February 8, 2000

Market Place column on recent rise in price of gold and how far can rally go; says it seems something more has to change--both in market psychology and in global economy--before gold can move much higher and stay there; says speculators that have been betting for years that price of gold will fall have to change their minds and bet on rising price; graph (M)

Christie's, faced with class-action lawsuits and three-year antitrust investigation into possible collusion between Sotheby's and Christie's, announces that it is changing fees it charges buyers and sellers; Christie's will now give customers who buy a lot of art cheaper rates when they sell art; previously, sellers paid fixed scale of charges ranging from 2 percent to 20 percent based upon value of property sold at Christie's during calendar year; as of March 31, Christie's will increase its buyer's commission, charging buyers 17.5 percent on first $80,000 and 10 percent on any amount over that; since 1993 both Sotheby's and Christie's charged buyers 15 percent for first $50,000 they spent and 10 percent for everything after that; people at both auction houses say Christie's new fee structure is reaction to Justice Department's probe and to numerous civil lawsuits that were filed last week by angry buyers and sellers who contend that auction houses inflated their fees as result of illegal price-fixing; Justice Department has declined to comment on its case since beginning investigation in 1997 (M)

France gives school nurses right to dispense emergency contraception pills to students, becoming first country in world to do so; pills will be available at high schools and junior high schools, where students are as young as 12 years; although nurses are advised to make efforts to inform child's parents, they are not required to; French health and education officials hope policy will help reduce unwanted pregnancies and lower country's abortion rate, among highest in European Union; while measure faces opposition from some parents and family rights groups nationwide, its has found wide supporters in working-class city of Trappes on outskirts of Paris, where many of students come from North African immigrant families who rarely discuss sex with children; women's groups, abortion rights activists and some parents groups see it as major step toward making contraception more accessible to young people; map (M)

Michiko Kakutani reviews book Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike; photos (M)

Economic policy debate in Presidential election turns on whether Ronald Reagan's tax cuts or Bill Clinton's success in eliminating deficit deserves more credit for America's recent prosperity; representing Clinton boom is Vice Pres Al Gore, whose economnic platform calls for combining fiscal conservation and incremental government activism that is all but identical to program pursued by Clinton; representing forces of Reaganism is Texas Gov George Bush, who is running on big tax cut intended not just to bolster economic growth but to keep politicians in Washington from fritting away federal budget surplus on what Republicans see as costly and wasteful government programs; graphs; photos (M)

Retrospective show of work of multimedia artist Nam June Paik is set to open at Solomon R Guggenheim Museum; exhibition of paintings and drawings by Mexican Surrealist Remedios Varo is set to open at National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington; Dallas Symphony Orchestra, led by Andrew Litton, to perform premiere of Lowell Lieberman Symphony, Dallas; Metropolitan Museum of Art to open exhibition of sculptures by Tilman Riemenschneider; photos (M)

US Repr Charles B Rangel has been potent and effective fundraiser for Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is raising money for Democratic Party in its efforts to win back House from Republicans; few Democratic members have helped raise more cash than 15-term congressman from Harlem, and few stand to benefit as directly from Democratic victory; as senior member of New York Congressional delegation, he would become chairman of powerful House Ways and Means Committee; photo (M)

Article discusses everyday concerns of teachers and staff at Intermediate School 62 in Kensington section of Brooklyn; major priorities include dealing with suspended and returning students, counting students at risk of failing and having to go to summer school, drawing up spending plans, teaching English to foreign students and maintaining classes and lunch servings; school principal Nancy T Brogan comments (M)

Middle East peace efforts suffer additional setback as Palestinian Authority freezes talks with Israel and releases from prison Dr Abdel-Aziz Rantisi, charismatic Islamic fundamentalist leader who is outspoken opponent of peace effort and Authority itself; US and Israel interpret move as provocative and intentional; outlook for peace is further complicated as Israel conducts air strikes in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah guerrillas in retaliation for deaths of five Israeli soldiers in past two weeks; escalation may affect resumption of talks with Syria, which Israel holds responsible for recent fighting in Lebanon; leaves Israeli Prime Min Ehud Barak, whose agenda has focused almost entirely on peacemaking since taking office in July 1999, struggling on two fronts at once; photos (M)

Charlotte Hornets defeat New York Knickerbockers, 95-85; photo (M)

Clyde Haberman NYC column discusses importance of newspaper headline editors to Presidential candidates; notes that screaming headlines favor politicians with catchy nicknames; contends Republican primary candidate John McCain does not have enough name recognition for readers to identify him by any other name but McCain (M)

Interview with primatologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, author of book Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants and Natural Selection, on how selective forces have shaped maternal behaviors, impulses and strategies over tens of thousands of years; photos (M)