Italian Prime Min Silvio Berlusconi, facing calls for government

World Business Briefing | Europe: Italy: A Plea For Fiat Funds

New York Yankees sign pitcher Roger Clemens to one-year contract (M)

Yanks Sign Clemens, With Eye On Colón

Article on controversy, which is abating, over health benefits of moderate drinking; many experts are convinced that drink or two a day of wine, beer or liquor could prevent heart attack, strokes and dementia in some adults; question remains whether any one form of alcohol is better than others; American Heart Assn and other organizations, however, do not suggest that teetotalers begin drinking; photos (M)

The Case for Drinking (All Together Now: In Moderation!)

New York Jets prepare to face Indianapolis Colts in playoff game; photo (M)

And Now, the Second Season; Jets Work on Constructing A Legacy to Be Proud Of

 Tyco Admits to Gimmickry In Inflating Its Earnings  Tyco International engaged for years in financial gimmickry to inflate its earnings, the company acknowledged for the first time, saying that it would erase $382 million in profits it had previously claimed.    Tyco said that an investigation had uncovered a corporate culture that encouraged managers to use accounting techniques to mislead investors. Until now, Tyco had contended that financial abuses were not widespread and that most of the abuses were related to the criminal charges that its former chief executive, L. Dennis Kozlowski, had looted the company of more than $600 million. [Page A1.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

New York Giants prepare for playoff game against San Francisco 49ers; photos (M)

And Now, the Second Season; Giants' Game Plan Starts With Containing Owens

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column contends that both New York Giants and New York Jets, which are preparing for playoff games, could make it to Super Bowl because of this season's lack of clear favorite and both teams' demonstrated hunger over past few games; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; Subway Bowl Definitely A Can-Do

Australian mining conglomerate BHP Billiton says Sweet River Investments, of which it owns some two-thirds, is exercising option to sell its 11.56 percent stake in Valepar, which owns 27 percent of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, world's largest producer of iron ore, to Companhia Siderurgica Nacional; will get $343 million from sale (S)

World Business Briefing | Americas: Brazil: Mine Stake Sold

Yemeni officials report three Americans killed at Baptist missionary hospital in central Yemen by man apparently belonging to small cell that plans to victimize both Westerners and secular Yemenis; fourth American is seriously wounded in attack; assailant, identified as Abed Abdul-Razak al-Kamil, sneaks semiautomatic rifle into hospital under his coat; Kamil surrenders to authorities and is arrested; this is latest in series of Islamic militant attacks against easily accessible American targets in region; officials in Washington say it is too early to know whether Kamil acted alone or is linked with Al Qaeda, whose leader Osama bin Laden has family origins in Yemen; guns are so common in Yemen that missionary hospital where attack occurred, in Jibla, has desk where visitors are supposed to check them; assailant easily evades site and bursts into room where staff meeting was taking place; those killed are hospital director William E Koehn, Dr Martha C Kyers and purchasing agent Kathleen A Gariety; pharmacist Donald W Caswell is shot but not killed; Kamil tells investigators he listened to speeches of Ali Mohammed Jarallah, member of Islamic Reform Party, who is being questioned by Yemeni authorities in connection with recent assassination of Socialist Party's deputy leader; Islamic militants are said to be resentful that missionary workers preach Christianity; photos; map (L)

3 U.S. Citizens Slain in Yemen In Rifle Attack

Creditors led by government-controlled Korea Exchange Bank approve $4 billion debt-relief plan to keep Hynix Semiconductor, troubled South Korean chip maker, alive; plan provides no added funds for research and development needed to keep up in fast-evolving field (M)

$4 Billion Debt Relief Plan Approved by Hynix Creditors

Clyde Haberman ponders large issues on New Year's Eve; revisits question of whether new millennium began on Jan 1, 2000, or Jan 1, 2001; wonders what first decade of new century should be called and suggests the Oh-Ohs, which would fill dual purpose of naming and defining last two years (M)

Before Seeing The Ball Drop, Go Figure

Deutsche Telekom reports raising 1.1 billion euros ($1.15 billion) from sale of real estate in fourth quarter as part of efforts to cut debt (S)

World Business Briefing | Europe: Germany: Phone Company Sells Assets

Lorin Maazel will lead New York Philharmonic in all-Gershwin New Year's Eve concert to be broadcast nationally on PBS; singer Christine Andreas will perform in New Year's Eve concert at Bellecour Room at Daniel; Symphony Space will open series featuring works by independent filmmakers; Boston's Mapparium will open multimedia display featuring debut of song Big Blue Earth on New Year's Eve; photos (M)

Footlights

Dutch antitrust regulators fine five mobile phone companies total of 88 million euros ($92 million) for colluding to reduce handset subsidies to retailers, which led to higher consumer prices (S)

World Business Briefing | Europe: The Netherlands: Phone Concerns Fined

Tyco International admits it engaged in financial gimmickry for years to inflate its earnings; will erase $382 million in profits it previously claimed; says five-month internal investigation has uncovered corporate culture that openly encouraged managers to push rules of accounting to mislead investors about company's results; until now, Tyco has contended that financial abuses were not widespread and most were related to criminal charges that former chief executive L Dennis Kozlowski looted company of hundreds of millions of dollars; new report is prepared by team of accountants and lawyers, led by David Boies; it makes clear that integrity of company's earnings suffered from 'aggressive accounting' intended to increase reported results above what they would have been; report and restatement are part of Tyco's effort to put troubled past behind it and move forward under new chief executive Edward D Breen; company pledges to pursue much more conservative accounting practices; photo of former chief financial officer Mark H Swartz, who has been indicted on charges of helping Kozlowski loot company (M)

Tyco Admits Using Accounting Tricks To Inflate Earnings

After months of growing fainter, the giant titanium cloud that was to have been the Guggenheim Museum on the East River in Manhattan dissolved yesterday, a victim of a weak economy and the Guggenheim's financial straits. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation said it had withdrawn its plan for a 400-foot-tall building designed by Frank Gehry.    Article, Page E1.

