December 9, 2003

Ad industry forecasters Robert J Coen of Universal McCann and John Perriss of ZenithOptimedia predict end of recession in industry in 2004, speeches to opening session of annual UBS Media Week Conference; Coen increases his forecast for domestic ad-spending growth for next year to $266.4 billion from projection of $263.8 billion in June; his estimated final figure for 2003 is $249.2 billion, increase of 5.2 percent from 2002; Perriss predicts that US ad spending in 2004 will increase 5.1 percent from 2003; graph (M)

NEC Corp sells 178 billion yen ($1.65 billion) worth of new shares to reduce debt load; graph (S)

Rev Al Sharpton settles suit against New York City in which he claims police failed to protect him from stabbing during 1991 protest in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn; was preparing to march in demonstration protesting neighborhood gang murder of Yusef K Hawkins when Michael Riccardi stabbed him in chest; will receive $200,000, and city will relieve him of $7,447.76 bill for his hospitalization after incident; photo (M)

Employment concerns are growl

National Aeronautics and Space Administration head Sean O'Keefe identifies radiation hazards, on-board power generation and need for better propulsion as primary roadblocks to manned space mission to Mars; radiation, which is being analyzed at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island (NY), is of serious concern because little is known about effects of heavy ion radiation at even small levels; examples of impact of measurable radiation levels in humans discussed; Brookhaven scientists Dr Betsy Sutherland and Dr Derek I Lowenstein outline some research currectly be done on ion radiation's effects; photos, drawings, graph (M)