November 6, 1997

Britain's culture secretary, Chris Smith, proposes to have Royal Opera share its Covent Garden theater with English National Opera and to close down London Coliseum, where national opera is now based; London's operatic and dance worlds assail idea, saying it would ruin individuality of two opera companies and mean end of London as powerful operatic force; photo (M)

New York Giants Coach Jim Fassel announces that Danny Kanell will be his starting quarterback for rest of season, officially ending Dave Brown's four-year run as starter; Giants are undefeated since Kanell relieved injured Brown five games ago; photo (M)

Peter Passell Economic Scene column outlines position of some experts that inflation is understated and that current rosy economic picture may prove transitory; says experts believe that inflation has been camouflaged by onetime factors such as strong dollar, stable health costs and changes in way price index is put together; notes that if their message is convincing, it could bring pre-emptive strike in form of increase in interest rates; says there is no evidence that Federal Reserve has yet adopted their pessimistic position; graph (M)

To accommodate election news and seasonal advertising, this section is printed in two parts today. The second part begins with page A33.

Lawyer Christopher H Lunding argues his own case before United States Supreme Court; case involves $3,724 dispute with New York State tax authorities that could well end up changing way New York treats tax deductions claimed by people who live outside state but who earn income and owe taxes in state; Lunding was rebuffed in 1990 in his attempt to deduct 46 percent of his alimony obligation from his New York income tax (M)