Also . . .

* Merrill Lynch & Co. announced an expansion of its Southern California program to channel home and business loans and venture capital to minorities and help bolster community groups that cater to those clients. The New York-based brokerage will commit $159 million over the next three years to encourage investments, economic opportunities and homeownership in the Latino, African American and Asian communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. The program is an expansion of a $77-million effort launched in 1996 to focus on Los Angeles and Orange counties. All but $10 million of that money has been spent, mostly on home mortgage and small-business loans. The new commitment expands the program to San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties as well as to the Bay Area.