September 8, 1998

Arkangel, London company, reaches halfway point in its $3 million project to produce audio book of Shakespeare's 38 plays, including his 1613-14 collaboration with John Fletcher, The Two Noble Kinsmen; project is expected to give nearly 600 actors work reading plays; photo of actors Stella Gonet and Roger Allam recording Measure for Measure in London sound studio (M)

George Vecsey Sports of The Times column discusses Mark McGwire's tying Roger Maris's season home run record of 61 (M)

Many money-losing big Asian corporations are being kept afloat by governments and legal systems that routinely protect tycoons from their own incompetence; failure to eliminate feeble companies and trim fat is hurting region's long-term outlook; big Asian companies often hang on until they expire, rather than liquidate selves or file for bankruptcy protection; bankruptcy laws are vague in most of Asia and offer little chance for thorough restructuring; graphs of business failures and of liabilities of failed businesses; photos (M)

Even though Russia's Communist Party, largest in Parliament, contemptuously rejected for second time Pres Boris Yeltsin's choice of Viktor S Chernomyrdin as Prime Minister--demanding restoration of some of its old power and threatening to block new government--it is not clear to party members what needs to be done to alleviate economic and political crisis; some unreconstructed radicals yearn to oust Yeltsin's administration and restore monopolistic control of Soviet days, others want state control of major industries and banks but would leave part of private sector untouched; some are so house-trained that Yeltsin long ago invited them to join his Cabinet (M)

Market Place article on big premium being paid for shares of famed investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc; shares are up 30.4 percent for year even as company's eight major stockholdings have lost 6 percent; are trading at 2.4 times value of these investments, up from 1.4 times at end of 1997 (M)