January 10, 2001

Shares of telecommunication equipment makers plummet after Nokia releases figures that point to slowdown in global demand for mobile handsets, raising possibility that ultimate size of market could be smaller than analysts had originally predicted; Nokia estimates that 405 million handsets were sold worldwide last year, 45 percent increase from previous year but short of analysts' expectations for sales of 420 million; Nokia, in unusual move, reports figures weeks before its earnings announcements, scheduled for Jan 30; graph (M)

Italdesign-Giugiaro and other companies in Turin, Italy, that provide design, engineering and manufacturing services for a fee have withstood rush of mergers and acquisitions that pushed specialty carmakers like Bentley, Ferrari and Maserati into hand of big automakers; are poised to rebound strongly because their impressive talents can help remaining automakers design and engineer cars to distinguish themselves and set apart their ever more common platforms from rest of industry; designs of Giorgetto Giugairo and Leonardo Fioravanti discussed; photos (M)

Dr Niels H Lauersen, Manhattan obstetrician with celebrity clientele, is convicted of defrauding insurance companies to have them pay for expensive fertility procedures, case that was closely watched by doctors and their patients in booming fertility industry; many experts expect outcome to set template for future cases and perhaps even policy regarding fertility treatments, costly procedures that are rarely covered by health insurance policies, something women have challenged in courts; photo (M)

New York City Board of Education officials say that they are scrambling to meet February deadline set by Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani to add sixth day of school for nearly 84,000 struggling New York City schoolchildren (M)

Japanese consumers spent 1.5 pecent less in November than in October; cautious spending habits are often held responsible for Japan's continuing economic doldrums (S)