October 23, 2002

Tom Golisano, Independence Party's nominee for New York governor, repeatedly condemns tax and paperwork burdens that he says Albany imposes on small business, but helping small businesses cope with red tape is how Golisano built substantial fortune that is financing his run for state office; his Rochester-based company, Paychex, has itself sought some of corporate tax breaks that Golisano deplores; photo (M)

George Vecsey Sports of The Times column describes nostalgic and singular experience of visiting throw-back Pacific Bell Park to see San Francisco Giants play in World Series; photo (M)

Big winners in thriving health-care industry are hospitals, particularly those that have assembled networks that dominate local markets, makers of ingenious medical devices and nurses, who are getting big raises and better working conditions; strongest managed care companies are reporting sharply higher profits, as premiums rise even faster than do underlying costs; growth of spending on drugs is slowing, after decade-long bonanza of profits for drug companies; graphs; photos (M)

World Business Brief

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's plan to invade US retail banking market by placing branches in supermarket chains and blanketing country with automated teller machines has fizzled; Canadians appear to have badly misjudged American banking habits; Canadian Imperial will 'substantially' reduce or close US operations of Amicus, unit it set up to provide financial services in supermarket chains Safeway Inc and Winn-Dixie Stores; chairman-chief executive John S Hunkin comments; Amicus lost $186 million in nine months ended July 31 on revenue of only $102 million; photo (M)

New York State Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno says Republican-led Senate will vote for first time on landmark gay-rights bill in December, after having blocked passage for decades; approval is likely to hand Republican Gov George Pataki key support from homosexuals just before Election Day; Bruno also promises to take up many other gridlocked bills; sudden pledge follows months of secret, inconclusive, talks with Pataki and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver; gridlock has become issue in Pataki's re-election bid as Independence Party candidate Tom Golisano rails about inefficient, secretive state government; Pataki has said for years that he would sign gay-rights measure, which Bruno has thwarted for years and Assembly has approved every year since 1993 (M)

WorldCom Inc is generating about $80 million in revenue daily, but it is deeply unprofitable company; how WorldCom may behave if it emerges from bankruptcy protection next year has become hotly debated question in telecommunications industry; regional Bell giants say revamped WorldCom could plunge entire industry back into destructive price wars from which it is only now emerging; some regional Bell allies in research institutes are suggesting that Federal Communications Commission strip WorldCom of its licenses and essentially shut company down; many independent analysts and WorldCom's most direct competitor AT&T say company will have no choice but to emerge wiser and more conservative business, one more focused on making money than on generating sales at any cost; WorldCom says it lost $429 million in July and August, while recording revenue of about $4.9 billion in period; WorldCom chief executive John W Sidgmore, SBC Communications chairman Edward E Whitacre Jr, Verizon Communications chief executive Ivan G Seidenberg and AT&T president David W Dorman comment; graph (Market Place column) (M)

Shares of ABB Ltú

Charles H Thornton, renowned engineer, argues that Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, world's tallest buildings, would have stood longer than twin towers of World Trade Center if they had been similarly struck by hijacked airliners and would have allowed more people to escape; says Petronas Towers, on whose design he collaborated, are extraordinary guide for engineers and architects who are now rethinking tall buildings from top to bottom; his assertions are called bold by some experts, self-serving by others; drawing; photos (L)

New York Knicks president Scott Layden insists that disputes between management and Latrell Sprewell are not irreconcilable, and will not keep two parties from moving forward together; photo (M)

An S.E.C. Charge May Force Martha Stewart's Hand Martha Stewart could be forced to step down from the company that bears her name, securities lawyers say, if the Securities and Exchange Commission brings a complaint against her in the coming weeks. The complaint would be related to her sale of nearly 4,000 shares of ImClone Systems last year. Ms. Stewart, 61, faces something like double jeopardy. Defending herself before the agency could undermine her defense against any possible criminal charges, which many lawyers consider likely. [Page C4.]

Anthony Tommasini reviews premiere of Metropolitan Opera production of Bellini opera Il Pirata featuring soprano Renee Fleming; photo (M)