New York Rangers defeat Colorado Avalanche, 5-3; photo (M)

Rangers Turn the Page on Roy's Bid for a Record

4.6 percent slump in imports lifts Canada's trade surplus to 4.7 billion Canadian dollars ($2.9 billion) in September, from 3.9 billion Canadian dollars ($2.4 billion) in August (S)

World Business Briefing | The Americas: Canada: Trade Surplus Increases

Losses at its investment banking arm and general drooping of global economy combine to push Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's second-largest bank, into loss in third quarter, along with many of its peers in banking industry; bank reports net loss of $179.7 million for period, two-thirds of it--$123 million--attributed to Credit Suisse First Boston investment bank, which experienced 17 percent drop in revenue in quarter (M)

Investment Banking Is Cited For Much of Credit Suisse Loss

Data from probe for 1999 trial in Egypt of Islamic Jihad details scope and ruthlessness of terrorist group, which merged with Al Qaeda in 1998, vastly enhancing Osama's bin Laden's reach and organizational ability; network two groups developed ranges across world, with Egyptians providing tactical support by forging travel documents, transferring money and arranging communications; merger shifted Islamic Jihad's focus from overthrowing Egyptian government to attacking American interests and seems to have increased Egyptians' sense of purpose; Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, Jihad's leader and bin Laden's second in command, reportedly was with bin Laden in Afghanistan earlier in November; photos (M)

An Investigation in Egypt Illustrates Al Qaeda's Web

European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, Europe's highest court, backs Levi Strauss & Company in long-running legal battle to keep cut-price versions of its blue jeans from being sold by Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket chain; ruling sets precedent that threatens to crimp Tesco's practice of selling at discount many 'gray market' designer goods like Nike sneakers and Calvin Klein underwear (M)

Court Backs Levi Strauss On Pricing

Mark Bittman comments on some creative Thanksgiving dishes; recipes for macerated fruit, curried sweet potato soup with apricots, and cranberry clafoutis; photos (M)

The Usual Suspects? Look Again

Our Towns column discusses Roosevelt, NY, poor, troubled, black school district surrounded by white suburban wealth; decries five-year-old state takeover, which gave officials limited power to run district, and did not provide extra money for teachers and programs; contrasts Roosevelt to Jersey City, NJ, which received appropriate funding increases when it was taken over by state and successfully improved district; says children in Roosevelt have become political football with dispersal plan in works (M)

Our Towns; Sometimes, The School Is the Football

 Shares of Enron Plunge On Doubts Over Merger  Shares of Enron plunged 23 percent as investors increasingly bet that Dynegy would either back out of its deal to buy Enron, the struggling energy trader, or seek to renegotiate terms of the acquisition.    Analysts said top officials of both companies had not known until the last few days that Enron faced a $690 million loan payment next week unless it came up with collateral. Enron's disclosure of the obligation -- along with new numbers about its cash squeeze -- raised fresh doubts among investors about Enron's controls and credibility, they said. [Page A1.]    Conoco Plays Security Card  As he leads the cheers for his company's planned merger with Phillips Petroleum, Conoco's chairman, Archie W. Dunham, has added a new rationale: energy security. He has highlighted the fact that the combined company would have more than 70 percent of its oil and gas reserves in the North Sea and North America. Analysts said Mr. Dunham's comments did not mean Conoco was abandoning its interest in places like Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. The language is aimed at regulators, politicians and the public, the analysts said, to persuade them to back the merger. Shares of Conoco rose 62 cents, to $26.60. Market Place. [C6.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

Footlights column; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibits South Asian art; New York State Museum in Albany to open Windows on New York gallery; Scandinavia House shows photographs by August Strindberg; Fatty Arbuckle festival at Walter Reade Theater noted; photos (S)

