March 14, 2003

Steve Reichl and Thu Huong collaborate on Vietnam: Journeys of Body, Mind and Spirit, most comprehensive American exhibition ever mounted on contemporary Vietnamese life, which opens at Museum of Natural History in New York; they are unlikely pair but have become friends; he is Vietnam vet who is on staff of museum and she represents Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi; their relationship and his combat experience discussed; photos (M)

Floyd Norris column on recent disclosures by Tyco International of financial problems at its security subsidiary despite investor confidence in company after new management, led by Edward D Breen, assured investors at end of 2002 that no major fraud was found at company; says Tyco's head David Boies lined up investors at end of last year for two convertible bond issues that proved to be overwhelming success, growing to $4.5 billion from initially announced $3.25 billion; holds investors feel betrayed, and share price is now only pennies above price it rose to on day Breen was hired last year; adds bonds, with conversion prices in low $20's, are trading well below what investors paid for them; graph (M)

Norway's Den Norske Bank and

Molly Haskell article on rush to see Oscar-worthy movies, especially this year when unusually high number of films are in contention; concedes that she and husband, Andrew Sarris, both film writers, enjoy perks of screenings and videotapes, not to mention justifiable dissipation of walking into movie theater in broad daylight on weekday; also mourns loss of most of New York's funkier little theaters (M)

SK Group, conglomerate dominating South Korea's economy, has fallen under cloud of suspicion and investors fearing worst are rushing to pull money out, with government hurrying to keep panic from developing by injecting liquidity into market; country's 31 investment trust companies, akin to mutual fund operators, decide to halt all transactions after more than $4 billion was withdrawn by investors in matter of days; Bank of Korea says it will put $1.6 billion into bond market to counter effects of fund redemptions; Byong Yang Ho, director for financial policy in finance ministry, says Korean economy will able to absorb problem; Hana Bank's shares plunge by daily limit of 15 percent because of concerns about its exposure to SK Group; photo (M)