December 1, 1999

a clinton advise

Nasser K Ahmed, just freed from Federal detention, wants to revive Islamic movement that US officials say was haven for terrorists who bombed World Trade Center; Ahmed praises imprisoned sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and hopes to revive Abu Bakr Mosque, which Ahmed administered; photo; FBI has warned that release would raise Ahmed's stature among Islamic radicals; Immigration Service is trying to deport Ahmed back to his native Egypt; he is seeking asylum (M)

Conseco, Its Stock Sagging, Focuses on Balance Sheet Conseco, an insurance holding company with a sagging stock price, announced a reversal of strategy. It cut its common stock dividend and agreed to raise $478 million by selling convertible preferred stock on extraordinarily generous terms to a private investment firm. Conseco's shares rose $1.6875, to $20.25, on the news. And Moody's Investors Service said that when the financing by the investment firm is completed, it would raise Conseco's rating from junk bond level to investment grade. Floyd Norris: Market Place. [Page C18.]

Bizarre 1890's deaths and disasters in one town. Audacious but shallow.

Rockefeller Center in New York, quintessential American landmark, has moved back and forth from American to Japanese to American hands in last 15 years, and is 'Rockefeller' in name only; center is now in hands of deep-pocketed investor group led by Goldman Sachs; Rockefeller Group, Rockefeller Center Inc until 1984, is also not owned by family anymore, having been sold to Mitsubishi; company is building office tower on 49th Street and manages four skyscrapers on 6th Avenue; executives admit they spend more time catering to Japanese bosses than they did to Rockefellers; add that running famous landmark was labor of love, not profit; photos (M)