David Berganio Jr equals course record by shooting 64 in opening round of AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament; Tiger Woods shoots 66; other results noted; photo (M)

Berganio Equals Course Record; Woods in the Hunt

Automakers sold vehicles at seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.2 million vehicles in January, far better than pace of 15.4 million vehicles sold in December; industry considers anything above 16 million to be strong month; sales were down 6 percent from those in month year earlier; graph; chart (M)

Strength of January Vehicle Sales Surprises Automakers

Valeo of France, one of Europe's biggest auto parts makers, will eliminate about 1,000 jobs in next six months at factories in North America because its forecasts for global automobile market predict slowdown in European market; it also expects drop in volumes in North America and Asian markets; announcement is latest sign of difficult times for components industry; rivals like Delphi Automotive Systems and TRW have lowered their profit forecasts for year (M)

French Car Parts Concern to Eliminate 1,000 Jobs

Minority shareholders in Russia's gas company, Gazprom, order independent audit of company's finances; about 10 percent of shareholders hire Deloitte & Touche to review Gazprom's books, including its relations with Itera, which is thought to have special access to Gazprom's reserves and pipelines; shareholders say management has failed to run company effectively (S)

SHAREHOLDERS ORDER GAZPROM AUDIT

SAirGroup, parent company of Swissair, decides against taking 34 percent stake in TAP Air Portugal; agrees with Portuguese government to guarantee short-term financial needs of TAP Air, which is being privatized (S)

SWISSAIR PARENT TURNS DOWN INVESTMENT

Sabena's chief executive Christophe Muller says Belgium's national airline is about to run out of cash; airline's two shareholders, Belgian government, with 50.5 percent, and SAirGroup, with 49.5 percent, are to meet Feb 5 to decide whether to dissolve company; airline has proposed revamping plan with 700 job cuts, but its pilots have said plan in unacceptable; photo (S)

SABENA'S SURVIVAL IN DOUBT

Availability of Chrysler's popular PT Cruiser is still erratic, with vehicles sitting on lots in some places and completely out of stock in others (S)

PT's Here And There, But Where?

Julie Salamon Critic's Notebook report on current state of Saturday morning television for children; photos (M)

It's Always Saturday On TV

Ben Brantley reviews The Play About the Baby by Edward Albee, at Century Center for the Performing Arts; Brian Murray, Marian Seldes, Kathleen Early and David Burtka appear in four-person play first produced in London in 1998; photos (M)

Albee Laughing Dourly Ever After

Comment compares fate of two new vehicle models, Chrysler's hit PT Cruiser, still in short supply, and GM's Aztek, small odd-looking sport utility that may become Edsel of new millennium; photos; comparison table (M)

2 Bets, but Just 1 Payoff

Scene on Jersey Special, annual chartered train trip from New Jersey to Washington DC, sponsored by New Jersey Chamber of Commerce; on board are Acting Gov Donald DiFrancesco, gubernatorial candidates Bret Schundler and James McGreevy, other New Jersey politicians and lobbyists; photo (M)

New Jersey's Acting Governor Is the Star on a Southbound Train

Floyd Norris comment on Amazon.com's forecast of profitable fourth quarter this year says company could be profitable but it does not mean it will have net income; says forecast is for 'pro forma operating profitability,' number Amazon computes by ignoring many expenses; graph (M)

Amazing Amazon: Losses Grow as They Seem to Shrink

Col Muammar el-Qaddafi turns personal welcome for Libyan released in Lockerbie bombing trial into rambling tirade against guilty verdict against other defendant and entire handling of affair; Qaddafi, standing in front of carefully preserved wreckage of his own house, which was bombed by United States in 1986, says relatives of hundreds killed and wounded then deserve compensation as much as families of Lockerbie victims; Qaddafi promises to release evidence that he says would establish innocence of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, Libyan intelligence agent found guilty; photos (M)

Qaddafi Rants Against the U.S. In a Welcoming After Bomb Trial

Anglo American PLC, world's largest mining company, says it is in talks to buy out its sister company, De Beers, for $16 billion; deal would fundamentally recast tangled and intimate relationship between two companies that has endured since Anglo's founder, Ernest Oppenheimer, took over De Beers in 1929; that relationship serves as model for insular way that business was done in South Africa in apartheid era and beyond; Oppenheimer family appears to have decided to remake their industrial empire as modern Western corporation, without surrendering their close involvement in companies they have run for decades; Chaim Evan-Zohar, diamond industry consultant in Tel Aviv, says announcement has taken industry by surprise; photo (M)

Disentangling A Worldwide Web of Riches

 McCall Becomes Candidate  Comptroller H. Carl McCall has joined the 2002 governor's race, kicking off what promises to be a long and bitter contest.   PAGE B5

