July 18, 1986

Although there is concern that transfused blood may have infected some people with AIDS and public anxiety about transfusions has mounted, the health authorities contend that today's blood supply is perhaps safer than it has ever been, in part because of dramatic changes in the nation's blood banks. Blood transfusions have never been entirely safe, but today blood banks are screening donors more strictly, using more advanced tests, labeling and matching blood more efficiently and processing blood in ways that eliminate elements that may carry dangers. They are also discarding blood if there is even the slightest fear that it is contaminated. 'Safer Than Ever' Although the introduction of AIDS virus into the nation's blood supply is a setback, all but a tiny percentage of tainted units have been eliminated and over the years other tests have made it possible to remove blood contaminated with other microbes. The result, health officials from New York and New Jersey said in a statement Wednesday, is a blood supply ''as safe, or safer, than it has ever been.''

Despite its long history in the magazine business, Time Inc. yesterday named as its new president an executive whose management expertise lies elsewhere. He is Nicholas J. Nicholas Jr., an executive vice president responsible for Time's expanding cable television operations. The appointment of Mr. Nicholas, who was also named chief operating officer, is effective Sept. 1. Mr. Nicholas will report to J. Richard Munro, who is currently president and chief executive officer. Mr. Munro will remain Time's chief executive and become chairman, replacing Ralph P. Davidson. Mr. Davidson, 58 years old, will become chairman of the executive committee of the board, currently a vacant position. Mr. Nicholas is responsible for Time's video businesses, which includes the American Television and Communications Company, the nation's second-largest cable operator, and Home Box Office, the largest pay television service. He also served as Time's chief financial officer from 1982 to 1984. His selection reflects the growing importance of the non-magazine part of Time Inc. and the increasing financial complexity of the company.

An article in The Home Section yesterday about organizations that help mentally retarded people listed an incorrect telephone number for the Young Adult Institute. Its number is (212) 563-7474.

The Bolivian Interior Minister announced today that drug raids about to begin here with assistance from the United States military would continue until the drug trade was wiped out in Bolivia. The official, Fernando Barthelemy, said American troops would provide support for the raids for as long as necessary. About 100 American troops in combat gear and carrying weapons, including M-16 rifles, arrived today in Trinidad, Bolivia, airlifted from American bases in Panama. Trinidad, in the Beni region of north central Bolivia, is the heart of the nation's cocaine-producing region.

Six regional Bell companies yesterday reported improved second-quater profits, with four of them recording double-digit gains. Their former parent, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, however, said its earnings declined 8.5 percent, largely because of a 26-day strike and continued soft sales of A.T.& T. equipment. The strong showing by the others - U S West, which climbed 11.5 percent; Bell Atlantic, 8.6 percent; Ameritech, 5.3 percent; Pacific Telesis, 16.2 percent; Nynex, 18.4 percent, and BellSouth, 11.3 percent - was attributed to increased demand for basic phone services and stringent cost-control measures. ''The industry continues to show earnings improvement,'' said Neil Yelsey of Salomon Brothers. Analysts, saying the earnings were right on target with their expectations, predicted a bright future for the regional companies created from the breakup of A.T.& T. on Jan. 1, 1984. A.T. & T. A.T. & T. earnings declined to $422 million, or 37 cents a share, compared with $461 million, or 41 cents a share for the comparable period last year. Revenues for the quarter were down 1.6 percent, to $8.42 billion, from $8.56 billion.

President Reagan has tentatively decided to make a major speech on South Africa policy in which he will announce the appointment of a black North Carolina businessman as the American Ambassador to Pretoria, White House officials said today. The officials said that the President would meet with the businessman, Robert J. Brown, Tuesday morning and then deliver the remarks. The speech will not be televised nationally and will be delivered to an outside group, the officials said. The tentative decision indicated that the Administration was determined to nominate Mr. Brown in the face of growing criticism of his private business dealings.

The LTV Corporation became the nation's second-largest steel producer almost by default, doubling its ante as it lost its bets. A conglomerate better known for aerospace, LTV became a union of the beleaguered in the steel industry, the last vestige of such ancient and luckless names as Jones & Laughlin, Youngstown and Republic. With LTV's filing for court protection yesterday, the mood among other steel producers can only grow more gloomy. In the short run, LTV's troubles are likely to mean more problems for the rest of the industry, experts and analysts argue. They contend that the corporation's steel unit, the LTV Steel Company, might cut prices below current industry levels in a desperate push to retain market share and hold onto skittish customers. Such a move would surely depress domestic prices further, a significant threat to companies already burdened by excess capacity and falling demand.

A $384 million development project - including a 60-story office tower with a glass dome that would change the face of Manhattan's historic southern tip - has been chosen by the city for the South Ferry area. A six-member development team, headed by the Zeckendorf Company, was picked over six other contenders for the right to develop the 1.5-million-square-foot area. The Zeckendorf plan would provide for renovation of the two ferry terminals and expansion of existing park space and waterfront esplanades. With its views of the harbor and the Statue of Liberty, it is one of the most dramatic sites on the city's waterfront.

The stunning loss reported by the BankAmerica Corporation on Wednesday shows two sides of the bank's management, industry analysts said today. The first is a glaring lack of oversight over its own operations, and the second is a calculated risk by new managers to get problems behind them. This gamble could backfire, they said, because the whopping $640 million loss, the second largest in banking history, shakes the company's credibility in a way that could damage its relationships with investors and hurt its efforts to compete. The bank attributed the loss to problem loans in energy and real estate brought on by falling oil prices. ''Their credibility was lousy to begin with, and it just gets lousier,'' said Stephen Berman, banking analyst at Nomura Securities in New York.

The American Can Company said yesterday that it was going out of the can business and would change its name. The company said it would sell the mainstay of its business - cans and food packaging - for most of the 85 years since American Can was founded to Triangle Industries for $570 million in cash and stock. The deal continues Triangle's startling transformation from a small juke box and vending machine manufacturer in early 1985 to the nation's largest metal can maker and one of the largest food packagers over all. Last April, Triangle acquired the National Can Corporation for $460 million to become a powerhouse overnight in the packaging industry.

In the largest bankruptcy filing in United States history, the LTV Corporation, parent company of the nation's second-largest steel manufacturer, today asked for court protection from more than 20,000 creditors. LTV, which also has extensive energy and aerospace operations, immediately halted payments on its debts of more than $4 billion, a company spokesman said. After filing for protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy laws in the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the company obtained permission from Judge Burton R. Lifland to borrow up to $300 million from unidentified lenders to meet last week's payroll. A Chapter 11 filing permits a company to remain in business while working out a plan to repay its creditors. Freer Operation Seen Freed indefinitely from the obligation to repay debts taken on before the filing, the company believes it can operate more freely and maintain ties with creditors and suppliers.

Housing construction edged down eight-tenths of 1 percent in June, the Commerce Department said today, and analysts attributed the setback to a slight rise in mortgage rates. But economists said they expected lower rates in coming months to maintain housing as one of the few bright spots in the economy. Construction starts of homes and apartments were at an annual rate of 1.85 million units last month after a decline of 7.9 percent in housing construction in May, the report said.