Forced to choose, James J. Ling decided last week that he would rather be in the steel business than in airlines and cable manufacturing. At the same time that he reported a 90% plunge in last year's operating profits of Ling-Temco-Vought, his once high-flying conglomerate, Jim Ling moved to settle a federal antitrust suit arising from his corporate acquisition of Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. In order to hold onto the nation's seventh largest steelmaker, LTV will have to sell its controlling interests in Braniff Airways and Okonite Co. LTV also agreed in principle to refrain from "certain activities"...
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