101.   The two companies have been talking about an acquisition on and off for the last three years, they said.

102.   The two companies talked for the past year about a merger, but negotiations reportedly failed over questions of which executive would lead the merged company.

103.   The Waltham, Mass., company has talked with a dozen companies, including CBS, Time and Microsoft, sources said.

104.   The two companies had talked in December, but the alliance was placed on hold until Northwest could get the approval of its Air Line Pilots Association.

105.   The two companies have been talking ever since News Corp. teamed up with MCI Communications Corp. in January to form a satellite broadcasting venture.

106.   The two companies have been talking in the past, before Glaxo bought Wellcome Plc last year to form Glaxo Wellcome.

107.   Though no company will talk about its bid exactly, industry executives even in Europe say the U.S. missiles are cheaper.

108.   This week, the possibility of an SBC-BellSouth alliance emerged with news that the companies have been talking about joining to form a nearly national wireless network.

109.   U.S. companies talked to some of their counterparts overseas about making the standards, or similar ones, global, said Moore.

110.   When John Wandell tried to sell some of his no-load mutual funds six months ago, the fund company talked him out of it.