November 10, 1992

As life expectancy increases and the time from retirement to old age stretches out, men and women find themselves with markedly different prospects, according to a new report from the Census Bureau. Men tend to die earlier than women, but if they survive, men are more likely to be healthy, self-sufficient and living with their families rather than alone.

Lee B. Stern was on his way to Florida on Oct. 22, far from the action, when Darrell M. Zimmerman strode onto the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade and fired off a barrage of orders for Treasury bond futures and options that confused and jolted bond markets around the world. Despite not being there at the time, the 65-year-old Mr. Stern has become the focal point of much of the resulting controversy. Stern & Company, his family firm, had agreed earlier this year to process Mr. Zimmerman's trades and guarantee settlement of resulting debts to other traders. But when the call came at the end of the day's trading demanding millions of dollars to cover Mr. Zimmerman's liabilities, Mr. Stern balked.

METRO DIGEST CONSIDERING WACHTLER'S FUTURE After meeting in an extraordinary closed-door session, New York State's highest court decided to allow Sol Wachtler to remain as its chief judge despite his arrest on extortion charges. The decision by the Court of Appeals capped a day of high drama in Albany. A1. Weeks of investigation, then an arrest. A1.

Corruption Choking India Whether it is a payoff of millions to fix a sale or a few extra rupees for a rail ticket, India's corruption is beginning to anger its citizens. Page A12. Perot Files Searched The State Department, criticized for searching the passport files of Bill Clinton and his mother, did the same to Ross perot. Page A16. The Arts Beyond Moscow In Russia's provincial cities, the arts appear steadier and more settled than in the volatile metropolises of the post-Communist era. Second of three articles, page C15.

THE cheetah may be a gorgeous Maserati among mammals, able to sprint at speeds approaching 70 miles an hour, yet it has not been able to run away from its many miseries. Once the cat ranged throughout the African continent, the Near East and into southern India; now it is extinct almost everywhere but in scattered patches of the sub-Sahara. Farmers and ranchers in Namibia shoot them as vermin. On reserves, where cheetahs are often forced into unnatural proximity with other predators, they are at the bottom of the meat eaters' grim hierarchy; lions will go out of their way to destroy cheetah cubs, while hyenas, leopards and even vultures can easily chase away a cheetah from its hard-caught prey.