New York Knicks fire president Scott Layden and appoint Isiah Thomas to replace Layden; Thomas was Indiana Pacers coach and Detroit Pistons player; photos (M)

The Listing Knicks Make a Change at the Top

Dr Piotr Bienkowski, University of Manchester (Eng) archaeologist, and Dr Katharina Galor of Brown University, who specializes in archaeology of Israel, organize symposium Crossing the Rift: Resources, Routes, Settlement Patterns and Interactions in the Wadi Arabah; meeting, originally scheduled to be held in Jerusalem, was held in Atlanta (Georgia) when Middle East tensions heightened; Wadi Arabah region, straddling border between Jordan and Israel, is considered long-time trade and water route and therefore rife with excavation sites, many of which date back to Early Bronze Age 5,000 years ago; brief history of region given; regional archaeological findings discussed; photos (L)

A Tense Border's More Peaceful Past

World Business Briefing | Europe: France: Debt Agreement Said Near

Dr Endre Balazs, Hungarian scientist building on earlier research by opthalmologist Karl Meyer into Hyaluronan sources and extraction, discovered in 1940's how to extract and purify hyaluronan from rooster combs; hyaluronan compound has numerous sources and has been used theraputically for many conditions and as aid in surgery; current application under consideration by Food and Drug Administration is cosmetic treatment for wrinkles; process of extracting and purifying compound from chickens discussed; photos (M)

From the Head of a Rooster To a Smiling Face Near You

Moody's Investors Service weighs raising its rating on debt of

World Business Briefing | Asia: Thailand: Bank Outlook Raised

Three of the four leading cast members of the hit television comedy ''Seinfeld'' are declining to participate in the making of a DVD series of the show because they are unhappy with the related financial deals they have had over the years, people close to the actors and the show said on Monday.    These people said that the three actors -- Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played Elaine; Michael Richards, who played Kramer; and Jason Alexander, who played George -- made the joint decision not to give on-camera interviews for the DVD or otherwise participate in it.  

Three Stars of 'Seinfeld' Boycott a DVD Deal

Selena Roberts Sports of The Times column contends that Madison Square Garden head James L Dolan's decision to replace New York Knicks president Scott Layden with Isiah Thomas is cheap way to wow fans and franchise with big-name leader, but really does nothing to repair team's problems (M)

Sports of The Times; Dolan Is Switching Channels, But Nothing's Worth Watching

After a last-minute surge, 95 percent of eligible relatives of Sept. 11 victims had applied to join the government's ambitious but much-criticized compensation effort as the deadline neared last night.    Officials with the federal Victim Compensation Fund, who worried just weeks ago that many eligible survivors would not sign up, said applications had come in by the hundreds as the hours to the midnight deadline wound down yesterday.  

APPLICANTS RUSH TO MEET DEADLINE FOR SEPT. 11 FUND

The rising young painter John Currin, the subject of a widely acclaimed midcareer survey now at the Whitney Museum of American Art, has startled the art world by leaving the gallery that nurtured him for one of the most powerful and ambitious on the international art scene, a director at his new gallery said.    Mr. Currin, 41, switched his affiliation last week from his longtime New York dealer, Andrea Rosen, to Larry Gagosian's gallery, said Stefania Bortolami, a director there.   

Art World Startled as Painter Switches Dealers

Children of women being held at Rikers Island prison in New York join their mothers for annual Christmas party; program aims to ease eventual transition back to family life and to strengthen bond between woman being held in medium- and low-security facilities and their young children; photos (M)

They Won't Be Home for Christmas; But a Party Helps Jailed Mothers Prepare for Their Freedom

Three spacecraft are currently on way to Mars and all three plan to search surface of planet for signs of life; Beagle 2, European Space Agency craft, is scheduled to arrive Christmas morning and land on surface of Isidis Planitia, broad basin; two American robotic rovers are due to land in January with Spirit scheduled to touch down near center of Gusev Crater and Opportunity to land at Meridiani Planum; two-thirds of all flights to Mars have failed; successful missions of two Viking spacecraft in 1976 and Mars Pathfinder in 1997 detailed; Spirit and Opportunity missions discussed; photos (L)

