Also

* The New York Stock Exchange approved a revised plan by Sovereign Bancorp Inc. to sell a major stake to Spanish banking conglomerate Banco Santander Central Hispano , handing a victory to the company in a dispute with shareholders. Major Sovereign investors had decried the deal and had appealed to the NYSE to block the transaction or force a shareholder vote.

* Federal prosecutors began proceedings to dismiss an indictment against Enron Corp.’s former accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, by asking a judge to return the case to a lower court.

* L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. and Northrop Grumman Corp. will jointly bid on a U.S. Army contract valued at as much as $2.6 billion to provide interpretation, interrogation and translation services in Iraq.

* Digital cinema venture Christie/AIX said Sony Pictures Entertainment agreed to release upcoming movies in digital form.

* Qualcomm Inc. said it picked Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. for a contract chip deal for mobile phones to meet anticipated stronger growth.