History/kanter/dt1st/mark2nd

50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK: Los Angeles led the Western United States in steel production, with local furnaces churning out 1.3 million tons Northrop Aircraft Inc. reported net income of $520,146 for its fiscal year, more than double the $240,577 the company reported for the like period a year earlier.

THE NEWSMAKER

William G. Bonelli, chairman of the state Board of Equalization, reported that taxable sales in California hit a new peak in the 1948 fiscal year, topping out at $11.1 billion, a 12 percent jump from a year earlier. L.A. County sales, which accounted for almost 43 percent of the statewide total, jumped about 11 percent compared to 1947.

THE NUMBERS

Dow Jones Industrial Average 182.41

New York silver 77.5 cents

Newsweek magazine 20 cents

Electric toaster $22