Looking for a Little Life, 3 Visitors Descend on Mars

 Fed Report Criticizes Giant Mortgage Buyers  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation's two biggest mortgage buyers, receive as much as $164 billion in implicit federal subsidies but have done little to increase home ownership or reduce the cost of home loans, according to a draft study by the Federal Reserve.     The study will probably intensify debate about the companies, which have come under heavy fire for their accounting practices and for the special treatment they receive as government-sponsored corporations. [Page C8.]    Ford Revamps Visteon Arrangement  Ford Motor announced a sweeping restructuring of its relationship with Visteon, its main parts supplier. Ford will take a pretax charge of $1.65 billion against fourth-quarter earnings to assume the retirement health care liabilities of Visteon employees. Ford also raised its 2003 earnings estimates. For the year, the company said earnings should be $1.05 to $1.10 a share, up from its previous estimate of 95 cents to $1.05 a share. The estimates exclude the Visteon charge and other items. [C2.]    Lawyers for DaimlerChrysler and the billionaire investor, Kirk Kerkorian, engaged in a skirmish in a federal court hearing over the tardy release of documents by the auto company that could be significant in their trial. [C2.]    United Ends Pact With Mesa  United Airlines said it had ended an agreement to make Mesa Airlines Group its East Coast regional carrier if Mesa succeeded in a takeover bid for United's existing regional partner. [C2.]    Dow Closes at 19-Month High  Stocks rose, lifting the Dow industrials average to a fifth consecutive 19-month high. The Dow climbed 59.78 points to 10,338.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 4.28 points to 1,092.94, also a 19-month high, and the Nasdaq composite rose 4.78 points to 1,955.80. [C8.]    Fund Company Puts Three on Leave  Franklin Resources, the asset management company known for its Franklin and Templeton mutual funds, said in a regulatory filing that it had placed a trader and two officers on leave after finding that they had rapidly traded fund shares. [C12.]    Novell Registers Unix Copyrights  Novell has quietly registered for the copyrights on many versions of Unix code that the SCO Group says it owns, further muddying the water surrounding the dispute that has embroiled the Unix world for almost a year. [C5.]    Linus Torvalds, creator of the popular Linux operating system, defended his work as not always lovely but original -- and certainly not copied, as SCO Group has asserted. [C5.]    Air Canada Accepts Sweetened Bid  After a second bidding contest, Air Canada has again chosen Trinity Time Investments, a company controlled by Victor Li, left, of Hong Kong, to become its biggest shareholder when the airline emerges from a court-supervised restructuring. Air Canada is moving toward a heavier emphasis on international routes, especially Asia and the United States. It expects a link with Trinity to open opportunities in Asia. [World Business, Section W.]    Mexico Ends Tax Reform Effort  The Mexican Congress ended President Vicente Fox's hopes for a tax reform aimed at raising one of the lowest rates of collection in Latin America after the lower house's finance committee yet again rejected his proposals. [World Business, Section W.]    Captive Audience for Advertising  Airlines are gearing up to bring a lot more advertising to us in 2004 in the confines of our airplane seats. Joe Sharkey: On the Road. [C6.]  

BUSINESS DIGEST

Hillary from Westchester was on the line, and she was upset.    ''Literally, I have been accused of everything from murder on down,'' the first-time caller complained. ''And it's hurtful and personally distressing when it first happens. But when it continues . . .''  

For Mrs. Clinton, Listening Subsides; Her Talk Is Louder

Ira Berkow Sports of The Times column contends that New York Knicks newly-appointed president Isiah Thomas exemplifies leadership qualities and humility taught to him by his mother Mary Thomas (M)

Sports of The Times; Thomas's Strengths Reflect Those Shown by His Mother

 Arabs Rough Up Egyptian Official at Mosque in Jerusalem  Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, on a mission to restart Israel-Palestinian talks, was called a traitor by militants when he went to Al Aksa.   PAGE A3    Inquiry Into Weapons Case  The Justice Department is investigating charges that officials provided false testimony against Edwin Wilson, an ex-C.I.A. officer convicted of selling Libya explosives.   PAGE A18    6.5 Quake in California  The largest earthquake to hit the state in four years was felt from Los Angeles to San Francisco, damaged dozens of buildings and left at least two people dead.   PAGE A18

INSIDE

Royal Dutch/Shell to take $1 billion charge in fourth quarter; expects record net loss for year of about $100 million (S)

