July 10, 2002

Moody'

S.& P. 500 Is Dropping Seven Foreign Companies The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index is going all-American, and in the process it is producing a little bit of buying power for the struggling market. The S.& P. will drop the seven companies in the index not based in the United States, a move that involved replacing two companies that have been in the index for more than six decades. The companies being added are not as large as the ones being removed, and in a world where indexing is a huge investment strategy, that could provide significant buying power for stocks remaining in the index. Floyd Norris: Market Place. [Page C11.]

New York Court of Appeals in 6-1 ruling overturns state's death penalty law in case of Darrel K Harris, first man condemned to die under 1995 statute; court holds law at time of conviction unfairly threatened him with capital punishment for exercising his right to trial, but avoids issue of whether death penalty violates state Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment; decision written by Judge Richard C Wesley does not satisfy either supporters or opponents of death penalty, who claim it is too narrowly focused to be meaningful; court says Harris, who admitted killing three people at Brooklyn social club in 1997, must be resentenced; dissenting opinion by Judge George Bundy Smith says Harris should be given new trial because of errors by trial judge; photos (M)

Anna Kisselgoff reviews Kirov Ballet's performance of La Bayadere; photos (M)

Matthew Purdy Our Towns column comments on widely publicized dispute in Hartford, Conn, between Wilbur Troutman and Mister Softee ice cream truck that Troutman claims incessantly plays loud jingle that disturbs him; Troutman says driver Luis Amaro assaulted him as he was making videotape of truck; contends he is protecting public's right to quiet (M)

Latino market is determining factor in survival of Major League Soccer in US, both because of Latino interest in sport and devotion to national and club teams outside of US; photos (M)

ABB, whose troubles with pension overpayments fostered interest in corporate accountability, dismisses group of managers in its London operation for having tried unsuccessfully to conceal losses in 1999 and 2000; says losses have already been disclosed and annual reports do not have to be changed (S)

Mike Freeman Sports of The Times column argues that other sports considering mandatory testing for steroids should follow example set by NFL, which has seen decrease in suspensions for steroids since random testing policies were instituted; photo (M)

News analysis of Pres Bush's speech on corporate ethics and malfeasance finds that while his words are harsh, his proposals for change are generally not daring or innovative; Bush challenges companies to stop lending money to their executives, but makes no proposals to restrict loans by law or to increase what companies must disclose about them; he calls on chief executives to explain their own pay packages in annual reports, rather than in proxy statements, but calls for no new disclosures, let alone limits on compensation; Bush also limits punishment proposals to those convicted of crimes, well short of what SEC has sought; calls for more independent directors with more power are already sure to be adopted; key Bush proposal is for 'financial crimes SWAT team' to oversee prosecutions because US attorneys are often reluctant to bring fraud charges against executives whose high-priced defense lawyers argue that accounting rules are unclear; Bush is largely silent on regulation of accountants (M)

World Business Briefing: Switze

Memory of baseball legend Ted Williams is honored at 2002 All-Star Game with unveiling of number nine painted on left field grass; photos (M)

Royal Bank of Scotland forms joint ve