Also

* Ex-WorldCom Inc. Chief Financial Officer Scott D. Sullivan has asked that the judge presiding over his prosecution on securities fraud charges consider stepping down from the case because of a conflict of interest. U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones owns stock in WorldCom competitors AT&T; Corp. and Verizon Communications, according to a filing.

* A federal judge in Illinois ruled that Xerox Corp.’s pension plan must pay nearly $300 million to thousands of retirees. Xerox plans to appeal.

* The Harvard Business Review named Thomas A. Stewart, editorial director at Business 2.0 magazine, its editor, replacing Suzy Wetlaufer, who quit after disclosures about a personal relationship with former General Electric Co. CEO Jack Welch.

* Vivendi Universal, under pressure to sell assets to reduce debt, rejected as too low three offers of about $3 billion for its publishing unit.