71.   The Federal Trade Commission had been set to approve a staff recommendation to seek a court order blocking the deal at a hearing of the commissioners on Friday morning.

72.   The FTC has filed a lawsuit to block the deal, claiming a merger of office superstore chains would stifle competition.

73.   The FTC wants Hogan to block the deal until a full trial can be held before an administrative law judge.

74.   The FTC appears close to recommending that the deal be blocked.

75.   The Justice Dept. got ahold of the document and is suing to block the deal.

76.   The merger of Sprint Corp. and MCI WorldCom Inc. has attracted lawsuits from shareholders seeking to block the deal and maximize the value of their shares.

77.   The proposed deal collapsed when Griffey told the Mariners he would exercise his right to block all deals except one that would send him to Cincinnati.

78.   The proposed merger between Corestates Financial Corp. and Bank of Boston Corp. was panned Friday by investors and analysts, some of whom worked to block the deal.

79.   The utility also got a bill introduced in the state legislature to block the deal.

80.   Their support would be necessary if any action is taken by U.S. agencies to block the deal.