ALSO.. .

* The Federal Reserve approved a hostile takeover bid by North Fork Bancorp Inc. for much-larger Dime Bancorp Inc. in a proposal that Dime strongly opposed. Although the Fed ruling removed a key hurdle, it remained unclear whether the deal would be completed. North Fork, based in Melville, N.Y., said its directors were postponing a decision on whether to drop its $2.3-billion bid. The bid expires Friday. Dime is the 10th-largest bank in New York.