August 14, 1992

WITHIN the Great Hall of Ellis Island one night last week, the sparkling Burgundy flowed abundantly, the aroma of Italian cuisine beckoned from the buffet tables, and, with the call to dinner, the festive crowd began to move through the lines with none of the anxiety known to many of their immigrant ancestors who passed through this same hall, without food or fanfare, several decades ago. Back then, beginning in 1892 and continuing until 1954, an uncertain hospitality confronted the newly arrived boat passengers who stood waiting to be interrogated by immigration agents and examined by doctors -- and possibly rejected for some perceived flaw in their health, or their politics, or their character. But on this evening, the only immigrants under scrutiny were those depicted on the walls of Ellis Island's new photo exhibition, which was the reason for this social gathering: to celebrate the struggles and achievements of the largest single ethnic group that had ever been processed through here -- the Italians.

Coors adds Virginia water to its beer. Some people think this is a big deal. The Anheuser-Busch Companies for one, which recently attacked Coors in an advertising campaign for mixing "local water" from Virginia with its vaunted Rocky Mountain spring water -- on which Coors built its reputation -- to make beer for East Coast guzzlers. Coors responded by suing Anheuser-Busch.

A few banks from a 152-member worldwide consortium that lend to the Chrysler Corporation are refusing to renew their loans, threatening a new $6.8 billion loan package that the auto maker says is crucial to its revitalization -- so crucial that it has asked Alan Greenspan to intervene on its behalf. The importance of the loan package to Chrysler's future and the danger posed by the reluctance of the banks were underscored last week when the auto maker asked Mr. Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, to intercede with officials of the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank. A spokesman for the Fed, however, declined to confirm whether Mr. Greenspan had done so, or even whether anyone from Chrysler had asked the chairman to do so. He cited policy reasons for not commenting.

Gold prices plunged yesterday to their lowest level in six years, provoked by a spiral of selling by investors and speculators worried that this month's low inflation figures spell the end of a recent rally in gold. The price of gold for delivery this month dropped $4.50 an ounce yesterday, to $334.10 on the Commodity Exchange in New York. In the last three days, August gold on the exchange has dropped $16.30 an ounce, or 5 percent. In London, gold slumped $9.50 an ounce yesterday, to $337.30.

Word of James A. Baker's imminent return to the White House to help President Bush's flagging re-election campaign played an unexpected role yesterday in a sharp selloff of the bond market. Traders said remarks by Mr. Baker, as reported by a news agency early in the afternoon, helped send the market reeling, just as it was digesting the auction of $10 billion in new 30-year bonds, the third tier of the Treasury's big quarterly sale this week. Some traders interpreted the remarks to mean that a new Bush Administration would be more interested in stimulating the economy than in reducing the Federal deficit.