Pierre Vinken , 61 years old , will join the board as a nonexecutive director Nov. 29 .
Mr. Vinken is chairman of Elsevier N.V. , the Dutch publishing group .
Rudolph Agnew , 55 years old and former chairman of Consolidated Gold Fields PLC , was named a nonexecutive director of this British industrial conglomerate .
A form of asbestos once used to make Kent cigarette filters has caused a high percentage of cancer deaths among a group of workers exposed to it more than 30 years ago , researchers reported .
The asbestos fiber , crocidolite , is unusually resilient once it enters the lungs , with even brief exposures to it causing symptoms that show up decades later , researchers said .
Lorillard Inc. , the unit of New York-based Loews Corp. that makes Kent cigarettes , stopped using crocidolite in its Micronite cigarette filters in 1956 .
Although preliminary findings were reported more than a year ago , the latest results appear in today 's New England Journal of Medicine , a forum likely to bring new attention to the problem .
A Lorillard spokewoman said , `` This is an old story .
We 're talking about years ago before anyone heard of asbestos having any questionable properties .
There is no asbestos in our products now . ''
Neither Lorillard nor the researchers who studied the workers were aware of any research on smokers of the Kent cigarettes .
`` We have no useful information on whether users are at risk , '' said James A. Talcott of Boston 's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute .
Dr. Talcott led a team of researchers from the National Cancer Institute and the medical schools of Harvard University and Boston University .
The Lorillard spokeswoman said asbestos was used in `` very modest amounts '' in making paper for the filters in the early 1950s and replaced with a different type of filter in 1956 .
From 1953 to 1955 , 9.8 billion Kent cigarettes with the filters were sold , the company said .
Among 33 men who worked closely with the substance , 28 have died -- more than three times the expected number .
Four of the five surviving workers have asbestos-related diseases , including three with recently diagnosed cancer .
The total of 18 deaths from malignant mesothelioma , lung cancer and asbestosis was far higher than expected , the researchers said .
`` The morbidity rate is a striking finding among those of us who study asbestos-related diseases , '' said Dr. Talcott .
The percentage of lung cancer deaths among the workers at the West Groton , Mass. , paper factory appears to be the highest for any asbestos workers studied in Western industrialized countries , he said .
The plant , which is owned by Hollingsworth & Vose Co. , was under contract with Lorillard to make the cigarette filters .
The finding probably will support those who argue that the U.S. should regulate the class of asbestos including crocidolite more stringently than the common kind of asbestos , chrysotile , found in most schools and other buildings , Dr. Talcott said .
The U.S. is one of the few industrialized nations that does n't have a higher standard of regulation for the smooth , needle-like fibers such as crocidolite that are classified as amphobiles , according to Brooke T. Mossman , a professor of pathlogy at the University of Vermont College of Medicine .
More common chrysotile fibers are curly and are more easily rejected by the body , Dr. Mossman explained .
In July , the Environmental Protection Agency imposed a gradual ban on virtually all uses of asbestos .
By 1997 , almost all remaining uses of cancer-causing asbestos will be outlawed .
About 160 workers at a factory that made paper for the Kent filters were exposed to asbestos in the 1950s .
Areas of the factory were particularly dusty where the crocidolite was used .
Workers dumped large burlap sacks of the imported material into a huge bin , poured in cotton and acetate fibers and mechanically mixed the dry fibers in a process used to make filters .
Workers described `` clouds of blue dust '' that hung over parts of the factory , even though exhaust fans ventilated the area .
`` There 's no question that some of those workers and managers contracted asbestos-related diseases , '' said Darrell Phillips , vice president of human resources for Hollingsworth & Vose .
`` But you have to recognize that these events took place 35 years ago .
It has no bearing on our work force today .
Yields on money-market mutual funds continued to slide , amid signs that portfolio managers expect further declines in interest rates .
The average seven-day compound yield of the 400 taxable funds tracked by IBC 's Money Fund Report eased a fraction of a percentage point to 8.45 % from 8.47 % for the week ended Tuesday .
Compound yields assume reinvestment of dividends and that the current yield continues for a year .
Average maturity of the funds ' investments lengthened by a day to 41 days , the longest since early August , according to Donoghue 's .
Longer maturities are thought to indicate declining interest rates because they permit portfolio managers to retain relatively higher rates for a longer period .
Shorter maturities are considered a sign of rising rates because portfolio managers can capture higher rates sooner .
The average maturity for funds open only to institutions , considered by some to be a stronger indicator because those managers watch the market closely , reached a high point for the year -- 33 days .
Nevertheless , said Brenda Malizia Negus , editor of Money Fund Report , yields `` may blip up again before they blip down '' because of recent rises in short-term interest rates .
The yield on six-month Treasury bills sold at Monday 's auction , for example , rose to 8.04 % from 7.90 % .
Despite recent declines in yields , investors continue to pour cash into money funds .
Assets of the 400 taxable funds grew by $ 1.5 billion during the latest week , to $ 352.7 billion .
Typically , money-fund yields beat comparable short-term investments because portfolio managers can vary maturities and go after the highest rates .
The top money funds are currently yielding well over 9 % .
Dreyfus World-Wide Dollar , the top-yielding fund , had a seven-day compound yield of 9.37 % during the latest week , down from 9.45 % a week earlier .
It invests heavily in dollar-denominated securities overseas and is currently waiving management fees , which boosts its yield .
The average seven-day simple yield of the 400 funds was 8.12 % , down from 8.14 % .
