Also . . .

* U.S. merger and acquisition activity hit a seventh consecutive record in 1999, thanks to a small number of huge transactions in a period that saw the number of announced deals decline, preliminary figures from Thomson Financial Securities Data show. The figures indicate more than $1.72 trillion worth of deals were announced so far this year in the U.S., topping the $1.63 billion announced in 1998. Worldwide, more than $3 trillion worth of deals were announced in 1999, topping the $2.6 trillion logged in 1998.

* Profits for the nation’s commercial banks jumped 29% for the third quarter to a record $19.4 billion, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported. Increased income and a decline in expenses related to mergers were cited as reasons. The outlook is clouded, however, by the period’s rise in levels of non-current business and consumer loans, FDIC Chairwoman Donna Tanoue said.

* Dow Chemical Co.’s planned purchase of Union Carbide Corp. will face as many as four more months of European Union scrutiny, a signal that the companies may need to shed assets to secure antitrust clearance. The European Commission said it opened an extended inquiry into the purchase--worth $11.2 billion based on Tuesday’s closing share prices--on concern it may stifle competition in the European markets for polyethylene resins and ethyleneamines. The merger would create the world’s No. 2 chemical company, surpassing Germany’s BASF and ranking behind DuPont Co.

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