Also . . .

Merrill Lynch & Co. said accounts of its brokerage and asset management clients topped $1 trillion in the third quarter as stock and bond markets surged. New York-based Merrill reached $1 trillion more than two years ahead of its goal of 2000. The biggest U.S. broker said it’s the first financial company to reach that milestone. . . . Pittsburgh-based CoreStates Financial Corp. rejected a takeover bid by Mellon Bank Corp., and Mellon agreed to withdraw the offer. The combined banks would have had nearly 30% of the market in Pennsylvania and would have ranked as the 11th-biggest bank in the country. . . . Campbell Soup Co. agreed to buy Danone’s Liebig soup business in France for about $170 million, to help boost its sales overseas. . . . Minnetonka, Minn.-based Fingerhut Cos. said it plans to spin off its 83% stake in Metris Cos. to shareholders to allow the credit-card unit to grow without hurting the parent company’s balance sheet.