11.   Shares of Glaxo Wellcome Plc and Pfizer Inc. of the U.S. rose amid speculation the two drug companies are considering a merger.

12.   Several Miami companies are also forming alliances and considering mergers in order to make sure they are big enough to compete.

13.   Smaller carriers like Adelphia and Atlanta-based Cox Communications can prosper, but they must at least consider mergers, he said.

14.   So some experts contend that USSB ought to consider a merger now, before DirecTV gets more ambitious.

15.   Some struggling groups are even considering mergers or pairing up with non-AIDS organizations.

16.   Sumitomo said it might consider a merger.

17.   Tadeshi Naitoh, president of Asahi Investment Trust, said the companies have been considering a merger for two years.

18.   That puts pressure on Raytheon, and other companies considering similar mergers, to act quickly.

19.   The board will consider the merger in a private session tomorrow, said Bob Moore, a spokesman for the Federal Reserve.

20.   The decision of BNSF and CN to merge prompted other railroads to warn that they would consider giant mergers.