Short Takes: ConAgra Butters Up To Genetically Altered Corn; Ford Tells Workers 'Buy Volvo!'

Food conglomerate ConAgra Inc. says it will accept genetically engineered corn and undertake identity preservation efforts to ensure it is not shipped to nations that have not approved the products. The announcement comes nearly two months after Archer Daniels Midland, North America's largest corn processor, and A.E. Staley Manufacturing, the third largest corn processor in the U.S., said they would not accept genetically modified corn not accepted by the European Union. . . . Lucent Technologies denied that it has completed a deal to buy Israeli cable modem chip maker Libit Signal Processing, as reported in Israel's Globes daily. . . . EMS Technologies Canada Ltd. reports it has received a contract from Nortel Networks to supply advanced communications hardware and software for the ASTRA satellite network of Societe Europeenne des Satellites, and its Advanced Return Channel System. Financial details weren't available. . . .Ford president and CEO Jac Nasser told employees this week that Volvos will be available for purchase on the company's employee discount plans in the U.S. and Canada. . . . Cisco Systems Inc. has invested $7 million in Total Network Solutions Inc. to help expand the company. The financing will go toward geographic expansion, staffing, and boosting the company's focus on the services providers market.