March 1, 2002

Sony Corp will buy shares of Aiwa that it does not already own and make company wholly owned subsidiary; Sony currently owns 61 percent of Aiwa (S)

Little-known global agreement that places untested new requirements on domestic regulation of professional services like accounting is quietly advancing, with help of firms like Arthur Andersen, Enron Corp's much-criticized auditor; new rules would give World Trade Organization oversight on domestic regulation of accounting; any new national regulation could be challenged by other countries as unfair if it is 'more trade restrictive than necessary'; critics say such standard could hobble government's ability to regulate many services; American officials say requirement will prevent governments from setting up discriminatory rules, limitations and quotas that would interfere with right of foreign service companies to enter their markets (M)

Zipcar, automated hourly car rental service, has gained 1,700 customers in Boston in 18 months since it began, has 300 customers in Washington, and has now arrived in New York City with fleet of ten compact Volkswagens; company president Robin M Chase sees 'phenomenal market' for service; photo; table compares costs of renting Zipcar for jaunts to Fairway or Hamptons (M)

New York Giants release linebacker Jessie Armstead, offensive tackle Lomas Brown, safety Sam Garnes, quarterback Jason Garrett and cornerback Dave Thomas to squeeze under salary cap; hope to re-sign some of their own players in lieu of free agents; tight end Howard Cross retires after 13-year career with Giants; photo (M)

Water regulators in New Jersey and New York, facing winter drought, and an onset of emergency earlier in year than at any time in modern memory, are starting to worry that past experience may not be a good guide for what lies ahead; photos; graph shows capacity of 13 NJ reservoirs, at present and over past four decades (M)

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column scrutinizes NFL salary cap, which forces teams to shed high-profile players every few years to meet financial requirements, to the disappointment of fans who are loyal to favorite player; photo (M)

Merger talks by Virgin Express airline of Richard Branson and SN Brussels, formerly Belgium's flag carrier Sabena, break down after two sides fail to overcome financial and cultural differences (S)

Article on Susan Stroman, choreographer of revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!; production originated at Royal National Theater in London and is in previews on Broadway; Stroman, who is to receive Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation's Mr Abbott Award, describes how she choreographs; photos (L)

Israeli troops for first time battle their way into two refugee camps in Jenin on West Bank, killing at least 11 Palestinians and losing one soldier in some of fiercest fighting of 17-month conflict; hospital officials say dozens of Palestinians are wounded; Israeli government says it wants to deny Palestinian militants havens to manufacture explosives and plan attacks; militants promise reprisals, particularly for attack on Balata Refugee Camp, stronghold of Yasir Arafat's Fatah faction; gunmen then open fire on Gilo, Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem occupied in 1967 war; new violence comes as Palestinian officials and Arab leaders praise initiative floated by Saudi Arabia to resolve deepening impasse; photos (M)

Brazilian economy contracted 0.7 percent in fourth quarter; gross domestic product rose 1.5 percent for year (S)

Miami Heat defeats New York Knicks, 100-86; photos (M)

Spain's Telefonica says profit fell 16 percent last year; net attributable profit fell to 2.1 billion euros ($1.89 billion) from 2.5 billion year earlier, with fourth-quarter net profit almost halved, to 515.8 million euros; revenue increased 9 percent, to 31 billion euros (S)