Also

* Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen asked the Food and Drug Administration to ban Abbott Laboratories’ diet drug Meridia, linking the anti-obesity medicine to 29 deaths in the United States. Abbott’s anti-obesity prescription drug also is under fire by health officials in Europe, who linked the medicine to two deaths and adverse side effects in hundreds of people.

* Jones Apparel Group Inc., the maker of Jones New York career clothing and Nine West shoes, agreed to buy Gloria Vanderbilt Apparel Corp., paying $80 million in cash, $20 million in stock and assuming about $38million in debt.

* CheckFree Corp., which provides electronic payment services, said it will consolidate some operations and eliminate 450 positions, or 13% of its work force, by this summer. The moves are expected to save $30million annually.

* Empire State Associates, an investor group that holds the lease on the Empire State Building, has agreed to purchase the building from real estate magnate Donald Trump and his partner for $57.5 million.