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The changes in methods at the New York Stock Exchange and investment houses resulting from the Wall Street crash on October 19, 1987. New approaches by heads of many big investors; Changes in program trading; additional safeguards.

There is now a greater familiarity with AIDS and some innovative approaches in dealing with it. Concept of `case management' cooperation of insurance companies, all government agencies, and health care givers and facilities.

Under the legislation that created low-and moderate-income housing, hundreds of private owners are entitled to pay off their subsidized mortgages after 20 years, a period that is now expiring. An estimated 150,000 to 500,000 housing units could revert to the private market, forcing thousands from their homes. Owners have many reasons for buying out their mortgages, among them benefits lost with last year's tax reform legislation.

Ponders whether or not President George Bush's proposal of aid for Russia is too little, too late, or too much. Bush's announcement last week that the United States will contribute to a $24 billion multinational aid package for Russia and the other new Eurasian states; The package drew controversy; Details of the assistance package; Russian President Boris Yeltsin is under pressure to enact further economic changes; US contribution to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Describes Democratic presidential candidate Jerry Brown's plan for a single 13 percent flat tax rate. The plan's most controversial features; Brown advocates scrapping the current 34 percent corporate income tax; The possible consequences if Brown's plan was enacted; How his plan measures up in comparison to the current tax code; The benefits of the plan. INSET: Who's helped and who's hurt in Brown's tax crusade..

Reports on the progress President George Bush made last week campaigning in New Hampshire, where he did what he might call `the middle-class thing'--such as sharing pizza with plant workers. Bush's approval rating falling to all-time lows; Bush's solution to redefine the middle class; His emerging economic-growth package; The politics of broad tax cuts; Real help for the real middle class.

Discusses Pennsylvania Democrat Harris Wofford's victory over Republican Dick Thornburgh, which was largely attributable to Wofford's call for `national health insurance'--and it appeared to place health-care reform at the top of the national agenda. Senate Democrats' push for their so-called pay-or-play approach requiring employers to provide health coverage to workers; The health issue's power in Pennsylvania; Popularity of Wofford's national health insurance.

Details the stampede to cut taxes, and how it could hurt the economy. Tax proposals Rep. Tom Downey and Sen. Al Gore; Consumer doldrums; The impact on the budget deficit; More.

States that the economists, busily toting up the tab for the Persian Gulf, may find that the bill for postwar policies `could be larger than the cost of the war.' Economic toll on the gulf states: Kuwaiti officials estimate $40 billion to rebuild the ruined country; Economic damage to the US and other industrialized countries already being reversed; Allied victory could spur a mild recovery; High airwar costs offset by short ground operations and light casualties.

Argues against President Bush's payroll hikes that inflict the most pain on people near the bottom and middle of the income scale. Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis' views; Governors denouncing the White House proposal to limit federal deductions of state and local income taxes for the wealthy; Statistics.

Examines how Saddam Hussein's seizure of Kuwait effects the world's industrial economies. Past recessions and how only war and revolutions have the power to drive up oil prices; Effects on the stock market in the U.S. and the Nikkei average in Japan; Limited leverage of oil-consuming countries to stop Hussein; Effects on American businesses and exports.

Tells how, sometime this spring, several `SOS packages' will emerge from the depths of the Resolution Trust Corporation. They will contain more than $300 million worth of troubled assets from a group of failed Louisiana thrifts--including roughly $10 million in loans to 2,000 individuals who renovated their homes with aluminum siding. Legal tangles; Time is money; Management nightmare.

Studies the continuing debate over how to share the burden of skyrocketing health care costs for employees and retirees, in the wake of a tentative settlement between the United Mine Workers and the Pittston Company. Highlights of the settlement; History of the industry's benefits program.

Examines the implications of a defense spending slowdown amidst sweeping political reforms in Eastern Europe. Shaky future of defense contracting; Effects of closed military bases and discharged soldiers on the economy.

Examines the political emphasis on current US budget talks. Impact of the four-year-old Gramm-Rudman-Hollings law that forces automatic budget cuts; American public's demand for costly new programs in conflict with the no-new-taxes attitude; Recommended approach to new budget talks. INSET: How Washington is fudging the budget..

Discusses how tax cuts may help businesses focus on the long term and the Bush administration's intention to propose a series of tax cuts, aimed at giving US firms some big-bucks assistance. INSET: Farsighted (options)..

Report on tax reform and how many taxpayers are trapped in a tax-rate bubble, paying a higher tax rate on their last dollars of income than the really wealthy. Deterrent to work or saving; Elderly. INSET: The yuppies and the executives.;George and Jane Grandparents....

Report on the work of Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady. Problems; Savings and loan crisis; Background; Virtues.

Discusses budget-deficit reducing plans which involve cutbacks in medicare. Resistance and opposition.

Report that since Bush swept to victory two weeks ago, the dollar has fallen and the stock market slumped amid fears that Bush's policies would not curb the budget and trade deficits. Addressing the bipartisan National Economic Commission (NEC), Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan hinted that unless Congress and the President-elect took swift action to close the feral budget gap, interest rates would rise and jeopardize the economy's health.

Discusses the issue of long-term health care in the present Presidential race. Activity on issue in Congress; Details of what is entailed; Medicaid's role; Social insurance or private market; Use of tax code; Who and what gets covered; Representative Claude Pepper's (D-Fla.) proposals.

The nationwide battle over whether not-for-profit hospitals (the vast majority) too often put money ahead of mission. Tax exemptions and related business practices. Cites recent article on this subject in last week's `New England Journal of Medicine.' Policy changes of some hospitals.