World Business Briefing | Europe: A Charge At Shell

This is the year that the discounters took over Toyland.     The toy business has long been as cutthroat as a fully engaged Captain Jack Sparrow, and for the last several years Wal-Mart, Target and other discounters have captured ground from toy retailers during the prime toy-buying period around the holidays.      This fall, Wal-Mart's toy prices were the cheapest across the board, according to the Prudential Equity Group, which compares prices for 50 top-selling toys during the holidays. While Wal-Mart's share has been growing each year, Toys ''R'' Us, the country's biggest toy chain, had long held an advantage on prices in the Prudential survey.     Another survey, by Goldman Sachs, also found Wal-Mart increasingly undercutting the prices of Toys ''R'' Us as the holidays drew closer. The Goldman survey examined prices on a different assortment, ranging from an 87-cent Hot Wheels car (87 cents) to an Xbox console ($179.99), through last Tuesday.      The toys-only retailers are feeling the pain. Last month, Toys ''R'' Us said that its losses per share, already expected to be about 9 cents, would be twice that, at 18 cents. The company also said it would close 182 free-standing Kids ''R'' Us stores as well as its Imaginarium chain, leaving it with 1,451 stores.     KB Toys, a privately held toy retailer, has also indicated it is struggling; it missed a payment to manufacturers on Dec. 12. And FAO, the owner of the F.A.O. Schwarz, Zany Brainy and Right Start chains, filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 9.      Wal-Mart had the lowest prices on 92 percent of the toys surveyed, compared with a 77 percent reading in the survey last year, a Prudential analyst, Mark Rowen, said in the report. The prices at Toys ''R'' Us were the cheapest on 4 percent of the toys, tied with Target, which also increased its assortment of toys in time for this holiday season. Buying every single toy in the survey cost $1,692.62 at Wal-Mart, compared with $1,781.48 at Toys ''R'' Us and $1,877.17 at Target.      The Goldman Sachs survey found that the prices at Toys ''R'' Us and Target were neck-and-neck in early November, with Target leading by Nov. 24. However, by the time the Goldman Sachs analyst, Matthew J. Fassler, made a third trip to the stores on Dec. 16, Wal-Mart had surged ahead, with prices that were 2 percent lower than the average of the three chains.      ''Wal-Mart appears to be far more aggressive on price this year than last, when our holiday 2002 survey revealed that Toys ''R'' Us offered the cheapest basket of toys over all,'' Mr. Rowen wrote in his report. He urged investors to de-emphasize Toys ''R'' Us stock, forecasting that its share price, then nearly $13, would fall to $10.     Perhaps as significant as the prices, the discounters are selling more of the big-ticket toys than they traditionally have, putting a tighter squeeze on Toys ''R'' Us and FAO. The most expensive toy in the Prudential survey, the Barbie Cook With Me Smart Kitchen priced at $129.99 at Toys ''R'' Us, is available at Wal-Mart for $118.64 and at Target for $129.99. On the Web site, Walmart.com, a Big Bratz Yasmin doll is $79.88 with an offer to ship the toy for 97 cents, and a Tyco Monster Jam remote-control truck, nicknamed Grave Digger, is $99.62, with shipping available for 97 cents. An air hockey table, the Sportcraft Hat Trick III, is $234.68, although there was no guarantee it could be delivered before Dec. 24.      In some cases, the Prudential survey found, expensive toys are only pennies apart in the three stores. The Leap Frog Leapster, an electronic learning game released this year and considered a top seller, is $79.99 at Toys ''R'' Us, $79.84 at Wal-Mart and $79.99 at Target.      ''We have always carried toys that our customers have wanted,'' said Karen Burk, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart. ''It's all based on our store-of-the-community concept. There is going to be a slight difference from store to store, based on the concept.''      For Wal-Mart, which has increasingly opened stores in more affluent suburban areas in recent years, serving a more demanding clientele means stocking an escalating array of toys. Even Wal-Mart's private-label toys, the ones it orders itself instead of relying on a manufacturer like Mattel or Hasbro, suggest a better-off Wal-Mart shopper than in past years. On the company's Web site, a toy Hummer vehicle, available in yellow or black, has been a top seller, Ms. Burk added, priced at just under $100.     The Prudential survey took into account prices on display during store visits as well as those shown in store circulars and online. It found that not all prices were consistent across the various outlets or across the country. All three stores had prices that ranged from highest in the survey to lowest, showing that none of them can claim to have the lowest price on every toy. Perhaps they suspect that few are likely to navigate all three chains in search of the best price on everything.      