Also

* The Federal Trade Commission cleared Nestle’s purchase of Ralston Purina Co. to create the world’s largest pet food company after the firms agreed to divest two cat food brands to preserve competition. The FTC voted 4 to 0 to let the $10.1-billion deal proceed, with the two companies promising to sell Meow Mix and Alley Cat dry cat food brands to Hartz Mountain Corp., a unit of investment firm J.W. Childs Associates.

* Computer Sciences Corp. won an eight-year Defense Department contract valued at up to $$86 million to train agencies to fight computer network crime. Computer Sciences will develop courses to teach military law-enforcement officials how to investigate cyber crime, including computer search and seizure and computer forensic analysis.

* Alfred Taubman resigned as chairman of shopping mall company Taubman Centers Inc. a week after being found guilty of a price-fixing scheme while head of auction house Sotheby’s Holdings Inc. Taubman will be replaced by his son, President and Chief Executive Robert Taubman.