Because of `policy paralysis'--unwillingness to cut budget deficits further or adopt a new monetary policy--the dollar may continue its roller-coaster ride in the foreign currency markets. US trade deficit figures and stock-market action as affecting the strength/weakness of the dollar. . See also (Newsweek, 1/18/88, 1c, 1 graph, p52, 2p) See also (Time, 1/18/88, 1 illus, p47, 1p)

The US has lately experienced a job squeeze in some regions & industries, & the national civilian unemployment rate has dropped to 6.1 percent. Many economists say we could be approaching the elusive state of `full employment,' which could cause surprising tumult in the US economy. Full employment is believed to occur when the jobless rate falls to about 5.5 percent, achievable by 1988 or 1989. Will the tighter labor market help boost inflation?

A proposed Omnibus Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act is gathering strength in Congress. Sponsors say the bill would curb abuses and make the system fairer, increasing compliance with tax laws. Critics say it would wreck the tax structure and undermine revenue collection. Recognition of increased IRS abuses is helping the bill gain support. Proposed bill; Reactions.

Reports that, although few bosses admit it, many scrutinize worker wedlock--often overwhelmingly favoring married applicants over single ones, especially if they are over 30. There is no federal law prohibiting job discrimination based on marital status; Iowa-based Rolscreen asks prospective workers about their marital status; California appears to offer protection from snooping.

States that the third annual report of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), dealing with the widening gap between rich and poor, applies to a world-wide trend. The two prime causes for the growing divide; How education pays; How national policies only worsen the problem; How world trade can help.

Interviews author Jonathan Rauch about his new book `The Outnation: A Search for the Soul of Japan.' Why Rauch considers Japan the `outnation'; The changing mores in Japan; Japanese misunderstanding of the United States; American misunderstanding of Japan.

Addresses the issue of whether or not patriotism is always practical. It may be the primary question raised by the resurgent `Buy American' movement. The confusion of town officials of Greece, N.Y., who last month voted against buying a used Komatsu excavator; Worries that attempts to favor US products could frustrate some of America's most advanced industries; Details of the High Performance Computing and Communications program; More.

Reports that Russian President Boris Yeltsin has agreed to delay until January 2 a bold economic reform plan that his republic was to have begun this month, and discusses why efforts to create a market economy have reached a critical pass. What the former Soviet republics must do to break a dangerous cycle of deficit spending; The outcome as the value of rubles deteriorate; The need for the republics to cooperate on economic reforms; The West's role.

Details the reasons why a rogue bank such as the Bank of Credit and Commerce International could operate for nearly 20 years, and suggests the world's bank regulators don't have the muscle they need either to catch a banking thief, prevent banking violations or put bad bankers out of business. Preventing more BCCIs. INSET: BCCI's bosses..

Presents an interview with political economist Robert Reich who explains why nations must nurture citizens' skills to flourish in the 21st century. Premise that national economies are fusing together; The gap between the rich and poor in the US widening; The symbolic-analytic class.

Discusses the current state of American technology in the global marketplace. Considers a report from the Council on Competitiveness which found America still leads or matches its foreign counterparts in two thirds of critical technologies, including biotechnology and computer software. Best in technologies requiring low capital investment, spawned by individual innovation; Lagging where massive up front funds and long development lead-times are required; Recommendations.

Lists some of the interest groups that will gird up to do battle with proposed reform rules for US banking, including the independent insurance agents, small banks, some securities firms, pension funds and bank regulators. Highlighting the need for deposit insurance reform; Dismantling anachronistic barriers.

Discusses the meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington to discuss the problem of Third World debt. Measures taken to alleviate the debt problem.

Discusses the Federal Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) investigation into problems in the generic drug industry. Approving generics; Generics as an alternative.

Discusses proposals to improve the US health-care system. Solutions posed by the congressional Bipartisan Commission on Comprehensive Health Care and the quadrennial Advisory Council on Social Security, the Quad Commission.

Discusses the French Revolution and celebration of its bicentennial year. History; Analysis.

Discusses the Catastrophic Coverage Act and the dramatic expansion of the federal medicare program. Plan; Ongoing debate of the plan's merits.

Report that the US and its allies are contemplating new strategies for attacking the Third World, primarily Latin American, debt crisis. Debt-reduction schemes; New role for Japanese; International Monetary Fund.

Discusses America's health system and the plight of the uninsured. More coverage for workers; Medicaid; Compromise.

Discusses Presidential candidates Vice President George Bush's and Governor Michael Dukakis' concern for family issues. Day care proposals; Leaves for workers.

Discusses a proposal in Congress to grant ten-weeks of job- protected leave to workers. Overcoming objections from small business; Firms with 50 or more employees; Firms with 35 or more employees.

Discusses the Act for Better Child Care Services, or ABC bill, which is held back by ideological disputes and old- fashioned politics. Religious institutions; Tax credit idea.

Discusses the Family and Medical Leave Act scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives in mid-September. Effect on Presidential campaign.

Analysis of the nursing shortage in the US and a new plan of the American Medical Association (AMA) to create a new class of workers called registered care technicians (RCT); How the plan would work; Purpose it would serve; Reaction of nurses' organizations to AMA plan.

A discussion of a new book about the Federal Reserve, `Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country.' by William Greider, is strong on the history of the Federal Reserve, but weak on prescriptions for the economy.

`The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics' to be published next month by Stockton Press of New York will cost $650. Four volumes and 4,191 pages, it is more than a dictionary with its vast range of coverage of the subject of economics.