December 7, 1992

After more than 20 years as a magnet for large corporations, the lush suburban landscape of Fairfield County, Conn., has become home to hundreds of vacant executive offices that analysts say are among the worst white elephants of American business. It was places like Stamford, Greenwich, Westport, Fairfield and Danbury that provided new and spacious homes for the first large wave of corporations that moved from Manhattan in the late 1960's and the 1970's, beginning a trend that permanently decentralized big business in the New York region.

The economic team that President-elect Bill Clinton has chosen and a recent pickup in economic growth mean that Mr. Clinton is likely to take a tougher approach to reducing the Federal budget deficit than he expressed during the campaign, transition team members said this weekend. In interviews, a number of advisers said the encouraging economic news and the likelihood that the President-elect would choose a deficit "hawk" to be his budget director made it less likely that Mr. Clinton would decide to push the deficit up temporarily to give the economy a quick jolt.

In a lawless capital that has lost its banks, its national airline and its everyday comforts, hardheaded residents have learned to make do. American dollars flow in through the new bankers, Somali merchants who return from the Middle East with suitcases of dollars and charge a fee for the service.

New Turn on Nixon Tapes White House tapes show Richard Nixon tried to link George McGovern to George Wallace's assailant, The New Yorker magazine says. Page A16. Progress on Latin Debt Argentina and its creditor banks signed a final agreement that will effectively reduce its commercial bank debt by 35 percent. Page D1. 300,000 Join German March Germans marched peacefully through Munich in a demonstration against intolerance. Page A8. Churches Go to Clinton Congregations in Washington are sending warm invitations to the President-elect and his family. Page B9. U.S. Wins Davis Cup Jim Courier beat Jakob Hlasek to clinch a tennis victory over the Swiss. SportsMonday, page C3.

The insurance regulators of New York and New Jersey agreed yesterday on how to resolve the largest insurance company failure in history, increasing the interest that will be paid on the savings of hundreds of thousands of customers of the failed Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company. But most customers may still have to wait up to seven years before they have access to all their money. Under revisions to the plan, which must still be approved by a New Jersey court and some other states, the minimum interest paid to many pension and life insurance customers on their savings will be 5 percent. The original plan announced by representatives of the insurance industry and New Jersey officials in August promised them no more than a minimum of 3.5 percent.