Also . . .

* 21st Century Insurance Group said it named Douglas Howell as its chief financial officer to replace Bob Tschudy, who left the company to pursue other interests. Howell was CFO of GuideOne Insurance Group. 21st Century is majority-owned by American International Group Inc.

* Merrill Lynch & Co. said it is weighing selective staff reductions but would not comment on reports in the Wall Street Journal that the firm was considering cutting 1,000 jobs from its 35,000-strong brokerage division.

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