April 24, 2002

Online broker E*Trade acquires additional 7 percent of its Japanese subsidiary, E*Trade Japan, for $30.7 million to raise its stake to 36.1 percent; E*Trade Japan says its net profit fell 58 percent, to 415 million yen ($3.2 million), in fiscal year ended March 31 (S)

Article on apparent unraveling of Argentina governmentnoted

Amazon.com says sales in first quarter grew faster than expected and that its loss was less than expected; says sales were $847 million, up 21 percent, but company lost $23 million, down from loss of $217 million year ago; founder-chief executive Jeffrey P Bezos says company's series of price cuts were principal drive for its sales growth; graph (Market Place column) (M)

Enron Corp's former chief executive Jeffrey K Skilling tells investigators that top-flight financial returns that investors made from partnership LJM2 that did business with company could have been achieved only if corporation was defrauded; Skilling, in discussions with Securities and Exchange Commission earlier in year, said he never knew size of profits being generated by partnership; he indicated to SEC and to investigators for special committee of Enron board that such returns, which were as high as 2,500 percent in one transaction--could not have been achieved through arms-length transactions; when shown records that laid out details of financial returns during his testimony several months ago before SEC, Skilling was said to have grown agitated as he described his opinion of information; Skilling was said to have told regulators that had he known magnitude of profits he would have immediately summoned Enron executives involved in dealings and given them 24 hours to justify such outsize results (M)

Jill Abramson reviews book The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate by Robert A Caro; photos (M)

Israel, alarmed that composition and mandate of UN fact-finding team are stacked against Israel, delays its arrival until members and precise assignment are clarified; Israeli and Palestinian negotiators also hold first joint meetings to resolve standoff at Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where about 250 Palestinian gunmen are holed up; decision on UN team reflects deep concern that plans, including Sec Gen Kofi Annan's statements, amount to 'setup' to accuse Israel of war crimes during military operation to ferret out terrorists in Jenin; photo; Martti Ahtisaari, heading UN team, elevates retired US Gen William Nash to full member in response to Israeli complaint that team had no military expert who understands problem of door-to-door fighting in crowded slum; Israel also fears Sadako Ogata and Cornelio Sommaruga will be too receptive to charges of aid workers; official says plan was not made in 'honest way' and goes beyond Security Council mandate (M)

Legislators in Mexico City are preparing their own attack against new agreement by Microsoft Corp and Mexican government that could drive millions of new Internet users to use Microsoft products; Microsoft last week agreed to support e-Mexico project, government initiative to bring Internet access by end of six-year presidential term of Vicente Fox; Microsoft deal is drawn criticism because it smacks of handing company a de facto monopoly; e-Mexico is one of Fox's most ambitious public works projects; deal presents such huge advantages for Microsoft in many critics' minds that several members of Mexico's Congress have begun to question how it came about; they say Fox administration may have signed on to Microsoft-written proposal with no debate of its wisdom or its implications for Mexico's software industry (M)

New York Yankees defeat Oakland Athletics, 2-1 (M)

Associated British Foods agrees to buy Mazola cooking oil and 18 other Brands from Unilever for $360 million; deal will make Associated British Foods top retail food ingredients manufacturer in North America; graph (S)

Growing anxiety over safety of nuclear power plants since Sept 11 terrorist attacks has transformed Indian Point nuclear power plant from fringe issue that only antinuclear crusaders care about to mainstream concern, and not just for Westchester suburbanites, but for New York City and New Jersey residents, who had, until now, barely regsitered plant's existence 40 miles north of Midtown Manhattan; photos (M)

Special section, Museums, noted; photo

Senate and House negotiators approve compromise that revives bill sought by banks and credit card companies, which are trying to make it harder for many people to escape their debts by going to bankruptcy court; negotiators reach compromise on whether debtors who declare bankruptcy should be permitted to keep expensive homes out of hands of their creditors; they agree to limit so-called homestead exemption to $125,000 for convicted felons or for anyone who owes debt under federal or state securities laws; they also bar use of unlimited exemption to anyone who has not lived in state for at least 40 months; Sen Herb Kohl, leading Senate opponent of unlimited homestead exemption, says compromise would prevent Enron executives and others from cheating system; state laws in Florida and in Texas, where Enron is based, allow homeowners to shield full value of their primary residence in bankruptcy (M)