News In Brief

February 22, 2000

Ford Motor Co. will pay $3.8 million and hire 100 women and minorities to settle a discrimination complaint with the Labor Department, a spokesman said. The money will compensate an as-yet undetermined number of women and minority applicants who sought work at certain plants in the mid-'90s. Ford, the world's No. 2 automaker, did not admit to wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to avoid costly litigation, the spokesman said.

In an all-stock "merger of equals," rival carriers Norwich Union and CGU Plc. announced they'll join to form Britain's largest general-insurance company. The deal was valued at about $30 billion, but was expected to result in the loss of 5,000 jobs. In a related move, CGU said it would sell its US property and casualty business, estimated to be worth almost $4 billion.

Snyder Communications, whose clients include Microsoft and McDonald's, agreed to be bought by Havas Advertising of Paris for $2.1 billion in a deal described as the industry's largest. The transaction also includes Snyder advertising and marketing subsidiaries Arnold Communications, Brann Worldwide, Bounty SCA Worldwide, and Circle.com. Snyder is based in Bethesda, Md.

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society