Et Cetera

A COSTLY POLICY

Like a good neighbor, State Farm was there last week, settling the most expensive sex-discrimination suit in U.S. history. After 13 years of litigation, the nation's largest home and auto insurer agreed to pay 814 California women $157 million for discriminatory hiring practices during the 1970s.

TWO SUITORS

A battle for control of Midland Bank has begun. Last week Lloyds Bank announced that it was considering making a $6.6 billion bid for Midland, Britain's third largest bank, besting the $5.8 billion offer made by Hong Kong-based HSBC Holdings. If the deal goes through, the Lloyds-Midland combo, with assets of $197 billion, will rank 18th in the world.