20001001	Pierre Vinken, 61 years old, will join the board as a nonexecutive director Nov. 29.
20001002	Mr. Vinken is chairman of Elsevier N.V., the Dutch publishing group.
20003001	A form of asbestos once used to make Kent cigarette filters has caused a high percentage of cancer deaths among a group of workers exposed to it more than 30 years ago, researchers reported.
20003002	The asbestos fiber, crocidolite, is unusually resilient once it enters the lungs, with even brief exposures to it causing symptoms that show up decades later, researchers said.
20003003	Lorillard Inc., the unit of New York-based Loews Corp. that makes Kent cigarettes, stopped using crocidolite in its Micronite cigarette filters in 1956.
20003005	A Lorillard spokewoman said, "This is an old story.
20003007	There is no asbestos in our products now."
20003008	Neither Lorillard nor the researchers who studied the workers were aware of any research on smokers of the Kent cigarettes.
20003009	"We have no useful information on whether users are at risk," said James A. Talcott of Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
20003010	Dr. Talcott led a team of researchers from the National Cancer Institute and the medical schools of Harvard University and Boston University.
20003011	The Lorillard spokeswoman said asbestos was used in "very modest amounts" in making paper for the filters in the early 1950s and replaced with a different type of filter in 1956.
20003012	From 1953 to 1955, 9.8 billion Kent cigarettes with the filters were sold, the company said.
20003013	Among 33 men who worked closely with the substance, 28 have died -- more than three times the expected number.
20003014	Four of the five surviving workers have asbestos-related diseases, including three with recently diagnosed cancer.
20003015	The total of 18 deaths from malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis was far higher than expected, the researchers said.
20003016	"The morbidity rate is a striking finding among those of us who study asbestos-related diseases," said Dr. Talcott.
20003017	The percentage of lung cancer deaths among the workers at the West Groton, Mass., paper factory appears to be the highest for any asbestos workers studied in Western industrialized countries, he said.
20003018	The plant, which is owned by Hollingsworth & Vose Co., was under contract with Lorillard to make the cigarette filters.
20003019	The finding probably will support those who argue that the U.S. should regulate the class of asbestos including crocidolite more stringently than the common kind of asbestos, chrysotile, found in most schools and other buildings, Dr. Talcott said.
20003020	The U.S. is one of the few industrialized nations that doesn't have a higher standard of regulation for the smooth, needle-like fibers such as crocidolite that are classified as amphobiles, according to Brooke T. Mossman, a professor of pathlogy at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.
20003021	More common chrysotile fibers are curly and are more easily rejected by the body, Dr. Mossman explained.
20003022	In July, the Environmental Protection Agency imposed a gradual ban on virtually all uses of asbestos.
20003023	By 1997, almost all remaining uses of cancer-causing asbestos will be outlawed.
20003024	About 160 workers at a factory that made paper for the Kent filters were exposed to asbestos in the 1950s.
20003025	Areas of the factory were particularly dusty where the crocidolite was used.
20003026	Workers dumped large burlap sacks of the imported material into a huge bin, poured in cotton and acetate fibers and mechanically mixed the dry fibers in a process used to make filters.
20003027	Workers described "clouds of blue dust" that hung over parts of the factory, even though exhaust fans ventilated the area.
20003028	"There's no question that some of those workers and managers contracted asbestos-related diseases," said Darrell Phillips, vice president of human resources for Hollingsworth & Vose.
20003029	"But you have to recognize that these events took place 35 years ago.
20003030	It has no bearing on our work force today.
20004001	Yields on money-market mutual funds continued to slide, amid signs that portfolio managers expect further declines in interest rates.
20004002	The average seven-day compound yield of the 400 taxable funds tracked by IBC's Money Fund Report eased a fraction of a percentage point to 8.45% from 8.47% for the week ended Tuesday.
20004004	Average maturity of the funds' investments lengthened by a day to 41 days, the longest since early August, according to Donoghue's.
20004005	Longer maturities are thought to indicate declining interest rates because they permit portfolio managers to retain relatively higher rates for a longer period.
20004006	Shorter maturities are considered a sign of rising rates because portfolio managers can capture higher rates sooner.
20004007	The average maturity for funds open only to institutions, considered by some to be a stronger indicator because those managers watch the market closely, reached a high point for the year -- 33 days.
20004008	Nevertheless, said Brenda Malizia Negus, editor of Money Fund Report, yields "may blip up again before they blip down" because of recent rises in short-term interest rates.
20004009	The yield on six-month Treasury bills sold at Monday's auction, for example, rose to 8.04% from 7.90%.
20004010	Despite recent declines in yields, investors continue to pour cash into money funds.
20004011	Assets of the 400 taxable funds grew by $1.5 billion during the latest week, to $352.7 billion.
20004012	Typically, money-fund yields beat comparable short-term investments because portfolio managers can vary maturities and go after the highest rates.
20004014	Dreyfus World-Wide Dollar, the top-yielding fund, had a seven-day compound yield of 9.37% during the latest week, down from 9.45% a week earlier.
