* William J. Baer will resign as...

* William J. Baer will resign as head of the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust unit and be succeeded by his top deputy, Richard G. Parker. Parker, who was a partner with Los Angeles law firm O’Melveny & Meyer before joining the agency in 1998, said he plans to continue Baer’s aggressive approach. Baer will stay long enough to make a recommendation on Exxon Corp.’s planned purchase of Mobil Corp.

* K2 Inc., a Los Angeles-based maker of skis and other sporting goods, agreed to buy snowboard maker Ride Inc. for about $14.3 million in stock. Shareholders would receive about 0.1 share of K2 stock for each Ride share they own, and K2 would assume more than $5 million in debt from Preston, Wash.-based Ride.