Footlights

Gov-elect James E McGreevey warns that New Jersey faces shortfall of $1.9 billion in its current $24 billion budget, as well as $3.7 billion deficit in next fiscal year; urges Acting Gov Donald DiFrancesco and State Legislature to refrain from any new nonessential spending through end of year, although there may be little political motivation to heed such entreaties (M)

McGreevey Says Budget Falls Short by $1.9 Billion

P&O Princess Cruises of Britain and Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises announce $2.89 billion deal to combine, becoming world's largest cruise ship company; cruise lines term deal 'merger of equals'; Royal Caribbean chairman-chief executive Richard D Fain says combined company--with 'working title' of RCP Cruise Lines--would have 41 ships and 75,000 berths under joint management while maintaining separate stock market listings and dividend payments for investors; photo (M)

P & O and Royal Caribbean To Merge Into Largest Cruise Line

Fate of single largest foreign investment in India, $2.9 billion Dabhol Power project, is thrown into new uncertainty by financial meltdown and pending takeover of its majority owner, Enron Corp of United States; Dynegy, smaller rival that has agreed to acquire once-mighty Enron, has said it will focus narrowly on Enron's core energy trading and pipeline businesses and sell other assets; Enron's 70 percent stake in Dabhol is high on sales list (M)

New Doubts on Enron's India Investment

Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki wins American League most valuable player award in close vote; chart; photos (M)

In Any Language, Suzuki Is the League's Best

Industrial production in 12-nation euro zone declines 1.5 percent in September from August; this follows 1.5 percent increase in August (S)

World Business Briefing | Europe: Belgium: Production Declines

Once high-flying Internet conglomerate Softbank says that it had marked down value of its sprawling portfolio of major investments in other Internet companies by nearly 51 billion yen ($414 million), resulting in loss of 54.3 billion yen ($441 million) in six months ended Sept 30; company's large stakes in Yahoo, Yahoo Japan and E*Trade Group have lost more than 80 percent of their value since technology bubble burst last year; photo of Masayoshi Son, president of Softbank (M)

Softbank of Japan Marks Down Portfolio

Turkey that most people will eat on Thanksgiving is, after 50 years of overengineering, morphed into ungainly beast that can no longer run, fly or even lay eggs--all in name of progress; what it can do is supply copious quantities of white breast meat at expense of dark meat from leg and thigh; there is movement afoot--among consevationists who understand that endangered animals can be saved if commercial market is created for them--to revive breeds of turkey that once made people anticipate Thanksgiving bird with pleasure; hitch, for consumer, is that farmers will raise only as many of these magnificent Turkeys as they know they can sell, and they are not inexpensive; photos (L)

The Hunt for a Truly Grand Turkey, One That Nature Built

Northern Alliance and Afghan Taliban leaders gather in Emam Sahib, Afghanistan, for talks on fate of Kunduz; seem poised to strike deal at expense of thousands of foreigh Taliban fighters trapped in city, who are shut out of talks and reportedly vow to fight to death; Defense Sec Donald H Rumsfeld rules out allowing evacuation of foreign fighters from city; hundreds more Afghan Taliban soldiers defect to Northern Alliance amid reports foreign fighters have killed defectors; photo (M)

In 3-Sided Battle for Northern Town, 2 Sides at Least May Be Talking

Like something advertised in the Sharper Image catalog, Tony Scott's movie is a sleek, expensive-looking gizmo of doubtful utility. Its kinetic editing, exotic locations and general atmosphere of high-stakes espionage can't quite cover up the shallow, cynical emptiness at its heart, but &quot;Spy Game&quot; does offer some fun on its noisy journey to nowhere. Robert Redford plays a C.I.A. maverick on the eve of retirement who uses his interrogation by agency brass as an occasion to reminisce about his star-crossed relationship with Brad Pitt, whose character he recruited as an agent and who now awaits execution in a Chinese prison. Mr. Redford's performance is wry and enigmatic, and recalls several of his movies from the 1970's, when much of this film takes place. There are shades of &quot;The Great Gatsby,&quot; &quot;Three Days of the Condor&quot; and, oddly enough, &quot;The Way We Were,&quot; but with Mr. Pitt, more or less, in the Barbra Streisand role. – A. O. Scott