20004015	It invests heavily in dollar-denominated securities overseas and is currently waiving management fees, which boosts its yield.
20004016	The average seven-day simple yield of the 400 funds was 8.12%, down from 8.14%.
20004017	The 30-day simple yield fell to an average 8.19% from 8.22%; the 30-day compound yield slid to an average 8.53% from 8.56%.
20005001	J.P. Bolduc, vice chairman of W.R. Grace & Co., which holds a 83.4% interest in this energy-services company, was elected a director.
20005002	He succeeds Terrence D. Daniels, formerly a W.R. Grace vice chairman, who resigned.
20005003	W.R. Grace holds three of Grace Energy's seven board seats.
20006001	Pacific First Financial Corp. said shareholders approved its acquisition by Royal Trustco Ltd. of Toronto for $27 a share, or $212 million.
20006002	The thrift holding company said it expects to obtain regulatory approval and complete the transaction by year-end.
20007002	Finmeccanica is an Italian state-owned holding company with interests in the mechanical engineering industry.
20007003	Bailey Controls, based in Wickliffe, Ohio, makes computerized industrial controls systems.
20007004	It employs 2,700 people and has annual revenue of about $370 million.
20008001	The federal government suspended sales of U.S. savings bonds because Congress hasn't lifted the ceiling on government debt.
20008002	Until Congress acts, the government hasn't any authority to issue new debt obligations of any kind, the Treasury said.
20008003	The government's borrowing authority dropped at midnight Tuesday to $2.80 trillion from $2.87 trillion.
20008004	Legislation to lift the debt ceiling is ensnarled in the fight over cutting capital-gains taxes.
20008005	The House has voted to raise the ceiling to $3.1 trillion, but the Senate isn't expected to act until next week at the earliest.
20008006	The Treasury said the U.S. will default on Nov. 9 if Congress doesn't act by then.
20009001	Clark J. Vitulli was named senior vice president and general manager of this U.S. sales and marketing arm of Japanese auto maker Mazda Motor Corp.
20009002	In the new position he will oversee Mazda's U.S. sales, service, parts and marketing operations.
20009003	Previously, Mr. Vitulli, 43 years old, was general marketing manager of Chrysler Corp.'s Chrysler division.
20009004	He had been a sales and marketing executive with Chrysler for 20 years.
20010001	When it's time for their biannual powwow, the nation's manufacturing titans typically jet off to the sunny confines of resort towns like Boca Raton and Hot Springs.
20010002	Not this year.
20010003	The National Association of Manufacturers settled on the Hoosier capital of Indianapolis for its fall board meeting.
20010006	On the receiving end of the message were officials from giants like Du Pont and Maytag, along with lesser knowns like Trojan Steel and the Valley Queen Cheese Factory.
20010007	For starters, the executives joined Mayor William H. Hudnut III for an evening of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and a guest pianist-comedian Victor Borge.
20010008	Champagne and dessert followed.
20010010	The governor couldn't make it, so the lieutenant governor welcomed the special guests.
20010011	A buffet breakfast was held in the museum, where food and drinks are banned to everyday visitors.
20010012	Then, in the guests' honor, the speedway hauled out four drivers, crews and even the official Indianapolis 500 announcer for a 10-lap exhibition race.
20010013	After the race, Fortune 500 executives drooled like schoolboys over the cars and drivers.
20010015	Back downtown, the execs squeezed in a few meetings at the hotel before boarding the buses again.
20010016	This time, it was for dinner and dancing -- a block away.
20010017	Under the stars and moons of the renovated Indiana Roof ballroom, nine of the hottest chefs in town fed them Indiana duckling mousseline, lobster consomme, veal mignon and chocolate terrine with a raspberry sauce.
20010018	Knowing a tasty -- and free -- meal when they eat one, the executives gave the chefs a standing ovation.
20010019	More than a few CEOs say the red-carpet treatment tempts them to return to a heartland city for future meetings.
20010020	But for now, they're looking forward to their winter meeting -- Boca in February.
20011001	South Korea registered a trade deficit of $101 million in October, reflecting the country's economic sluggishness, according to government figures released Wednesday.
20011002	Preliminary tallies by the Trade and Industry Ministry showed another trade deficit in October, the fifth monthly setback this year, casting a cloud on South Korea's export-oriented economy.
20011004	South Korea's economic boom, which began in 1986, stopped this year because of prolonged labor disputes, trade conflicts and sluggish exports.
20011005	Government officials said exports at the end of the year would remain under a government target of $68 billion.
20011006	Despite the gloomy forecast, South Korea has recorded a trade surplus of $71 million so far this year.
20011007	From January to October, the nation's accumulated exports increased 4% from the same period last year to $50.45 billion.
20011008	Imports were at $50.38 billion, up 19%.
20012002	The new ad plan from Newsweek, a unit of the Washington Post Co., is the second incentive plan the magazine has offered advertisers in three years.
20012004	Alan Spoon, recently named Newsweek president, said Newsweek's ad rates would increase 5% in January.
20012005	A full, four-color page in Newsweek will cost $100,980.
