MINOR MEMOS: A farm bill that President Bush signed into law in mid-May authorizes federal loans at government borrowing rates, loan guarantees and grants to farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses to purchase renewable energy systems. Grants can cover up to 25% of the cost of such systems, and a combined grant and loan or loan guarantee can cover up to 50% of the cost . . . . Ken Kies, a heavyweight lobbyist and former staff director of the Joint Tax Committee in Congress, is urging the US Treasury to fix a problem that prevents many US multinational companies — including most power companies — from using foreign tax credits. Treasury officials are skeptical about whether they have the authority. Kies wants them to adopt administratively a proposal that passed Congress in 1999 for “worldwide fungibility” of interest. The proposal was part of a tax bill that President Clinton vetoed.