News In Brief

Striking a deal vital to its proposed merger with America Online, Time Warner agreed to carry AOL's chief Internet service rival, Earthlink, on its high-speed cable systems. The Federal Trade Commission has insisted that customers be offered a choice of competitors for broadband services on Time Warner's lines. Specifics of the deal with Earthlink, the nation's No. 2 Internet provider, were not disclosed.

Dean Witter Reynolds was accused of fraudulently marketing volatile bond funds as secure, conservative investments for elderly clients. A formal complaint filed by the National Association of Securities Dealers alleged that about 30,000 investors lost $65 million after the value of the Term Trusts dropped precipitously in 1994. Dean Witter, which the NASD claimed pocketed more than $119 million from the transactions, denied the allegations.

In the first reported deal of its type, Winterthur, the insurance subsidiary of Credit Suisse Corp., announced it has taken an equity stake in Chinese underwriter Tai Kang Life. The latter holds a license to write life policies nationwide. Zurich-based Winterthur called the deal "strategic" but would not comment on its size or cost. Allowing foreign insurers access to the Chinese market has been a key sticking point in the Beijing government's efforts to join the World Trade Organization.

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society