November 20, 1982

The Federal Reserve Board, in what it described as a move to counter the continued sluggishness in the economy, cut its key lending rate today to 9 percent, from 9 1/2 percent. The half-point reduction in the discount rate, which is the rate the Federal Reserve charges on loans to banks and savings institutions, was long expected. It was another signal that the nation's central bank wants interest rates to move slightly lower to stimulate the spending needed to begin an economic recovery. The Commerce Department reported that the economy did not grow at all in the third quarter and was unlikely to grow in the fourth quarter either. Last month it had estimated third-quarter growth of eight-tenths of 1 percent in the gross national product, the broadest measure of economic activity. (Page 29.)

The Chinese Government announced the appointments today of a new Minister of Foreign Affairs and a new Minister of National Defense. Huang Hua, who had been Foreign Minister for nearly six years, was succeeded by Wu Xueqian, who left the party bureaucracy to become first Deputy Foreign Minister last April. Mr. Huang's sudden retirement could be embarrassing for the Kremlin, because he headed a Chinese delegation to the funeral of President Leonid I. Brezhnev in Moscow. While there, he met for an hour and a half with Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko to discuss the two countries' relations, the highest-level Chinese-Soviet talks since 1969.

A treasure-trove of musical manuscripts and orchestrations by George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers has been discovered in a Warner Brothers warehouse in Secaucus, N.J. The find - consisting of up to 70 crates - includes scores for many important works, as well as rare and unpublished songs. In addition, the crates contain drafts of original choruses, incidental music and much thematic material. There are complete performing scores of Gershwin's ''Pardon My English'' and Porter's ''Gay Divorce,'' Fred Astaire's last Broadway musical, later filmed as ''The Gay Divorcee.'' There is speculation that there may be a complete early Gershwin work, entitled ''Half Past Eight,'' dating from 1918.

Representative Claude D. Pepper of Florida, the oldest member of Congress, has declared his intention to become chairman of the House Rules Committee, an influential post that would give him the power to shape Social Security legislation to be considered in the next Congress. Mr. Pepper, who turned 82 in September, wants the job so that he can thwart efforts to trim Social Security benefits, according to his aides. ''He realized,'' a spokesman for the Florida Democrat said, ''that the way to influence Social Security was as chairman of the Rules Committee.'' The Rules Committee decides what bills go to the House floor, and under what conditions. As a result, a shrewd chairman can wield enormous influence by forcing changes in certain bills, or simply burying them in his committee.

President Reagan, setting the stage for a budget fight with Congress, has tentatively decided to seek $25 billion to $30 billion in domestic spending cuts in next year's budget, White House officials disclosed today. The proposed cuts, which are certain to draw strong opposition in Congress, would limit the growth of spending, but overall outlays could actually increase because of inflation and other factors, such as the recession. The decision means the President will continue to focus his economizing drive on social spending. This is a key part of his evolving strategy for dealing with a new Congress that is expected to be far more resistant than the current Congress to his budgetary plans, particularly on additional cuts in domestic programs.