INDUSTRY

GM Board May Mull EDS or Hughes Spinoff: Dueling published reports have the General Motors Corp. board of directors set to discuss a possible spinoff, but the two newspapers diverge on the identity of the spinoff candidate. The Detroit Free Press reported analyst speculation that GM is thinking of spinning off part of Los Angeles-based Hughes Electronics Corp. The supposed spinoff might involve the fast-growing communications arm of the business, which includes the popular DirecTv Inc. satellite television service. The Dallas Morning News reported speculation that GM directors will discuss spinning off the Plano, Texas-based Electronic Data Systems computer services subsidiary. GM, Hughes and EDS officials declined comment. EDS has said only that a spinoff is expected sometime in the first half of this year, and the Internal Revenue Service ruled in December that an exchange of stock could be completed tax free. Hughes has not previously been mentioned as a spinoff candidate.