November 3, 1990

The insurance industry, long accustomed to operating out of the limelight, is being challenged on many fronts by consumer groups and government officials. Frustrated by sharp rate increases and by restrictions on coverage, they are seeking a greater say in what insurers charge, whom they cover, what they must pay for and how they invest their money. "We have had times on and off again in this country when insurance regulators have become more aggressive," said A. Michael Frinquelli, Salomon Brothers' insurance analyst. "But I can never remember a time when the Ralph Naders of the world found insurance to be such an interesting subject."

Just when New York can least afford to lose them, several major financial institutions are considering leaving the city and taking thousands of jobs with them. The biggest and most immediate concern to New York is the possible departure of the five commodities exchanges, where options and futures for items like gold, platinum, aluminum, oil, coffee, cocoa, sugar, orange juice and currencies are traded in a frenzied choreography of capitalism in the World Trade Center complex. They are the hub of an industry that annually generates $1.3 billion a year in goods, services and salaries.

Since the beginning of the Persian Gulf crisis, Secretary of State James A. Baker 3d has shared President Bush's instinct to confront Iraq, but senior Administration officials say he has been a brake on any immediate impulse to use military force. While Mr. Baker has not told even his closest aides the advice he has been giving the President, a range of senior officials have a strong impression that Mr. Baker has been motivated by an acute awareness of the risks, international and domestic, that could flow from a major military conflict.

Despite encouraging signs of national recovery, President Guillermo Endara continues to face political and economic frustrations as his Government tries to rebuild Panama after two decades of military rule. Since the early morning of Dec. 20, when Mr. Endara was sworn in at a United States military base as American troops massed to invade the country, the new Government has succeeded in staking out the basics of its political and economic authority.

The collection of 19th- and 20th-century art assembled by William S. Paley, valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars, will go to the Museum of Modern Art. Among the masterpieces collected by the former chairman of CBS is "Boy Leading a Horse," from 1906, a large-scale painting from Picasso's rose period that was a centerpiece of the Picasso survey at the Modern in 1980. Yesterday Richard E. Oldenburg, director of the Modern, cited Mr. Paley's gift as "one of the most significant ever presented to this institution." He added, "At a time when donations of great works of art to museums have been declining because of tax changes and soaring values, this magnificent donation of masterpieces sets an extraordinary example of generosity and public spirit."