INSIDE

Number of state prisoners in New York is declining for first time in 27 years; advocates for prisoners' rights say plummeting crime rates have played role in decline, but officials in Pataki administration attribute trend to new policies that grant early release to more nonviolent felons; state correction officials in California, Texas and Pennsylvania all report their prison populations have remained roughly flat over last year, after years of steady increases; in New York, prison population has droped from 71,750 inmates on Feb 1, 2000, to 70,283 inmates year later, decrease of 2 percent; state corrections officials project prison population will drop 9 percent over two years; graph (M)

AFTER LONG CLIMB, PRISON POPULATION FALLS IN NEW YORK

Ira Berkow Sports of The Times column contends that while Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson has grown to superstar status as basketball player, his behavior both on and off court indicates that he is not role model; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; A Superstar, Iverson Isn't A Role Model

News Analysis: Pres Bush gained some and lost some in his selection of John Ashcroft as attorney general; he signaled important segment of his Republican base, religious conservatives, that he would not abandon them; but he inflamed many black voters during period when he is making grand symbolic gestures in their direction, and he potentially undercut other efforts he is making to cast himself as moderate and assemble governing coalition after one of closest elections in American history; photo (M)

Gaining, and Losing, Too

Senate confirms John Ashcroft as attorney general by vote of 58 to 42; five-week struggle was most bitter battle over cabinet nominee in more than decade; vote is victory for Pres Bush, who succeeds in putting ardent conservative into one of government's most sensitive posts as nation's chief law enforcement officer; vote is also seen as show of strength by Senate's Democrats, who demonstrated through their 42 votes against Ashcroft that they would have power to sustain filibuster if Bush puts forward Supreme Court nominee whom they could not accept; eight Democrats who break party ranks to vote for Ashcroft come mostly from South or Plains, including John B Breaux (La) and Robert C Byrd (W Va); group also includes two liberal Senators, Christopher J Dodd (Conn) and Russell D Feingold (Wis); photo (M)

SENATE CONFIRMS ASHCROFT AS ATTORNEY GENERAL, 58-42, CLOSING A FIVE-WEEK BATTLE

Investigative report on New York City's teacher cheating scandal, which was uncovered over one year ago; closer look at scandal that was investigated by Edward F Stancik's office finds that ambiguous statistical evidence and fragmentary unsupported testimony of young witnesses may have hindered accuracy of report; Stancik defends his office and methods; of 52 teachers who were suspended, about half have been reinstated because of insufficient evidence; teachers union, which prepared analysis of events, contends investigators ignored exculpatory evidence, intimidated young witnesses and did not permit teachers to have union representative or lawyer present during interviews; photo (M)

After Year, Scope of Teacher Cheating Scandal Is Diminished

Deutsche Bank says net income declined slightly in fourth quarter and acknowledges that last year's huge profit from investment banking is unlikely to be repeated in year ahead; chief executive Rolf Breuer tries to reassure shareholders by outlining broad plan to streamline operations, eliminating about 2,600 jobs and increasingn bank's dividend; net income declined to 581 million euros ($544 million) from 591 million euros ($553.6 million) in year-earlier quarter (M)

German Bank Posts Drop In Income

 Economic Mood Brightens In Europe as It Sours in U.S.  Even as the economic mood of Americans has shifted almost overnight from exuberance to anxiety, Europe has emerged as an oasis of tranquillity and prosperity.    Europe now stands a good chance of outpacing its economic rival by a significant margin. Consumer confidence is running at nearly record levels across most of the Continent and European unemployment, stuck for much of the decade above 10 percent, is now at its lowest level since 1991. [Page A1.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines earned 4 million euros ($3.77 million) in its traditionally weak third quarter, compared with loss, excluding exceptional items, of 18 million euros ($16.85 million) year earlier; graph (S)

KLM HAS UNEXPECTED PROFIT

Corus Group, leading European steel maker, will cut 6,050 jobs, fifth of its work force, mostly in economically depressed regions of Britain; British government sharply urges Corus to reconider reductions; layoffs are part of major restructuring that will generate annual savings of $265 million by end of 2003; photo of Corus head Sir Brian Moffat (M)

Steel Maker Will Cut Jobs And Production in Britain

Barrick Gold Corp, with $1.1 billion write-down of value of its assets to reflect lower gold prices, reports fourth-quarter loss of $996 million, in contrast to profit of $81 million year earlier (S)

February 2, 2001

Headlines from February 2, 2001

Berganio Equals Course Record; Woods in the Hunt

Strength of January Vehicle Sales Surprises Automakers

French Car Parts Concern to Eliminate 1,000 Jobs

SHAREHOLDERS ORDER GAZPROM AUDIT

SWISSAIR PARENT TURNS DOWN INVESTMENT

Billboard 200

1

Hotshot

Save The Last Dance

Now 5

Human Clay

Historical Context for February 2, 2001