May 10, 2002

American support for Israel is driving grass-roots effort to punish America by boycotting its consumer products throughout Arab world; word is being spread via Internet, mosque sermons, fliers and even mobile phone messages; purchases of American goods generated by 300 million Arabs form very small part of American exports, but long boycott could retard spread of franchises and other products; boycotts are largely effort of individuals and small groups without government involvement; they reflect growing sentiment that Arabs should distance themselves from United States, and they want their governments to do likewise; photos (M)

Nissan Motor Co president Carlos Ghosn announces strategic plan for company that he says will elevate it 'from a good company to a great company'; Ghosn has taken Nissan from near bankruptcy to record profits in three years; is turning company's attention to revitalizing its product, capturing market share from bigger competitors in US and Japan and sustaining profits after company has finished gleaning what it can from cost-cutting and favorable currency movements; cornerstone of plan is to sell additional one million cars annually, nearly 40 percent more than 2.6 million autos Nissan sold last year; Ghosn also wants to reduce automotive division's debt to zero and widen its profit margins to 8 percent of sales; photo (M)

State Sen Guy J Velella of Bronx pleads not guilty to charges that he took bribes in exchange for using his influence to help obtain funding for public works projects; is was accused with his father and two other associates of pressuring applicants for public funding projects into retaining law firm in which Velella was secret partner; photo (M)

John Tierney column says so-called living-wage before New York City Council would help some workers while hurting those at bottom of ladder, like immigrants who cannot speak English and have little education or work experience (M)

Surging inflation in medical costs prompts many large employers to cut back on health care benefits for retirees, or to require them to pay more for coverage; reductions in health benefits stem mainly from sudden sharp increases in employer spending on prescription drugs last year; drugs account for 40 to 60 percent of employers' overall spending on Medicare-age retirees' health care; Medicare health maintenance organizations, which used to provide generous benefits, including drug coverage, have made far-reaching cutbacks, forcing employers to pay for retirees' drug coverage, since traditional Medicare does not cover cost of most drugs; as result, current health care costs for retirees are soaring 18 percent a year, on average, and large companies' liabilities for future health care costs for retirees are rising as much as 34 percent; many medium-size companies have stopped promising retiree health care coverage to new hires; photos; chart (L)