August 11, 2000

BUMPER-TO-BUMPER warranties are a given. Bumper-to-bumper free speech is not. In some places, coarse language on bumper stickers can cause legal trouble. A Florida trooper stopped Laura Elizabeth Barron in Orlando last September for a traffic infraction, then charged her with violating a state statute banning obscene stickers.

Floyd Norris article examines current woes at United Airlines; says 1994 recapitalization, which gave employees control through employee stock-ownership plan, has had adverse effect on company's financial viability, employee morale and relations with flying public; graphs (M)

Bottleneck has developed in broadcast spectrum controlled by broadcasters which was once viewed as virtually worthless but is now probably one of most valuable assets in new information age; spectrum space is in extremely short supply, with volume of Internet traffic doubling every 100 days and traffic rapidly migrating from personal computers to wireless devices like cell phones and hand-held computers; telephone companies, Internet businesses and broadcasters are battling to determine which companies will control spectrum that makes new wireless technology work, and at what cost; fight is alarming both regulators and industry executives; photos; chart (M)

New York Mets defeat Houston Astros, 10-3; photo (M)

S.E.C. Approves Regulation To End Selective Disclosure The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule that would ban companies from giving important information to analysts and professional investors before disclosing it to the public. The rule should accelerate the democratization of investing fostered by the Internet. Online trading, financial message boards and the rapid-fire dissemination of news from Web sites have helped close the gap between average investors and Wall Street. Opponents of the regulation say it could lead to an ''information blackout'' if companies grow more cautious about talking. [Page C7.]