June 26, 2001

Ireland's Ryanair says profits rose 44 percent, to 104.5 million euros ($90 million), for year ended March 31, on revenue of 487.4 million euros; graph (S)

Researchers warn that penguin populations are declining around the world, and evidence is mounting that global warming, whether natural or human-induced, is a prime cause; 10 of world's 17 penguin species are already listed as threatened or endangered; Dr Lloyd Davis, penguin biologist at University of Otago in New Zealand, says that in addition to climate change, problems like overfishing and oil spills threaten penguins; scientists say that penguins' best hope for overcoming these many obstacles may be their abundant adorability and protection and money it could bring; map shows location of penguin zones; photos (L)

Japan's Yokohama Rubber Co will form 50-50 joint venture with Continental of Germany to sell tires to Japanese automakers (S)

New York City Ballet beginning on Aug 28 to appear at various European arts festivals; exhibition featuring more than 8,000 postal stamps from South Africa to be presented at Corcoran Gallery in Washington; photo; New Jersey Symphony, led by Mark Laycock, to begin its annual Summer Parks Tour; 22nd Montreal International Jazz Festival begins on June 28; photo (M)

French state-owned bank, Caisse des Depots et Consignations, will merge with mutually owned chain of savings banks, Caisse d'Epargne, to form major government-controlled center (M)

John Wells, powerful writer-producer of television shows like The West Wing and ER, who is also president of Writers Guild, quietly informs writers on West Wing that provision in their contracts for increased pay and promotions will be not be honored in series's forthcoming third season; writers are described as shocked and angry; Wells led Writers Guild in tense contract negotiations with television networks and film studios, talks that narrowly averted strike; Thomas Schlamme, another executive producer with show, says high cost of show spurred him and Wells to look for ways to save; Wells photo (L)

Supreme Court rules, 7-2, that group of newspaper and magazine publishers infringed copyrights of freelance contributors by making their articles accessible without permission in electronic databases after publication; publishers, including New York Times, face prospect of paying substantial damages to six freelancers who brought lawsuit in 1993, and perhaps to thousands of others who have joined three class-action lawsuits against Lexis/Nexis and University Microfilms International, providers of electronic databases which court also found liable for copyright infringement; Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr scores decision; says company will purge electronic databases; says freelancers who want work to remain in electronic archives should notify company; Times and most other publishers, including Time Inc and Newsday, have required since mid-1990's that authors waive electronic publication rights; Jonathan Tasini, president of National Writers Union and lead plaintiff in lawsuit,comments; says time has come for media industry to pay creators fair share, and that both sides should negotiate fair settlement; photo (M)

A bumper sticker on a tollbooth on the Triborough Bridge promised work. It read: (212) RECRUIT. The New York Police Department was looking for a few of New York's finest. Why not? Could be a story. Could be a career. I called the number, and was told to go to the nearest precinct station house and fill out the exam application. I did. Within weeks, there was a packet in my mailbox that contained a form with the time and place of my exam, a practice test and a list of free preparatory classes.

DID you pack your bag yourself?'' For years, I fought temptation at the airport. I resisted giving the response suggested by the comedian Carol Leifer: ''No. Like everyone else, I use bin Laden's Packing Service.'' But finally, one morning at La Guardia Airport when I could afford to miss the flight, I braved an experiment.

For decades, school construction in New York City seemed to be little more than a huge money pit where the city and state wasted millions of dollars while students continued to suffer cramped classrooms and crumbling school buildings. The School Construction Authority, created by the State Legislature in 1988, was supposed to change all that by removing the Board of Education from the building business and leaving it only with the responsibility for deciding where to build schools and what sort of structures were needed. With a newly instituted five-year capital budget allowing for long-range planning, costs would be kept down and the process would be protected from shifting political winds.

Singapore's DBS Group Holdings receives negative reaction to its bid for Overseas Union Bank on first day of trade since announcing offer (S)

Compaq Computer plans to phase out Alpha microprocessors at heart of most of its high-performance computers, and by 2004 all of its business computers will be designed around Intel's new processor family, known as Itanium; hundreds of Compaq engineers who work on Alpha will move to Intel; Compaq will also migrate from chips designed by MIPS Technologies to Itanium in segment of its business that makes ultra-high-reliability computers; Compaq says it recently sent memo to employees detailing reorganization steps over next six months to cut costs, increase sales and place greater emphasis on selling software and services; photo (M)