May 11, 2000

South Africa is trying to overcome view that its stock exchange is hotbed for insider trading; country wants to maintain its growth and help assure foreign investors that it is just as attractive as other emerging markets; regulators, backed by new law, have taken aim at insider traders; country is slowly rebuilding its economy, and it craves foreign investment thriving stock exchange could bring; Peter Redman, former chairman of Johannesburg Stock Exchange, is senior surveillance adviser for market; Johannesburg Stock Exchange's trading volume increased nearly ninefold, from 5.2 billion shares at end of 1995, to 43.1 billion at end of 1999; charts; photos (M)

Analysis of Microsoft Corp's alternative to Justice Department's plan to split up company; says Microsoft's legal protest is essay of grim futurism; holds apocalytic passages seem intended to warn Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson that splitting up Microsoft would be dangerous gamble to take with company that is pillar of nation's high-technology economy; chart; photo (M)

Third Person Sought in Virus Officials investigating the ''I Love You'' computer virus said that they were seeking a student who wrote a thesis proposal for a program with similar elements. PAGE C1

New services, sometimes called bill aggregators, will receive customers' bills, display them online for customer to view and pay them from customers' accounts as directed; such services are step toward day when everyone will get and pay bills electronically; services are hoping to become profitable by building market and convincing merchants to automate their billing; number of online financial service providers plan to offer service; photos (M)

Joyce Purnick Metro Matters column contends that continuing drama of Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani's increasingly public private life is nothing short of astonishing; discusses possible impact of his revealing marital problems and other affairs of heart on his race for Senate as well effectiveness as mayor (M)

Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Arthur Levitt calls for increased oversight of accounting firms and new rules on conflicts of interest at firms, saying that both are necessary to keep auditors independent and standards of financial reporting in US high, speech at New York University law school; says accounting professionals are being tempted to lower auditing standards to keep paying customers happy; industry's reaction of Levitt's speech is generally supportive; photo (Market Place column) (M)

William C Rhoden Sports of The Times column discusses New York Knickerbockers preparing for third game of playoff series against Miami Heat; photo (M)

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani was still the Republican candidate for Senate yesterday. But his marital problems caused turmoil in the New York Republican Party, and party leaders turned their sights on two men -- a Long Island congressman and a wealthy philanthropist -- to step in if Mr. Giuliani dropped out of the race. They were Representative Rick A. Lazio of Long Island, and Theodore J. Forstmann, who financed a program to allow poor children to attend private schools. Article, Page B4.

Antitrust Case Settlement Could Lower Prices of CD's The Federal Trade Commission settled an antitrust case against the nation's five largest music companies that could result in significant price cuts for compact discs. Officials said the settlement completed a two-year investigation that found the companies used illegal marketing agreements to end a price war, inflate the prices of compact discs and sharply restrict the ability of retailers to offer discounts. Agency officials estimated that consumers were overcharged by $500 million over the last four years. [Page A1.]

Self-appointed taste police in suburbs are increasingly complaining to neighboring homeowners about design issues and even items in backyards that affect their views; zoning board officials, lawyers and academics say trend is due to density, wealth and its correlating sense of entitlement, as well as American propensity to sue; zoning boards are yielding to community pressure, often rewriting rules to appease public that demands control over what is visible from street and also from behind it; drawing; photos (M)

Officials investigating malicious program that disrupted computer systems worldwide say they are looking for computer student named Onel de Guzman who recently wrote thesis proposal for program with similar elements; de Guzman lived in same apartment in Manila as Reomel Ramones and Irene de Guzman, who are suspects in case; when de Guzman presented his proposal in February, thesis reviewer at his computer college, AMA Computer College, rejected it, noting it was illegal; college officials say second student, Michael Buen, has written software that might have been combined with de Guzman's work to create malicious program; subpoenas have been issued by National Bureau of Investigation for both students, who are in hiding; photo (M)

New Quinnipiac College public opinion poll on eve of first senatorial debate between former Gov Jim Florio and Jon S Corzine suggests that Corzine's million-dollar-a-week television advertising campaign is having desired effect, narrowing race and driving up Florio's unfavorable ratings (M)