AUTOS

Ford, UAW Near Agreement: Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alexander Trotman said the company could announce as early as today a contract agreement with the United Auto Workers. Trotman said that negotiations were nearly completed during a meeting with his counterparts at General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Corp., according to a report by Bloomberg Business News. Reaching an accord before the contract expires--on Saturday--would be unprecedented in the auto industry. A Ford spokesman said the auto maker and the UAW, which represents 400,000 company employees, were still far apart on some key issues but that “in many instances we have made very good progress.”