Museum Plan Dropped

 Israeli Objectors Rebuffed  The Israeli Supreme Court ruled that reserve soldiers may not refuse to serve in the occupied territories, saying that Israeli society was too polarized to let them make selective assertions of conscience.   PAGE A3    Qualms on Relativity Theory  Some physicists are suggesting that Einstein's theory of relativity, a pillar of science since it was propounded in 1905, will have to be revised.   SCIENCE TIMES, PAGE F1

INSIDE

Senior OPEC delegate says cartel is considering increasing oil production by 500,000 barrels a day in next two weeks or so in effort to restrain prices; report prompts 4.1 percent decline in commodity price of crude oil; traders caution that decrease might not be part of trend; Venezuelan officials say they have taken steps to revive production, which has been brought to virtual standstill by four-week strike, but traders remain skeptical; photo; graph (M)

OPEC Delegate Hints at Output Rise to Limit Prices

Saddam Hussein's Iraq is place of brutal and potentially explosive social divisions, with vast majority of people reduced to penury, with newly destitute middle class, and with favored few who have access to most extravagant luxuries; contrast in lifestyles between Hussein's elite and other Iraqis seems telling characteristic of society, besides pervasive climate of fear; Iraqis are terrified that their dissident thoughts will attract attention of Hussein's secret police; social and economic extremes are evident everywhere in Iraq; begging is common in Baghdad, but another Baghdad also exists with up-market districts where money can buy almost any luxury; war and sanctions destroyed many legitimate businesses, but also created boundless opportunities for black-marketeering that was quickly monopolized by those with connections to most powerful men in land; photos (L)

Amid Brutal Poverty in Iraq, A Favored Few Enjoy Riches

Nassau County officials approved a new tax roll today, overhauling the county's antiquated property tax system for the first time in 64 years.     But the Nassau Board of Assessors approved the tax roll by a narrow 3-to-2 vote, reflecting wariness about the new system. And county officials braced for a flurry of tax grievances starting Thursday, when property owners will have the opportunity to dispute the assessed values of their homes and businesses, some of which are bound to be higher than in years past.   

Nassau Overhauls Its Tax System, And Braces for Owners' Appeals

Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation director Thomas Krens, in face of budget cutbacks and week economy, announces withdrawal of plan to build $950 million museum designed by Frank Gehry on piers south of Brooklyn Bridge in Lower Manhattan; says Guggenheim still needs to expand within next decade and believes strong cultural presence would help revitalize downtown; Bloomberg administration accepts museum's withrawal; drawing; photos; map (M)

Guggenheim Drops Plans for Elaborate New Museum on East River

Bombardier's New Chief Is Practiced At Cleanups

Multibillion-dollar setttlement of asbestos-related health claims that Halliburton inherited when it bought Dresser Industries in 1998 hinges on idea of contained bankruptcy and, if it works, may offer way out labyrinth of litigation that has hounded dozens of companies, sometimes for decades, while delaying payouts to claimants who have been disabled or killed by asbestos; was driven by three developments: growing fear of asbestos liability, which if not dealt with quickly has had devastating consequences for companies, interest of claimants to receive compensation quickly, ideally from solvent companies, and claimant lawyers' fear that legislation might be enacted limiting corporate liability; lawyers describe how they reached settlement, which calls for Halliburton subsidiaries, but not Halliburton itself, to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and for Halliburton and subsidiaries to contribute to trust to pay claimants; photo (M)

The Path Taken By Halliburton To Reach a Deal In Asbestos Suits

Article on American Museum of Natural History's first composite reconstruction of full Neanderthal skeleton based on actual fossils; paleoanthropologist Dr Ian Tattersall affirms that Neanderthal is definitely separate species from Homo sapiens; key differences between it and modern humans described; photos (M)

Fully Assembled at Last, Neanderthal Strides Onstage

World Business Briefing | Europe: Britain: Engineer's Outlook Slips

Ryan Flamingo is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven.

Ryan Flamingo, Dutch footballer

Ryan_Flamingo

Joseph Michael Scally is an American professional soccer player who plays as a full-back for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach and the United States national team.

Joe Scally, American soccer player

Joe_Scally

Kevin Scott Macmichael was a Canadian guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known for being a member of the 1980s UK-based pop-rock band, Cutting Crew, who had a number-one hit in 1986 with "(I Just) Died in Your Arms". Cutting Crew was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1988.

December 31, 2002

Headlines from December 31, 2002

World Business Briefing | Europe: Italy: A Plea For Fiat Funds

Yanks Sign Clemens, With Eye On Colón

The Case for Drinking (All Together Now: In Moderation!)

And Now, the Second Season; Jets Work on Constructing A Legacy to Be Proud Of

BUSINESS DIGEST

Billboard 200

Up!

Home

I Care 4 U

Tim McGraw And The Dancehall Doctors

8 Mile

Notable Births

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for December 31, 2002