October 13, 1983

This city is beginning to swing again, and fashion is contributing to the new beat. Ken Williams, director of Turnbull & Asser, the men's clothing store here, attributes the liveliness to ''all the Americans after the cheap pound.'' ''It's the British sense of individuality, just short of eccentricity,'' said Geraldine Stutz, president of Henri Bendel. ''The world of fashion is ready for it.''

Text of Reagan statement, page A7. WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 - President Reagan signed legislation today authorizing American marines to remain in Lebanon for 18 more months, but he insisted obliquely that he already had the authority to keep the Marines there without Congressional approval. Mr. Reagan's approval of the legislation came as Administration officials said they would soon undertake the first high-level review in six months of overall Middle East policies. The review is to coincide with the return to Washington today of Robert C. McFarlane, the special Middle East envoy.

Companies Federal bank regulators lent $100 million to First National of Midland, Tex., to keep it from failing before they can arrange a rescue by a stronger bank. The loan to the big bank, which has been hurt by losses on loans to energy companies, was one of the largest ever by the F.D.I.C. (Page A1.) Ted Turner said he has bought The Satellite News Channels, the only challenger to his Cable News Network, from ABC and Westinghouse for $25 million. In two weeks, the Atlanta entrepreneur will shut down the rival operation, which has lost more than $40 million. Analysts saw the deal as a triumph for Mr. Turner. (D1.)

An article in Business Day Friday about the Esmark Corporation misidentified a label under which its cosmetics are sold. The label is Jhirmack.

Perhaps the most striking sign of the changes that are reshaping the Japanese pharmaceutical industry came in August when Merck & Company bought a controlling interest in the Banyu Pharmaceutical Company, a major drug maker in Tokyo. Merck's $314 million purchase is being hailed here as a sign of the growing importance of the lucrative Japanese drug market to foreign companies, and also as an indication of a new receptivity in Government and business circles to sizable acquisitions by overseas concerns. Through its control of prices, the Government is forcing a consolidation among the roughly 400 domestic producers that supply the $12 billion- a-year market in Japan for prescription drugs. In the last year, the Government has stiffened its system of making annual price reductions on old drugs, while speeding the approval of new and relatively high- priced drugs. The purpose is to reward innovative companies and make the country's fragmented industry internationally competitive.