November 28, 1991

Riding a wave of popular annoyance over telephone sales calls, Congress today approved and sent to President Bush a bill that would ban the use of automated dialing devices that deliver recorded messages to the home. The measure would also allow consumers to try to block calls from human salespeople by placing their names on a "do not call" list. The bill, which passed on voice votes in the House on Monday and in the Senate today, was supported by both Democrats and Republicans, some of whom have recounted their own annoying experiences with unsolicited sales calls. Although the White House has expressed concerns about what it views as unnecessary regulation, the President has not threatened to veto the bill.

In a final burst of legislation before adjourning until January, Congress today approved two broad bailout measures that total more than $100 billion, one for the nation's banking industry and one to continue the Government's rescue of hundreds of savings and loans. Along with the adoption of a $151 billion, six-year transportation program, the actions on financial bailouts were the most significant accomplishments of the final day of a Congressional session that began on the sober note of war with Iraq and concluded with a quarrelsome sitting that lasted 33 hours and 2 minutes.

A bill to ban the use of automated dialers that deliver recorded messages to the home was approved by Congress. [ D1. ] Spending by consumers fell a sharp 0.3 percent in October, the biggest decline since April, the Commerce Dept. reported. [ D1. ] In other reports, initial jobless claims tumbled by 80,000, but the decline was largely dismissed as a holiday fluke. [ D4. ] Personal incomes grew just 0.2 percent in October. [ D4. ] American farmers received 1.4 percent less for their products in November than in October. [ D4. ] Orders to factories for durable goods rose in October for the first time since July. [ D4. ] The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether states can regulate airline advertising. [ D2. ] A restriction on operators of private satellites carrying international phone calls would be relaxed under a Bush Administration recommendation. [ D3. ] Orrin Hatch confirmed that his defense of B.C.C.I. in a Senate speech was based on information provided by Robert Altman. [ D8. ] Now is the right time to talk about a tax cut, even if it is not the right time to enact one, the White House and Congress have suddenly decided. News Analysis. [ D20. ] Companies

FREDERIC FEKKAI, the Manhattan hair stylist of the moment, knew exactly what he wanted when it came time to choose a sofa for the apartment he shares with his wife, Catherine. "After standing up all day," he said, "it's important to be able to sit down." Mr. Fekkai sits down in style. The sofa -- a red damask beauty that is nearly nine feet long -- is the cornerstone of the design of the Fekkais' living room on the top floor of an Upper East Side mansion.

In a blunt and somewhat surprising challenge to the United States, Israel today rejected an American call for a new round of peace negotiations in Washington next week. It proposed instead that the talks be delayed for five days and then moved quickly to a new site in or near the Middle East. The Israeli Government offered a concession on one important matter, saying that it was prepared to discuss substantive issues right away with Palestinians and neighboring Arab countries, and not confine the Washington talks merely to procedural questions, as previously demanded.