Also . . .

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police formed a special fraud squad to probe the Bre-X Minerals Ltd. scandal, while the mining company’s ousted exploration chief, John Felderhof, issued a statement saying he was unaware of any fraud at the Indonesian site. . . . Internet commerce company Nets Inc., led by former Lotus Development Corp. Chief Executive Jim Manzi, said it filed for Chapter 11 reorganization under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code because it could not get enough long-term financing.