Merger and acquisition activity increased steadily during...

Merger and acquisition activity increased steadily during the first six months of 1988 while the dollar value of completed deals jumped 45% from a year ago, IDD Information Services, a financial information firm, reported. The company said 1,705 transactions were completed in the first two quarters, up from 1,622 in the first half of 1987. More impressive, perhaps, was that the deals this year carried a price tag of $131 billion, up from $89.5 billion in the year-ago period, the firm said. Foreign investors spent $25 billion snapping up U.S. firms in the first half of this year, up 67% from $15 billion in 1987.