The German government found doctors were prescribing the drug as a pain-killer. Meconic posted annual pre-tax losses of pounds 2.5m, down from a pounds 6.8m profit.. BT goes Clear MCI WORLDCOM, the American long-distance phone company, has sold its 25 per cent stake in Clear Communications of New Zealand to British Telecommunications Terms were not disclosed. MCI WorldCom had agreed to sell its interest in Clear Communications following WorldCom's acquisition of MCI Communications last year.. 3i's Valley move MARTIN GAGEN, a director of private equity firm 3i Group, is to head a seven-strong US technology team to be based in 3i's Silicon Valley office 3i said the move "signified its commitment to the US"..

THE EUROPEAN Commission warned yesterday that it "remains to be convinced" that the Government's pounds 152m aid package for Rover's Longbridge plant is justified. A statement insisted that the deal was far from done, despite the Government's "ample coverage" two days ago of its formal agreement with BMW. "It should be quite clear that the UK Government must notify the aid to the commission and indeed withhold any payment until the commission has formerly approved the proposal," said a statement.. AEGON, THE giant Dutch insurer which owns Scottish Equitable is considering stepping in with a counter-bid for the pounds 7bn agreed for Lloyds TSB to take over Scottish Widows on Wednesday. The move could give Aegon the presence it has long been seeking in the UK long-term savings market. Although Equitable has been a big contributor to the Dutch group's earnings, Aegon has admitted for some time that the business has neither the scale nor the brand presence that it is really seeking and which Widows would provide. A bid now would run counter to the group's stated philosophy of avoiding contested situations. However industry sources say that the opportunity may be such that Aegon is prepared to set aside that principle in this case.Given Equitable's presence in Edinburgh in asset management, and back office administration, a deal would provide scope for cost savings which might enable Aegon to justify a higher price than the pounds 7bn being offered by Lloyds.

There is clearly a potential overlap with Scottish Widows' own investment management and administration in Edinburgh. An Aegon spokesman refused to comment yesterday.City sources have said over the past few days that a continental European buyer is far more likely to be in a position to offer to beat Lloyds' price. The Royal Bank of Scotland which was rumoured to be considering a counter-bid specifically ruled itself out yesterday. Other British high street banks have refused to comment officially.

Investment bankers said Lloyds' bid was reckoned to be generous, but not a knock-out blow that would deter other bidders from moving in.. Japan's rogue trader loses appeal A COURT in Tokyo has rejected an appeal by Yasuo Hamanaka (pictured), Sumitomo Corp's former rogue copper trader, and upheld a lower court ruling in March 1998 which jailed Hamanaka for eight years for fraud and forgery charges The judge said there were "no extenuating circumstances". Hamanaka has admitted charges but his defence team insisted that slack monitoring by Sumitomo was also to blame Sumitomo has denied any involvement.. RBS rules out Widows counterbid THE ROYAL BANK of Scotland yesterday formally ruled out gatecrashing the pounds 7bn takeover by Lloyds-TSB of Scottish Widows, the Edinburgh based life insurance mutual. The statement was in response to widespread speculation that the bank, which has two joint ventures with Widows, was preparing a counterbid. Bankers say that they believe it unlikely that a British clearing bank would take on Lloyds. However, they said that a bid from an insurance group such as CGU or a foreign player such as Allianz was more likely..