Initial Publications of Stow, publisher of three business-to-business titles, has been sold to an Akron publisher, Lippincott & Peto Inc., which also publishes Rubber World Magazine.

Initial publishes Wire & Cable Technology International, Fastener Technology International and Wire Forming Technology International. Initial also publishes two annual industry directories, a newsletter and other ancillary products.

Harry London Candies Inc.'s operations in Green will remain intact and the company will keep its name and product line after the $85 million sale of its owner, Fannie May Confections Brands Inc.

Fannie May Confections will continue to be based in Chicago, and its senior management will remain with the business, which will become a subsidiary of the buyer, 1-800-Flowers.com.

Progressive Corp. in the Cleveland suburb of Mayfield Village accepted the resignation of Robert T. Williams, an executive officer of the company, on Friday, effective May 17. Williams is president of the company's drive group of insurance companies.

Auto parts maker Delphi Corp. can offer as many as 13,000 hourly employees lump-sum payments of $35,000 to retire, a bankruptcy judge ruled Friday.

Meanwhile, GM has agreed to cooperate with unsecured creditors of Delphi that are looking to challenge GM if it attempts to seize big payouts from a restructured Delphi, lawyers in the case said Friday.

Delphi's unsecured creditors' committee includes representatives of companies including Electronic Data Systems Corp. and General Electric Co.

The company has asked an arbitration panel to void its contract with pilots. The panel must rule by April 15, and the pilots have authorized their union leader to call a strike anytime after April 17.

Time Inc., the magazine unit of Time Warner Inc., cut 250 jobs Friday as part of an ongoing shakeup at the publisher of Sports Illustrated and People. The latest round of job cuts chiefly affects midlevel to junior-level business personnel across most of the company's more than 150 titles.

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