TWO BRAZILIAN SHIPPING FIRMS SETTLE WITH STRIKERS Two small shipping companies reached a pay deal with striking seamen late yesterday, but union leaders said most of Brazil's 40,000 seamen were still on strike. A union spokesman in Rio de Janeiro said the seamen had accepted a 120 pct pay raise offer from the companies, Globo and Flumar, which have less than 200 employees each. The two-week strike comes as Brazil faces a debt crisis and is delaying exports badly needed to earn foreign exchange. Labour Minister Almir Pazzionotto said the government will not force a settlement of the strike, which was ruled illegal last Friday.