April 4, 2003

Long-term credit rating of Reuters Group is lowered one level by Standard & Poor's on concern cost-cutting plan may hurt revenue (S)

Angela Cummings, one of country's best-known jewelry designers, is closing her Manhattan office, paying off her staff, withdrawing her inventory and closing down boutiques in her main outlets Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, effective June 1; Cummings' departure is sending word, not only through high-price jewelry world, but through fashion community as well, that even when designer is doing well, staying in business may not be worth it; apparel and jewelry designers say that department stores, in present difficult retail environment, are trying to squeeze more money from them; photos (M)

Congressional Republicans and Democrats are looking into supposedly tiny, tax-exempt insurance companies and how they have been used to shield many millions of dollars of investment profits from taxes; focus of inquiries is billionaire Wall Street investor Peter R Kellogg, who for 10 days refused to comply with federal law requiring him to make available on request annual reports that his tax-exempt insurance companies file with Internal Revenue Service; newly released documents show that in 2000 and 2001 IAT Reinsurance, one of Kellogg's companies, avoided $78.6 million in federal taxes on its profits; company escaped $189 million of taxes on $539.6 million of investment profits from 1996 through 2001; Kellogg's SLK Reinsurance escaped taxes of $1.3 million on profits of $3.7 million in 2000 and 2001; tax-exempt insurance companies were allowed by Congress in 1954 as way to help farmers and others having hard time getting insurance (M)

China's apple growers are content with growing apples for export despite depressed market; even deeply depressed market is preferable to what farmers suffered through for decades, when they could not expect to make even $1 per day selling crops to local markets; after China opened its agriculture to broader export market in 1980's, Chinese farmers started growing apples; China produces 1.5 billion bushels of apples per year--about half world's supply, and nearly seven times American production of about 215 million bushels per year; China is working to improve productivity of its relatively low-yielding orchards (M)

United States armed forces roll out of desert to western outskirts of Baghdad as Iraqi officials in city insist that American approach is 'an illusion'; thud of artillery marks arrival near city of first foreign army since British forces occupied Iraq in 1941; allied forces enter Saddam International Airport, 10 miles from city, and by next day they control 75 percent of it; Col William F Grimsley says most Iraqi forces are dispersed and fighting in small groups; says 40 Republican Guards are taken prisoner; Defense Sec Donald H Rumsfeld has cautioned that while army of Saddam Hussein is weakened, it is 'still lethal'; his comments appear to reflect fact that exact fate of best-trained forces thought to be most committed to defense of Hussein remain unclear; some Republican Guard units have been routed, but others may have pulled back into shelter of city streets; next question is whether allied forces will seek to press into city immediately or wait for Iraqi government to implode under growing pressure; Gen Richard B Myers, chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, makes clear allied intention to isolate Hussein and avoid street-to-street fighting if possible; decision of American commanders not to throw third division-size force at Baghdad from north may now be tested; photos; map (L)

William C Rhoden Sports of The Times column discusses Texas University's quest to reclaim long-lost basketball legacy, last seen in 1947 when aftermath of World War II colored Texas's last NCAA semifinals appearance; former players Slater Martin and Vilbry White comment; photos (M)

Article on unspoiled wilderness just 15 minutes outside Oakland, Calif; describes hikes in Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, Huckleberry Botanical Preserve, Arrowhead Marsh and Redwood Regional Park; photos; maps (M)

News analysis of Schools Chancellor Joel Klein's thorny relationship with school principals' union; union president, Jill Levy, accuses Klein of disrespecting her members; at issue is fact that three-quarters of union's members are not principals, but assistant principals and other school administrators who work for them (M)

Israelis Kill 7 Palestinians Israeli soldiers killed seven Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and they continued to detain more than 1,000 outside the Tulkarm refugee camp while searching for bombing suspects. PAGE A8 Effort to Shield Gun Makers Opening a new drive to shield the firearms industry, the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill giving gun manufacturers and dealers immunity from many suits, including ones already in court. PAGE A12

Article on Brenda Priddy of Phoenix, Ariz, one of tiny corps of spy photographers around world who try to capture shots of new cars out on test runs before they are unveiled to public; photos (M)

Japan's NTT DoCoMo will take one-time charge related to taxes, cutting its profit for last year by 27 billion yen ($226 million) (S)

Germany's Federal Labor Office says number of unemployed in March rose seasonally adjusted 52,000, to 4.41 million, nearly half million people more than year before; rate increased one-tenth of percentage point from February, to 10.6 percent (S)