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CHIP GLUT NEXT? The severe shortage of computer memory chips that has plagued U.S. computer makers all year is abating, industry executives and analysts say. Some companies have added capacity to produce the most advanced memory chips. At the same time, the computer industry has shown signs of a slowdown, which could hasten the end of the shortage. Some industry executives are suggesting that there could be a glut of memory chips by the middle of next year. Now, industry executives say, production capacity has expanded to the point that supply can almost meet demand for the new generation of chip, the one-megabit D-RAM. Supplies remain tighter for the older 256-kilobyte D-RAM and for special video RAMs for use in computer screens. That's because chip companies have diverted capacity from those chips to the more expensive and more profitable one-megabyte chips.

PERNOD BUYS IRISH DISTILLERS: Irish Distillers, the only major producer of Irish whiskey, has fallen into French hands with approval from the Irish government of a friendly $440 million takeover by the Pernod Ricard liquor group. The "white knight" rescue of the Irish institution, with such brand names as Jameson, Bushmills, Powers and Paddy, saved the company from a hostile takeover by the British group Grand Metropolitan PLC. The decision by Commerce and Industry Minister Albert Reynolds ended a six-month fight for Distillers, which had included bouts in the British and Irish courts, Britain's Takeover Panel and the European Community's Executive Commission. Reynolds approved the takeover only on the condition that the French group did not sell off any of the brands without his consent.