August 31, 1984

FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 1984 Companies Tiffany will be sold by Avon Products to an investor group led by Tiffany's chairman for $135.5 million in cash. The ownership shift may mark a change in the jewelry chain's effort in the past decade to reach out to a broader range of consumers. (Page D1.) ITT has signed a preliminary agreement to sell its baking unit, the ITT Continental Baking Company, to Ralston Purina for $475 million in cash. ITT said it expected to show a gain of more than $100 million after taxes on the sale. (D1.)

A dispatch from Paris on Aug. 15 about a dispute over unspent funds held by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization incorrectly described a fee to be paid by the agency to a Washington-based public relations firm. The firm, Wagner & Baroody, is to receive about $15,000 a month.

An article in some editions of Metropolitan Report yesterday on appointments by Governor Cuomo incorrectly described the racial makeup of the Port Authority board. It currently includes one black.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 1984 International An accord for an Israeli Government has been reached by Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, according to the Israeli radio. Broadcasts said the agreement called for Mr. Peres, leader of the Labor Party, and Mr. Shamir, head of the Likud bloc, to alternate as Prime Minister in a national unity government. (Page A1, Columns 1-2.) Moscow's handling of the crisis generated a year ago when a Soviet fighter shot down a South Korean airliner with 269 people aboard prompted worldwide criticism and strengthened Washington in its relations with the Kremlin, according to Administration officials. (A3:5-6.) National

For the nation's troubled steelmakers, an increasingly popular strategy for survival has been diversification. Armco Inc., the fifth-largest steelmaker, blazed that trail decades ago. But if the strategy has had mixed results for some in the industry, it has been particularly unkind to its pioneer: Although Armco's steel operations currently show a profit, some of its other businesses are dragging down overall results. While many of the major steelmakers were reporting second-quarter profits, Armco posted a loss of $14.1 million, even though its carbon steel operations showed an operating profit of $23 million.