Also

WorldCom Inc., the long-distance telephone company that has filed for bankruptcy protection and has $9 billion in accounting errors, said it had a loss of $108 million in September on revenue of $2.3 billion. Its revenue shrank from $2.4 billion in August.

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* SC Johnson & Son Inc., the maker of Raid bug spray and Off insect repellent, agreed to buy Bayer’s household insecticide business for $734 million.

A lawsuit claiming that Progressive Corp. unlawfully denied overtime pay to its insurance claims representatives has been certified as a class action, bringing in thousands of current and former employees. A spokeswoman for Progressive, one of the nation’s largest auto insurers, said the firm would not comment on pending litigation.

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DepoMed Inc. said Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. agreed to pay $18 million to end a patent dispute over time-release technology used in a treatment for diabetes, sending DepoMed shares up 21%.

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* BCE Inc., Canada’s biggest telecommunications company, agreed to buy 16% of Bell Canada from SBC Communications Inc. for $3.18 billion, regaining full ownership of its most profitable unit.