January 1, 2002

Jets offensive coordinator Paul Hackett and quarterback Vinny Testaverde comment on their problems in final seconds of team's 14-9 loss to Buffalo, when Testaverde was barely able to get off last play; photos (M)

Many homeowners in Northeast, where more than third of all homes are heated with oil, are dismayed to find that oil prices are dipping well below rates they locked in over spring and summer; heating oil is mom-and-pop industry, unregulated by government, and there is no data on number of customers who lock in contracts ahead of heating season rather than take their chances on market prices; photo; graph (M)

Pentagon says it weighs sending American ground troops to mountainous area of southern Afghanistan to help forces allied with Afghan warlord Gul Agha Shirzai search for Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar; plan calls for hundreds of troops, probably marines, to help in attacking about 2,000 Taliban soldiers thought to be hiding near Baghran and shielding Omar; over 20 American Special Forces soldiers leave Kandahar, apparently to join up to 30 other Special Forces soldiers aiding Shirzai; Special Forces troops are involved in brief skirmish, near Jalalabad; photos (M)

Tyson Foods, nation's largest meat processor, is badly battered by authorities despite its ties to influential politicians and generous support of Bill Clinton and George W Bush; over last few years, federal officials have accused Tyson of violating labor, environmental and civil rights laws and of making illegal gifts to cabinet secretary; federal grand jury recently indicted Tyson and six employees on charges of conspiring to smuggle illegal immigrants into United States to work at company's processing plants; Tyson insists it has been target of overzealous investigators and crusading special interest groups; company largely denies wrongdoing, even in cases it paid to settle years ago; photo of John H Tyson, 48-year-old scion and chief executive (M)

Hyundai Securities of South Korea extends deadline for selling shares in it and two affiliates to consortium led by American International Group (M)

Euro notes and coins become legal tender in 12 European nations, culminating process under way for decade; euro has already had profound economic impact, making Europe far more efficient, flexible and stable; has forced governments to reduce budget deficits and taken away their ability to tackle problems by printing more money; graphs; table (M)

Stock prices fall on final trading day of 2001; three major stock market averages have fallen for two consecutive years; Dow Jone industrial averages ends 2001 down 7.1 percent, after 6.2 percent drop in 2000; Standard & Poor's 500 stock index ends year down 13 percent, after losing 10.1 percent in 2000; Nasdaq composite is down 21.1 percent, after 2000 loss of 39.3 percent; rally in final three months has helped to spur optimism that worst is over; graphs of stock market performance and volatility; tables (M)

Prime Min Goh Chok Tong says Singapore's recession deepened in fourth quarter as slump in manufacturing extends to services; says gross domestic product shrank 7 percent from year earlier; photo (S)

A Leaderless Argentina Is Divided by Turmoil Without a president, a cabinet or a functioning government, Argentina finds itself adrift. Politicians are trying to resolve differences as the public prepares for the possibility of an economic collapse. PAGE A3 India Hails Militant's Arrest The foreign minister of India said Pakistan's arrest of the leader of a militant group suspected in the attack on India's Parliament was ''a step forward.'' PAGE A10

Last three months of 2001 are wonderful for foreign stocks--even with fallout from terrorist attacks and global recession; still, first positive quarter in last seven makes year only a little less painful; foreign equities, including stocks in emerging markets, are up 8.1 percent in last three months of 2001; graphs show how markets fared in 2001 in United States, Britain, Germany, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, Russia and China; photo (M)

Rudolph W Giuliani spends final day as mayor taking valedictory lap through New York City; comments on his skyrocketing popularity and plans to open consulting firm; photos (M)

Arcor agrees to sell one billion euro ($881 million) stake in new rail telecommunications network to Deutsche Bahn, clearing way for an initial sale by Arcor; Arcor is unit of Vodafone; graph (S)