Standard & Poor’s downgraded the senior debt...

Standard & Poor’s downgraded the senior debt rating of Los Angeles-based Times Mirror Co. to A+ from AA- and lowered its commercial paper rating to A1 from A1+ . . . Occidental Petroleum acquired a 5.8% stake in Church & Dwight in connection with a partnership that the two companies formed . . . The FCC said it will issue a decision today on a complaint by a conservative group that CBS has been illegally acquired by Loews Corp. CBS denies it. . . . Xerox said it is offering enhanced early retirement benefits to about 4,000 employees who are at least 50 years old and have worked at the company for 10 years . . . Newell Co. said it has raised to 6.83% the stake it holds “for investment purposes” in Anchor Hocking Corp. . . . Emhart Corp. of Farmington, Conn., said it has agreed to sell for $115 million substantially all of its worldwide shoe machinery operations to a company formed by management and based in England.