Two Spies Test Friendship As the Cold War Thaws

Pentagon official say United States would send added ground forces to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, possibly within days, if intelligence pinpoints his location, now believed to be in lawless corridor of former Taliban territory in southeastern Afghanistan; officials say Mullah Muhammad Omar, Taliban supreme commander, is also high-priority target; American planes pound Taliban positions in Kunduz and Kandahar as stubborn resistance persists; rebel forces continue efforts to displace last remaining Taliban forces; map (M)

U.S. READY TO SEND ADDITIONAL TROOPS TO HUNT BIN LADEN

Intense speculation and behind-the-scenes maneuvering surround two major nominees for newly created Oscar for best animated feature; battle pits Monsters, Inc from Disney and Michael Eisner against Aron Warner's Shrek from DreamWorks and Jeffrey Katzenberg; photos (M)

Fuzzy Creatures vs. Green Ogre; 'Monsters, Inc.' and 'Shrek' Are Likely Foes for New Oscar

Pres Bush's next move in war against Al Qaeda and other 'global reach' terrorist groups in dozens of other countries remains unsettled and unsettling question as defeat nears for Taliban in Afghanistan; deep reservations exist among allies in Europe, Mideast and Russia over push by some in Bush administration to expand military operations to other nations and topple Pres Saddam Hussein of Irraq; pulverizing effect of first phase of war in Afghanistan signals Bush favors innovative tactics that quickly exploit enemy weaknesses with ruthless air attacks under doctrine in which use of force is unrestrained by borders or allies (M)

After Afghanistan

Thomas Schmidheiny is stepping down after two decades as chief exec of cement maker Holcim Ltd (S)

World Business Briefing | Europe: Switzerland: Cement Company Chief Resigns

Microsoft Corp files proposal in federal court that could remove one of its legal headaches: more than 100 class-action antitrust suits contending that it overcharged consumers; proposed deal is innovative approach because proceeds would not go to customers who say they were overcharged but to more than 12,500 schools in low-income neighborhoods around country; Microsoft would be required to provide cash, training and support to help put computing services in to disadvantaged schools with nearly seven million students; five-year program would cost Microsoft at least $500 million; deal is championed by class-action lawyers Stanley M Chesley of Cincinnati and Michael D Hausfield of Washington; plaintiffs' lawyers behind settlement and executives of Microsoft hail proposed deal; settlement faces resistance from some lawyers in California who say they represent 13 million overcharged personal computer users in tehir state; California lawyers will opposes settlement (M)

Microsoft Aims To Settle Suits By Equipping 12,500 Schools

National Bank of Greece, country's leading bank, announces plans to buy Alpha Bank for about 4.1 million euros ($3.6 billion) in stock; acquisition will make National big enough to move into new markets (S)

World Business Briefing | Europe: Greece: Bank Plans To Buy Rival

Official count of dead and missing in attack on World Trade Center has fallen sharply in last few weeks, to below 3,900; could continue to fall as duplications and errors are resolved; unofficial tallies by news organizations reach no higher than 2,950; culling of list is taking place outside public view, while many officials and commentators erroneously continue to put death toll from attacks on towers, Pentagon and plane that crashed in Pennsylvania as high as 6,000; graph (M)

November 21, 2001

Headlines from November 21, 2001

Rangers Turn the Page on Roy's Bid for a Record

World Business Briefing | The Americas: Canada: Trade Surplus Increases

Investment Banking Is Cited For Much of Credit Suisse Loss

An Investigation in Egypt Illustrates Al Qaeda's Web

Court Backs Levi Strauss On Pricing

Billboard 200

Britney

Echoes: The Best Of Pink Floyd

Invincible

Escape

A Day Without Rain

Historical Context for November 21, 2001