November 2, 1984

Margie Velma Barfield, who was convicted of killing her fiance and who confessed killing three other people by arsenic poisoning, was executed by lethal injection early today behind the dun-colored walls of Central Prison here. She was the first woman to be put to death in the United States in 22 years. The fatal injection was given at 2 A.M. and she was pronounced dead 15 minutes later. In her last words, Mrs. Barfield said: ''I want to say that I am sorry for all the hurt that I have caused. I know that everybody has gone through a lot of pain, all the families connected, and I am sorry and I want to thank everybody who has supported me all these six years.''

Army troops moved into the capital and eight other Indian cities today to quell a nationwide wave of lynchings and arson that began soon after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on Wednesday. Soldiers were ordered to shoot rioters on sight in New Delhi and five other cities: Indore, Patna, Rae Bareli, Kanpur and Dehra Dun. Curfews were also imposed in 30 cities, including New Delhi. More than 150 people have been killed and 1,000 hurt since Wednesday, according to unofficial tallies tonight. Earlier in the day the Government said it knew of only nine confirmed deaths.

Not since the soldier-reformers of the American Occupation rewrote the rules of the Tokyo Stock Exchange more than 30 years ago has that institution faced greater changes. For the first time, a foreign securities firm has a chance to buy a seat on the exchange. The possibility has prompted occasional consternation and incessant speculation in the financial world here, with some Japanese companies suggesting that foreign firms would be better off without membership, and most foreign firms hesitant about joining now. But foreign membership is only one of many issues facing the exchange following the Government's decision last spring to relax some of the restrictions on Japan's capital markets. That not only cleared the way for greater foreign participation in the Japanese capital markets, but also prompted a flood of proposals that the exchange alter its traditional rules to increase participation by Japanese, as well as foreign, firms.

A dispatch Oct. 6 about The Times of London incorrectly identified the paper's literary editor. He is Philip Howard.

A lot has been going wrong lately for RKO General, the big broadcasting, bottling and film production subsidiary of Gencorp Inc. Even WOR- TV, the company's New York television station, did not come through with the revenue surge executives had considered certain from broadcasting the New York Mets' baseball games last summer. In fact, RKO General is likely this year to report its first loss in more than two decades. In addition to the relatively minor Mets advertising disappointment, the company has been hurt by regulatory problems and its investment in Frontier Airlines, which has recently had its own financial problems. ''There's no question that RKO has made costly errors in the past which had a heavy impact on profits,'' said an analyst, who asked not to be named.