December 2, 1981

An article in Business Day on Nov. 23 incorrectly stated the size of Po- land's debt to the Dresdner Bank in West Germany. It is $180.2 million at current exchange rates.

Last month, as the space shuttle raced through a mission cut short by a fuel cell failure, lawyers, insurers and executives gathered at a Washington hotel to discuss the hurdles to doing business in space. Technical mishaps, however, appeared to be among the least of their worries. The would-be pioneer businessmen in space were more apprehensive about the huge economic stakes, political conflicts and legal problems confronting them. These uncertainties ''make it easy to lose your shirt,'' conceded William Good, the founder of Earth Space Transport System, a fledging cargo-carrying system. The basic treaty governing activity in space, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, indirectly establishes the right of private business to operate there. Two sections describe the responsibilities of states for the activity of ''nongovernmental'' organizations. The treaty also says that the use of space shall be free for nonmilitary purposes.

Policemen surrounded a firefighters' academy here today as more than 300 cadets defied demands that they end a sit-in strike they began last Wednesday. The action is being watched with concern by the Government because firemen in Poland, as in other European countries, are a militarized force, and the striking cadets - future chiefs of fire companies - wear military uniforms. They are, moreover, under the authority of the Interior Ministry, the command center of internal security.

Treasury Secretary Donald T. Regan said today that he would seek Congressional approval for a new floating interest rate on savings bonds, in an effort to make them attractive and competitive in a time of high interest rates. Under the plan, bondholders would be guaranteed a fixed interest rate but would be paid a higher return if market interest rates rose above that fixed rate. The higher return would be available on the bonds outstanding as well as on all future issues. ''This change will provide needed improvement for the small saver who has been loyally participating in the program, for the nonsaver who needs an incentive to start saving and for the nation itself,'' said Mr. Regan, who announced the proposal in a speech in New York. Details were released here.

The stock prices of 11 middle-size oil and gas companies declined sharply yesterday amid growing investor sentiment that interest in oil company takeovers may be subsiding because of the antitrust problems in Mobil's bid to acquire the Marathon Oil Company. Among oil issues caught in the slide on the New York Stock Exchange were Pennzoil, off 3 7/8, to 48 1/2; Cities Service 3 3/8, to 48 3/4, and Marathon, 5, to 100. Declines of a point or more in heavy trading were registered by Superior, Phillips, Union Oil, Kerr-McGee, Getty, Sun, General American and Murphy. Most have been considered potential takeover targets by major oil companies seeking to increase energy reserves.