AUTOS

Deere’s Third-Quarter Earnings Surprisingly High: The earnings of $100.1 million, or $1.31 a share, of the Moline, Ill.-based Deere & Co. were more than 10 times the $9.1 million Deere earned in the three months ended July 31, 1992. The farm equipment maker said revenue for the third quarter was $2.05 billion, up 17% from $1.75 billion for the same quarter last year. The company’s combines and a new line of large tractors are doing well in North America, and a general economic recovery and the wet Midwest summer boosted sales of lawn and ground care products, Chairman Hans W. Becherer said.