A spokesman for Marvin Davis said that...

A spokesman for Marvin Davis said that contrary to a report in Business Week magazine, the Los Angeles billionaire isn’t working on a bid for UAL Corp., the parent of United Airlines . . . Thermo Electron Corp. said it canceled a $95.6-million stock swap to acquire Failure Group Inc. of Menlo Park . . . Time-Life Books, a unit of New York-based Time Warner Inc., said it has acquired the Record Clubs of Australia Pty. Ltd. for an undisclosed price . . . The number of U.S. rigs drilling for oil and gas fell by 55 to 964 for the week ending Jan. 22, compared to 789 a year ago, according to Baker Hughes Inc. . . . Insurance hearings to determine whether Axa Midi of France can buy Farmers Insurance Group of Los Angeles have started in Illinois.