Also . . .

Best Products Co. said it signed an agreement to sell most of its assets--88 stores and 11 jewelry-only units in 17 states--to an investor group for $410 million and will close its doors for good and put its remaining 5,500 employees out of work. . . . Kiwi International Air Lines Inc. and Wasatch International Corp. signed terms of a $5-million loan that could allow the cash-starved airline to resume operations by mid-November.