Also. . .

* Britain’s largest mortgage lender, Halifax Group, and the Bank of Scotland announced plans to merge in a $40-billion transaction that would create one of the country’s five biggest banks. The two lenders would operate under a new holding company, called HBOS, but would continue doing business under their old names. Halifax shareholders would control a majority stake of 63%, with Bank of Scotland shareholders owning the remainder.

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* Westwood One Inc., which provides about 7,500 radio and television stations with news, sports, talk and other programs, said first-quarter profit rose 16% to $4.6 million, or 4 cents a share, from $3.96 million, or 3 cents, a year earlier, the New York-based company said. Revenue fell less than 1% to $121.6 million.

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* Direct Merchants Credit Card Bank, the 11th-largest U.S. credit card issuer, said it agreed to pay $3.2 million to 62,000 customers to settle a federal probe of its sales and marketing practices. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Direct Merchants, a subsidiary of Metris Cos., said it reached agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The comptroller investigated the bank for violating consumer lending statutes by providing a credit card with less favorable terms than the offer a consumer applied for.