July 3, 2002

Brilliance China Automotive Holdings says former chairman and chief executive Yang Rong sold all of his stock in company, worth $11 million, when he was removed from his posts two weeks ago (S)

Jean-Marie Messier bids emotional farewell to employees at Vivendid Universal, but his ouster as chairman and chief executive is overshadowed by disclosures about company's accounting practices, which sends its stock crashing and drags down entire French market; French securities regulators demanded earlier this year that Vivendi change way it accounted for sale of shares it held in British Sky Broadcasting; original proposal, drafted with its auditor, Arthur Andersen, would have inflated its 2001 profit by about $1.47 billion; photos (M)

Exhausted New Jersey Senate delivers budget in 21-17 vote approving restructured corporate income tax expected to raise $1.8 billion, more than twice amount collected this year; photo; vote with enough revenue for $23.4 billion budget results from deal to resolve ugly dispute between Gov James McGreevey and mutinous fellow Democrats who scuttled earlier agreement; dispute over sports arena for Newark is put aside pending hearings on plans for state's professional sports teams; new plan pulls together enough revenue to close record budget gap of some $6 billion; budget borrows $1.1 billion against tobacco industry settlement, raises cigarette tax 70 cents to $1.50, and increases scores of state fees (M)

South Africa will probably propose legislation forcing mining companies to cede at least quarter of new projects to people disadvantaged during white rule; may also seek to compel companies to sell equity to disadvantaged groups, including blacks and women (M)

Martha Stewart turned to Merrill Lynch stockbroker Peter E Bacanovic to handle more than $10 million worth of shares offered to friends and associates when her company when public in 1999; Stewart abruptly cancels her regular appearance for July 3 on CBS program Early Show after network says it would require her to answer more questions on air about government investigations into her sale last December of shares of ImClone System; Stewart's decision to cancel her appearance demonstrates pressure she faces as three investigations unfold while she continues to deal with demands of running $296 million media empire; Morgan Stanley, not Merrill Lynch, was lead underwriter on Martha Stewart public offering (M)

Executive Makes a Case For WorldCom's Survival John W. Sidgmore, the chief executive of WorldCom, left, called the company's survival a matter of national security and said his management team was not responsible for the company's accounting problems. Separately, the telecommunications company IDT offered $5 billion for WorldCom's MCI long-distance operations and its local telephone assets. A WorldCom spokesman said such a deal would be unlikely. [Page C5.]

Sec Donald Rumsfeld warns US might not send forces to join future peacekeeping missions without grant of full immunity from jurisdiction of new International Criminal Court, which Bush adminstration says violates US sovereignty; aggressively defends US demand, following American veto of UN resolution extending mandate in Bosnia; Rumsfeld emphasizes that US will not withdraw wholesale from commitments around world and remains engaged, but will carefully review each case unless there are promises from international community or host nations that American troops will not be handed over to court for what could be politically motivated prosecutions; American defendants would also not have US constitutional protections; table on US peacekeeping missions (M)

Australian court approves spinoff of BHP Billiton's steel division, which will be listed as separate entity and be allowed to use name BHP Steel for two years; BHP will not retain stake in new company (S)

Dismay Over Afghan Deaths The Afghan government expressed dismay at reports of 40 civilian deaths in an American-led attack as the Pentagon focused its investigation on an AC-130 gunship that was in the area at the time. PAGE A3

Tiger Woods is in legal battle with artist Rick Rush, who has depicted Woods and other sports icons in prints and sold them, in attempt to retain control over his name and image; Rush claims his artwork is protected under First Amendment rights to express himself freely; photos (M)

Excitement is building in India over dozen major stock offerings scheduled to take place in next year or so; offerings are expected to raise estimated $6.13 billion; companies considering initial public offerings include TCS, India's biggest software maker, Maruti Udyog, largest automaker, and National Aluminum Co; some multinationals, including LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor, are also set to sell shares in their Indian subsidiaries; photo (M)

Austrian government selects European-built Eurofighter Typhoon to replace its aging fleet of jet fighters; contract could be worth up to $1.76 billion if Austria opts for full order of 24 planes when it confirms deal in six weeks (S)