91.   Microsoft Corp. has also been weighing a partnership with Comcast, but the executives close to the talks said MCI Worldcom was not as interested in teaming with Microsoft.

92.   National Grid had considered acquiring GPU, executives close to National Grid said, though FirstEnergy sealed its deal first.

93.   Neither company will pay the other an upfront sum as part of the deal, executives close to the companies said.

94.   On Thursday, executives close to Deutsche Bank confirmed reports in The Financial Times Deutschland that the talks with Axa were in abeyance.

95.   Only hours earlier, executives close to the takeover discussions had said that Vodafone was leaning toward a bid for Mannesmann early Tuesday.

96.   One possibility would be to throw into the pot the rights to distribute films from either MCA or Warner Brothers, executives close to the discussions said.

97.   Privately, however, several executives close to the deal acknowledged that the actor would leave the series sometime this fall to pursue film roles.

98.   Royal Bank of Scotland is also planning cuts, executives close to the deal said.

99.   Several executives close to those companies said that no such discussion had taken place.

100.   Sega and Nintendo denied the report, but executives close to the negotiations insist that the companies have held discussions in fits and starts.