Also . . .

* McDonald’s Corp., the largest restaurant company, said it plans to buy back $3.5 billion of its stock, or 8.9% of shares outstanding, over the next three years to bolster its lagging stock price. The company also said it expects to meet earnings estimates for the third quarter. It’s expected to earn 69 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by First Call Corp., up from 63 cents a year earlier. Shares rose $2.63 to close at $59.88 on the NYSE.

* Japan’s auto exports dropped 14.1% last month, compared with a year ago, the fourth straight month of declines, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Assn. said. The biggest drop in exports came in Asia, down 62.2% compared with a year ago. Exports of cars, trucks and buses to the U.S. fell by 7.8%, and dropped 10.8% in Europe.

* Smith Corona Corp. said that it would cut almost 45% of its work force because of continuing declines in its core electric typewriter business. Its decision to cut more than 100 jobs from its current level of about 225 is part of a plan to move away from manufacturing to marketing and sales of technology products primarily for small offices. Cortland, N.Y.-based Smith Corona said it would take a $1.2-million pretax charge in the first quarter of 1999 primarily related to employee severance.

* Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. of Israel said it will buy a unit of GE Americom, one of the world’s largest satellite providers, for about $230 million in new stock to give it software and network assets. GE Americom is a subsidiary of General Electric Co.