August 24, 1999

Storm's Well-Chosen Path Hurricane Bret missed populous areas on the South Texas coast, leaving most buildings standing and not a death or serious injury. PAGE A10 Resignation in China Inquiry The Energy Department official who led the initial inquiry into China's suspected theft of American nuclear secrets is leaving. PAGE A12

Stock prices surge on August 23 amid prediction that Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for last time in 1999 at its August 24 meeting; Dow Jones industrial average gains 199.15 points, closing at record 11,299.76; Nasdaq composite rises 71.24 points, to 2719.57 and Standard & Poor's index gains 23.61 points, to 1360.22; yield on 30-year Treasury bond remains unchanged at 5.985 percent; investor optimism also triggered by economic data indicating inflation remains under control and that growth in output is slowing (M)

New York Mets beat Houston Astros, 3-2; photo (M)

Metafilmics has agreed to produce film, The Quantum Project, that will be initially releaseed through the Web; it represents one of first times that movie by established film maker is being made specifically for initial Internet distribution; film, directed by Francis Glebas with $3 million budget, will be distributed by Sightsound.com, Web site that will charge a fee to those who want to download movie, probably a few dollars for someone who wants access to movie for only a day or five days; film is scheduled to be available next May (M)

Clyde Haberman column notes that 10 years ago Major League Baseball banned Pete Rose, one of game's all-time greats, for life for gambling and questions whether there is no chance for his redemption in sports world that has given second and even third chances to players who abuse drugs, rape women and choke their coaches (M)