FEWER FIRMS DON NEW NAMES

Because of a slower pace of corporate mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, fewer businesses are changing their names, according to a survey by identity consultants Anspach Grossman Portugal Inc.Only 462 name changes were recorded during the first half of 1991, the lowest half-year total since 1984, the firm reports. Name changes peaked in the 1987-89 period, with about 1,700 per year.