July 2, 1982

The Federal Reserve Board today approved a proposal by J.P. Morgan & Company to trade in financial futures. The action allows the Morgan Futures Corporation, a subsidiary of the bank holding company, to act as a futures commission merchant - in effect, a broker - in futures contracts for bullion, foreign exchange and United States Government securities. Earlier this year, the comptroller gave similar approval to the North Carolina National Bank in Charlotte. Banks for some time have traded in what are known as forward contracts, which are very similar to futures contracts. In a forward contract, the purchaser actually buys a commodity, while in a futures transaction, delivery does not have to be taken.

The negotiations for a peaceful settlement of the Lebanon crisis are mired in the no man's land between failure and success. Many people here wonder whether an agreement can ever be worked out. For a week the Palestine Liberation Organization has been engaged in a confusing muddle of negotiations with the Lebanese Government - and through it with the United States and Israel - about the P.L.O.'s future, if any, in Lebanon. A Continued Presence At first, would-be mediators and countless unnamed sources suggested that the P.L.O. was ready to pack up its arms and take a Saudi jetliner, Soviet steamship or Red Cross bus to a more hospitable Arab capital. All that was supposedly needed was a formula to allow the P.L.O. to execute the move with its pride intact.

The Senate Finance Committee early this morning approved a $21 billion revenue-raising bill, supported by the Reagan Administration, that would increase consumer taxes on cigarettes and telephone service and restrict deductions for medical expenses and casualty losses. Dividing along party lines, the committee voted 11 to 9 for the bill, with the ''no'' votes coming from the Democrats. The bill, if enacted as it now reads, would impose a 10 percent withholding tax on dividend and interest payments. It would also make it easier for investors to qualify for the lower long-term capital gains tax rate by making the holding period for eligibility six months, rather than the current 12.

The Procter & Gamble Company is not doing business with the Devil, and wants to tell everybody so. The giant consumer products company filed libel suits yesterday in Atlanta and in Pensacola, Fla., against three individuals whom it accused of spreading ''false and malicious'' rumors that Procter & Gamble and its executives are involved in Satanism and Devil worship. In a press release, the company, which has been plagued increasingly with such rumors, said that it was investigating whether to file additional lawsuits and that it would aggressively pursue leads to organizations or individuals spreading the rumors. ''The high number of calls and the use of the reproduced handout materials suggest this is more than rumor-mongering by individuals,'' the company said.

There were 101 fewer traffic deaths in New York City in the first six months of this year than in the same period in 1981, a 27.5 percent reduction. The police say the reduction was attributable, at least in part, to special safety enforcement since last Aug. 11. The program expired Wednesday night with the start of a new budget year. ''It has been very rewarding,'' Deputy Inspector Joseph Schutta, who was in charge as commander of the Highway District, said yesterday.