You might have thought nothing even remotely positive could come out of the embarassing corporate espionage brouhaha between Procter & Gamble Co. and rival Unilever earlier this year.

        Wrong.

        P&G's forthright admissions about the incident, which led to a $10 million payment to Unilever, earned it a “Best Candor” notation from Fortune magazine in its year-end edition hitting store shelves now.

        “The George Washington of business this year, P&G couldn't tell a lie,” it said.

        Remember that a P&G contractor got caught going through Unilever's trash. P&G discovered it and immediately went to Unilever and confessed.

        The award for “Worst Candor,” by the way, went to flameout-king Enron Corp.

        Procter also got credit for the “Best Corporate Marriage” for its peanut butter-and-jelly sale of Jif peanut butter to J.M. Smucker Co.

        “P&G threw in Crisco to grease the way,” the magazine said.

        Have a tip about a Tristate company that should be included in our Buzz? Call 768-8147 or e-mail business@enquirer.com.

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