at Wall and South Sts. 45 minutes past the hour and arrives at the terminal dock in time for the Pan Am air shuttle flights that leave on the half hour. Tickets can be purchased at Pier 11 and on board the boat. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Still numb with shock, relatives of victims in the Northwest Airlines crash are now confronting a difficult decision: whether to accept cash settlement offers or take the carrier to court Legal experts say the chances are good that families who successfully sue Northwest are likely to win sharply higher damage awards from a jury than whatever they might get from the airline's insurer. "The people who wait it out for eight months or a year get 1 twice as much," said Melvin position in the community.

More than a dozen lawsuits already have been filed against Northwest, most of them handled by attorneys skilled in winning large negligence awards. Lawyers generally demand at least $1 million from an airline in crash suits, said George Milko, an attorney for HALT, a Washington-based group that has published a handbook for victims' families. Airline insurance adjusters are reluctant to divulge settlements, but he said initial offers range between and $600,00..