The 30-day simple yield fell to an average 8.19 % from 8.22 % ; the 30-day compound yield slid to an average 8.53 % from 8.56 % .
J.P. Bolduc , vice chairman of W.R. Grace & Co. , which holds a 83.4 % interest in this energy-services company , was elected a director .
He succeeds Terrence D. Daniels , formerly a W.R. Grace vice chairman , who resigned .
W.R. Grace holds three of Grace Energy 's seven board seats .
Pacific First Financial Corp. said shareholders approved its acquisition by Royal Trustco Ltd. of Toronto for $ 27 a share , or $ 212 million .
The thrift holding company said it expects to obtain regulatory approval and complete the transaction by year-end .
McDermott International Inc. said its Babcock & Wilcox unit completed the sale of its Bailey Controls Operations to Finmeccanica S.p . A. for $ 295 million .
Finmeccanica is an Italian state-owned holding company with interests in the mechanical engineering industry .
Bailey Controls , based in Wickliffe , Ohio , makes computerized industrial controls systems .
It employs 2,700 people and has annual revenue of about $ 370 million .
The federal government suspended sales of U.S. savings bonds because Congress has n't lifted the ceiling on government debt .
Until Congress acts , the government has n't any authority to issue new debt obligations of any kind , the Treasury said .
The government 's borrowing authority dropped at midnight Tuesday to $ 2.80 trillion from $ 2.87 trillion .
Legislation to lift the debt ceiling is ensnarled in the fight over cutting capital-gains taxes .
The House has voted to raise the ceiling to $ 3.1 trillion , but the Senate is n't expected to act until next week at the earliest .
The Treasury said the U.S. will default on Nov. 9 if Congress does n't act by then .
Clark J. Vitulli was named senior vice president and general manager of this U.S. sales and marketing arm of Japanese auto maker Mazda Motor Corp .
In the new position he will oversee Mazda 's U.S. sales , service , parts and marketing operations .
Previously , Mr. Vitulli , 43 years old , was general marketing manager of Chrysler Corp. 's Chrysler division .
He had been a sales and marketing executive with Chrysler for 20 years .
When it 's time for their biannual powwow , the nation 's manufacturing titans typically jet off to the sunny confines of resort towns like Boca Raton and Hot Springs .
Not this year .
The National Association of Manufacturers settled on the Hoosier capital of Indianapolis for its fall board meeting .
And the city decided to treat its guests more like royalty or rock stars than factory owners .
The idea , of course : to prove to 125 corporate decision makers that the buckle on the Rust Belt is n't so rusty after all , that it 's a good place for a company to expand .
On the receiving end of the message were officials from giants like Du Pont and Maytag , along with lesser knowns like Trojan Steel and the Valley Queen Cheese Factory .
For starters , the executives joined Mayor William H. Hudnut III for an evening of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and a guest pianist-comedian Victor Borge .
Champagne and dessert followed .
The next morning , with a police escort , busloads of executives and their wives raced to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , unimpeded by traffic or red lights .
The governor could n't make it , so the lieutenant governor welcomed the special guests .
A buffet breakfast was held in the museum , where food and drinks are banned to everyday visitors .
Then , in the guests ' honor , the speedway hauled out four drivers , crews and even the official Indianapolis 500 announcer for a 10-lap exhibition race .
After the race , Fortune 500 executives drooled like schoolboys over the cars and drivers .
No dummies , the drivers pointed out they still had space on their machines for another sponsor 's name or two .
Back downtown , the execs squeezed in a few meetings at the hotel before boarding the buses again .
This time , it was for dinner and dancing -- a block away .
Under the stars and moons of the renovated Indiana Roof ballroom , nine of the hottest chefs in town fed them Indiana duckling mousseline , lobster consomme , veal mignon and chocolate terrine with a raspberry sauce .
Knowing a tasty -- and free -- meal when they eat one , the executives gave the chefs a standing ovation .
More than a few CEOs say the red-carpet treatment tempts them to return to a heartland city for future meetings .
But for now , they 're looking forward to their winter meeting -- Boca in February .
South Korea registered a trade deficit of $ 101 million in October , reflecting the country 's economic sluggishness , according to government figures released Wednesday .
Preliminary tallies by the Trade and Industry Ministry showed another trade deficit in October , the fifth monthly setback this year , casting a cloud on South Korea 's export-oriented economy .
Exports in October stood at $ 5.29 billion , a mere 0.7 % increase from a year earlier , while imports increased sharply to $ 5.39 billion , up 20 % from last October .
South Korea 's economic boom , which began in 1986 , stopped this year because of prolonged labor disputes , trade conflicts and sluggish exports .
Government officials said exports at the end of the year would remain under a government target of $ 68 billion .
Despite the gloomy forecast , South Korea has recorded a trade surplus of $ 71 million so far this year .
From January to October , the nation 's accumulated exports increased 4 % from the same period last year to $ 50.45 billion .
Imports were at $ 50.38 billion , up 19 % .
Newsweek , trying to keep pace with rival Time magazine , announced new advertising rates for 1990 and said it will introduce a new incentive plan for advertisers .
The new ad plan from Newsweek , a unit of the Washington Post Co. , is the second incentive plan the magazine has offered advertisers in three years .
Plans that give advertisers discounts for maintaining or increasing ad spending have become permanent fixtures at the news weeklies and underscore the fierce competition between Newsweek , Time Warner Inc. 's Time magazine , and Mortimer B. Zuckerman 's U.S. News & World Report .