November 1, 2000

Josef Tosovsky, the governor of the Czech National Bank, said he would resign at the end of November to join the Bank for International Settlements. Mr. Tosovsky, 50, widely praised for keeping the country's currency stable through the 1993 breakup of Czechoslovakia, has recently been criticized over the collapse of more than a dozen banks because of mismanagement and fraud. His resignation comes as lawmakers are threatening to limit the central bank's independence. Mr. Tosovsky has held the office for 10 years. His announcement came just a week after Hanna Gornkiewicz-Waltz, another longtime central banker, stepped down as head of the National Bank of Poland.

Napster to Change Service With Aid From Bertelsmann Napster, which has terrified the recording industry by letting its users copy music from one another online, agreed to change course and charge a fee for its service and distribute part of the fee as royalties to copyright holders. The plan would be financed partly by one of the companies that tried to shut it down -- the German media giant Bertelsmann, which lent Napster an undisclosed sum to help change the service and received an option to buy a stake in the company in return. [Page A1.]

Prices charged by factories in France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands soared in September, government reports showed, adding to expectations that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates to ward off inflation. The four nations account for about half of the euro zone's economy. Analysts said high oil prices and the weak euro, which together made imported equipment and materials more expensive, were responsible.

Political Memo column contends that aides to New York State Senate candidates Rick A Lazio and Hillary Rodham Clinton have reached same conclusion with one week left in campaign: single most important force that will determine outcome of contest is who comes out to vote (M)

Russia's fifth-largest oil company, Tatneft, said it agreed with foreign creditors to restructure $354 million in debt. Tatneft failed to meet loan payments in 1998 after the Russian currency was devalued, driving up the price of its foreign debt, then about $700 million. After two years of negotiations with foreign banks, including Chase Manhattan, West Merchant Bank, Dresdner Bank and Societe Generale, the company announced it would spread monthly debt payments of up to $22 million over the next two years. Sabrina Tavernise (NYT)