THE ECONOMY

Conable Calls for World Links: Barber B. Conable Jr. said farewell as president of the World Bank with a plea for recognizing links between the United States and the rest of the world. Conable said that in the 1950s and 1960s, international trade accounted for only 7.9% of U.S. annual income. Since then, it has tripled its share to more than 25% and is still climbing, he said. Conable, 68, spent five years at the head of the bank. Owned by 155 countries, it lends about $24 billion a year. Borrowers are Third World countries and increasingly the countries of Eastern Europe as they emerge from the communist system. The United States holds the biggest block of shares. Conable will be succeeded at the bank in September by Lewis Preston, former head of Morgan banks.