June 28, 2002

French court dismisses petition by shareholder activist Colette Neuville to name independent expert to examine whether Vivendi Universal chief executive Jean-Marie Messier properly informed board about his $100 billion of acquisitions that contributed to record 2001 loss (S)

Shakespeare's tale of a sprite-infested forest and the foolish mortals who invade it takes a darker, more disturbing turn than usual in the Royal Shakespeare Company's new staging of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream,'' directed by Richard Jones.

Look at some intriguing vacation homes for sale or rent around country finds unusual offerings, such as restored ark in Sausalito and Homes in the Earthship 'green' community in Taos; photos; advice on finding unusual buildings to remodel (M)

Federal prosecutors in Enron investigation file criminal complaint against three Britons, Gary Mulgrew, Giles Darby and David Bermingham, accusing them of defrauding their employer, National Westminster Bank, of $7.3 million through dealings with partnership related to company; describe plan hatched by bankers and Enron executives to trick National Westminster into selling valuable investment to another entity for far less than it was worth; unknown to bank, that entity--partnership known as Southamption--was owned by Enron executives, and British bankers indirectly held stake in it as well; executives and bankers pocketed tens of millions of dollars in profits within weeks of sale; Southampton partnership was used by group of Enron insiders, including former chief financial officer Andrew S Fastow, to make millions of dollars that arguably should have gone to Enron; transaction in question found its genesis in entity known as LJM Cayman, partnership controlled by Fastow that was created to do deals with Enron (M)

Investigators are apparently finding no records to support the shifting of billions of dollars on WorldCom's books. Business Day, Page C1.