August 29, 1998

On Pro Football column on Bill Parcells' plan for New York Jets during regular season (M)

$241 billion one-week drop in stock values in Japan, which exceeds value of Russia's annual economic output, underscores Japan's relative importance to world economy at time when nation remains in recession and is largely paralyzed politically and economically; Japanese stocks drop 3.5 percent in day, to lowest level since 1986, and long-term bond yields fall to 1.07 percent, record low, while opposition parties block Prime Min Keizo Obuchi's modest plan to revive banking system; photo (M)

More than 6,000 pilots at Northwest Airlines walk off the job, shutting down nation's fourth-largest airline; strike follows 12 days of nearly nonstop negotiations that failed to produce a tentative contract; Pres Clinton, who ordered striking pilots at American Airlines back to work last year, declines to intervene and calls on both sides to continue negotiations; photo (M)

Three more big banks, BankAmerica, BankBoston and J P Morgan report trading losses in Russia; BankAmerica posts pretax trading loss of $220 million over last two months, mostly from Russia; BankBoston puts pretax trading losses at $30 million, only $10 million of which is related to Russia; J P Morgan puts Russia exposure at $160 million; table of big banks' foreign exposures (M)

Central Synagogue, 126-year-old landmark on Manhattan's East Side, is heavily damaged in five-alarm fire; blaze was apparently started by worker's blowtorch during renovations; photo (M)