March 27, 2001

German import and factory prices increase more than expected in February, suggesting the European Central Bank may wait until before reducing interest rates (S)

Special report, Medical Retreads, focuses on ease with which doctors, disciplined for negligence by New York State, find work at other hospitals or are retained by hospital where problems occurred; neither state nor federal government lays out how hospitals should handle such doctors, nor does national organization that accredits hospitals; many New York hospitals routinely hire and retain doctors with bad records, especially those who bring in lot of money; hospital administrators, often doctors themselves, argue that almost every doctor who errs deserves second chance, or even third, and many receive them, sometimes moving from hospital to hospital between punishments for negligence or incompetent care; state data indicate more than three-fourths of doctors disciplined over last eight years resumed working almost immediately after state punished them, and that 285 who were disciplined kept medical licenses from 1992 until 1999; State Health Department officials, criticized for failing to revoke medical licenses, say complicated disciplinary system makes it hard to do so; argue that hospitals share responsibility to weed out bad doctors, but that they lack specific rules on hiring and monitoring doctors punished by state; health care policy experts say hospitals are hardly pressed to make do with troubled doctors in New York City, where ratio of doctors to population is 50 percent higher than national average; state data show, however, that doctors with disciplinary problems are often among top third of moneymakers at their hospitals; charts; photos (L)

Family of Chung Ju Yung is struggling to save Hyundai Group after his death on March 21; Chung, once a billionaire with controlling stakes in most of his companies, distributed most of his assets among his six surviving sons, one daughter, and numerous grandchildren long before his death; feuds among Chung's children detailed; photo (M)

Cardiologists attending meeting of American College of Cardiology in Orlando, Fla, discuss case of Vice Pres Dick Cheney to highlight vast improvement in cardiac care over recent years; leading cardiologists compare differences in care for Cheney and Pres Dwight D Eisenhower after his serious heart attack in 1955 at age 64; photo (M)

Harvey Araton Sports of The Times column on University of Memphis basketball coach John Calipari; he discusses transition from NBA into college ranks; photo (M)

Johnson & Johnson is expected to announce acquisition of Alza Corp, fast-growing concern that creates ways to deliver medicine to human body, for $11.8 billion in stock; chart (M)

Alberto W Vilar, Cuban-born high-tech investor and opera enthusiast, pledges $20 million to New York University for an arts scholarship program that will draw students from around the world to New York City; initiative is to be modeled on Rhodes scholarship program and will be headed by L Jay Oliva, outgoing president of NYU, who promoted concept to Vilar; Vilar has lavished money on favorite institutions and personalities for years, but last seven months have left many in classical music world more than a little awestruck; photo (M)

John Tierney The Big City column, noting recent test scores that show that New York City Catholic school students outperform public school students, examines success of Catholic schools despite having larger classes, lower paid teachers and smaller budgets (M)

Supreme Court will decide whether growing national consensus against execution of mentally retarded murderers means that such executions should be deemed unconstitutional as cruel and unusual punishment in violation of Eighth Amendment; will hear appeal by Ernest P McCarver, inmate on North Carolina's death row who has IQ of 67; case could produce court's most important ruling on death penalty in years; experts say about 10 percent of 3,600 prisoners on death row are mentally retarded, having IQ scores of less than 70; photo (M)

Article discusses attempt by landlord Emel Realty to revoke lease of singer Roseanne Young on grounds that she does not live there long enough each year to declare it her primary residence; Young, while acknowledging fact that she does not spend much time at apartment, says she continues to pay rent and should not be forced to give up rent stabilized apartment on West Side of Manhattan; photo (M)

Ancient Greek shipwreck is discovered in middle of Mediterranean, giving new credence to tales about ancient mariners who sailed far and wide across Mediterrean, braved fierce storms and traveled for days on end with no land in sight; wreck lies amid graveyard of similar hulks, is tentatively dated as 2,300 years old and is believed to have been sailing between Rhodes and Alexandria with cargo of wine; discovery was made by accident in early 1999 when Nauticos Corp was searching for the sunken Israeli submarine Dakar; photo; map; drawing (L)

Rate Hikes in California California's chief power regulator proposed large increases in retail electric rates to help finance the state's spiraling energy costs and encourage conservation. PAGE A12