March 21, 2002

Dozens of multimillion-dollar federal grants will be offered to some of most important financial companies in world, to keep jobs in Lower Manhattan or lure them there; money is part of $500 million in federal aid intended to protect vibrancy of city's historic financial district; following Sept 11 attack on World Trade Center, many companies scattered, with as many as 30,000 employees relocating to New Jersey and Conn; Bloomberg administration has not disclosed names of companies designated for aid, or amounts; cash grants potentially raise thorny questions about which companies are viewed as more valuable and whether incentives will reward companies that are abandoning financial district; although cash incentives are not new, these have unusual characteristics, in that they will be more public and will be discretionary, and criteria are not crystal clear (M)

Senate gives final approval to overhaul of nation's campaign finance law by 60-to-40 vote, and Pres Bush says he will sign it; large margin shows effort to limit money in politics has gained support since last year, and follows years of bitter combat over issue; opponents vow to shift their battle to courts; Sen Mitch McConnell promises suit against bill, saying it infringes on free speech rights; bill will take effect after Nov Congressional elections; it will ban large unlimited contributions to national political parties, so-called soft money, and rein in campaign advertisements by outside groups advocating election or defeat of specific candidates; photos; chart listing bill's major provisions (L)

Canadian and American officials hold out little hope that 20-year trade dispute over softwood lumber will soon end, despite call by leaders of both countries for settlement by midnight March 21; hope is to stave off 'final determination' by US Commerce Department on March 22, statement that is likely to confirm accusations by American sawmills that Canadian lumber is unfairly subsidized and sold in US below cost; Commerce Department will also announce what level of countervailing, or antidumping, dutes it intends to impose; Pres Bush said last week after meeting with Canadian Prime Min Jean Chretien that two sides will be 'working overtime' to achieve agreement before deadline; Canada's lumber-producing provinces are said to be divided among themselves on terms of settlement; Canadian softwood lumber has about third of American market and is valued at about $6 billion annually (M)

Prague Stock Exchange suspends trading in shares of Czech telecommunications group Ceske Radiokomunikace, which is controlled by Deutsche Bank of Germany and Danish telecommunications operator TDC; regulators call on company to tell minority shareholders details of its planned breakup after its shares fell 17 percent since March 18; company says it wants to cut its registered capital by 99 percent, transfer its assets to Cayman Islands company and issue nontradable shares to current shareholders (S)

American forces in Afghanistan might cross border into Pakistan to capture or kill Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters thought to have found sanctuary there; Maj Gen Franklin L Hagenbeck, commander of American forces, says such an effort would be 'last resort' carried out with approval of Pakistani leaders; American troops are attacked from several directions just 20 miles from border with Pakistan, near Khost; Hagenbeck says it is not clear whether Americans were caught in fighting between Afghan factions or had come under attack from Taliban or Al Qaeda fighters; one American soldier is injured; photo (M)