March 22, 1999

Clinton Administration dispatches special envoy Richard C Holbrooke to meet with Yugoslav Pres Slobodan Milosevic in what officials say it last chance to persuade him to accept peace agreement for Kosovo and avoid bombing by NATO; Sec of State Madeleine K Albright says Milosevic will be presented with 'stark choice' of either agreeing to settlement signed in Paris or face NATO air strikes; US officials at NATO headquarters in Brussels present NATO ambassadors with stepped-up plan for bombing in move intended to strengthen Holbrooke's position with Milosevic; national security adviser Samuel R Berger says another diplomatic push by Holbrooke is justified one final time, even as Administration comes under criticism for handling of Milosevic; Serbian forces seem unintimidated; take advantage of withdrawal of more than 1,300 international monitors to continue rampage through Kosovo, burning ethnic Albanian villages in region at heart of conflict (M)

OPEC Plans Production Cut OPEC plans to take more than two million barrels of oil a day out of world markets starting in April, the first time in 13 years that it has taken so drastic a move. Page A6. Balloonists Back to Earth After a final night soaring across North Africa, the first balloonists to circle the globe touched down in southern Egypt -- and then spent hours waiting for a ride. Page A8. A Run Is Seen on Groceries Food stamp recipients mobbed stores across New Jersey after an effort to repair a year 2000 computer problem backfired, adding money to their accounts. Page B1. Cable Merger Talks The Comcast Corporation and Mediaone Group Inc., two of the nation's largest cable operators, were in talks about a possible $40 billion merger. Page A14. The Unhappiest Ending When a serial killer murdered his sister, Jim Larson burned with hate. When a tourist killed his wife, he went numb. Now he must decide if he will watch the killers die. Page A14.

Shoppers pack grocery stores throughout New Jersey after food stamp accounts were accidently credited 11 days early because of error resulting from effort to fix year 2000 problems; about 180,000 families could have used next month's food stamps after premature credit showed up in accounts of 90 percent of state's food stamp recipients; state officials are still trying to determine what to do about mistake, which could put state in position of losing millions of dollars if no penalty is imposed on those who use credit to shop for food (M)

Engineers are using computers to design and refine assembly lines; factory-simulation software is enabling major companies to re-use existing assembly lines instead of building new ones; software suppliers include Tecnomatix Technologies Inc, Dassault Systemes and Aspen Technology; photos (M)

Corporations are confounding widely held view that inflation is inevitable result of sustained prosperity, eight years into US economic expansion, by foregoing price increases in face of intense global competition, while raising wages and making healthy profits; new labor-saving efficiencies, gained through greater flexibility in manipulating labor costs, is key element in their success; many, such as Maytag Corp, have resorted to popular practice of 'accordian' scheduling involving use of temporary workers and part-timers, whose wages are up but whose hours are adjusted day to day, and more have adopted practice of shifting work to lower-cost cities; photos; graphs (M)