Susan McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for Toys ''R'' Us, said the company would release holiday sales data on Jan. 8. ''We've been really competitive in pricing this year,'' she said. ''It's easy to have a price that's very low on something you do not have. One thing we've promised is that we're going to be in stock the longest.''      The Goldman Sachs survey found that Wal-Mart had items out of stock more often than Toys ''R'' Us or Target. There were exceptions, of course, like the Lego area, where the offer from Toys ''R'' Us to ''buy one, get the second for 50 percent off'' left shelves almost empty, Mr. Fassler wrote in his report.      It was more of the same at other stores, he added. ''We found Target fairly picked over'' during the December visit, he wrote. ''Most prices were not visible or difficult to find, and we found certain items stacked high on storage racks while their shelf spots remained empty.'' Wal-Mart had experienced a stampede, it appeared: ''Wal-Mart's toy area was the most visibly in disarray and shopped through; even Wal-Mart's board game display at the very front of the store was almost entirely empty.''      Wal-Mart rang up about 20 percent of total toy sales in the United States by dollar this year, the same proportion held by Toys ''R'' Us a decade ago, said Tom Goetzinger, a senior analyst for Morningstar. Toys ''R'' Us's share has slipped to 17 percent, he added, calling it ''a pretty big shift.'' Ms. McLaughlin said that share had risen over the last five years, and that in the still-fragmented toy business, ''there is still plenty of share to be gained.''     Mr. Rowen would not comment beyond the report, citing Prudential policy, and Mr. Fassler was not available. But other analysts said Wal-Mart began cutting prices in October, and that Target widened its array of toys for the holiday season while cutting prices sharply as well.      ''Relative to a year ago, Target has really expanded their toy offering and lowered the prices for toys,'' said Bill Sims, a retail analyst for Citigroup. Target appeared to have gone out on a discounting limb in some cases, selling the Barbie as Swan Lake doll for $15.88, compared with $16.43 at Wal-Mart and $16.99 at Toys ''R'' Us; and the Lego NBA Ultimate Arena for $77.99, compared with $88.88 at Wal-Mart and $79.99 at Toys ''R'' Us, the Prudential report found.      Lena Klofstad, a spokeswoman for Target, called its prices competitive and said they were ''changing as the season progresses.'' She confirmed that more toys were being featured because of the holiday shopping season. ''There was a concerted effort to make sure we had the toys in our stores that our guests were going to want,'' she said. Bratz dolls ($29.99 in the Prudential survey for one called Winter Wonderland), board games like Cranium ($14.99, compared with $14.73 at Wal-Mart and $16.99 at Toys ''R'' Us), and the Tonka Jr. Mighty Dump Truck ($7.99 at Target, $7.97 at Toys ''R'' Us and $7.96 at Wal-Mart) are among the selections.     Both Target and Wal-Mart have lowered prices to the point where they may be losing money on individual toys, some analysts said, but do so because they expect toy shoppers to buy less heavily discounted products in other departments as well.      ''From Toys ''R'' Us's perspective, how do you compete when your nearest two competitors don't have to be profitable?'' Mr. Sims said.      He thinks Toys ''R'' Us will find a way to survive, possibly with the help of toy makers who are anxious to have alternatives to Wal-Mart and Target.      ''It's in the interests of the toy manufacturers to make sure Toys ''R'' Us stays in business so they don't have to sell directly to the discounters,'' he said.  

Toy Retailers Find Prices At Wal-Mart Tough to Beat

Clyde Haberman column praises Lord & Taylor for using its Christmas display windows to commemorate 1897 New York Sun editorial in which Francis Pharcellus Church assured young Virginia O'Hanlon that, yes, there was a anta Claus; says city is generally very neglectful of its history; photo (M)

In This House, A Little Girl Had a Question

Emile Dixon, member of drug gang in Brooklyn, is sentenced to life without parole for murder of two men in what is seen seen as reversal for Atty Gen John Ashcroft, who directed federal prosecutors to seek death penalty; case raises question of whether federal jurors in New York are especially reluctant to vote for capital punishment; Dixon's victims were Robert Thompson, who was cooperating with investigation of attempted murder case against gang member, and Alphonso Gooden, who was caught in gun battle over drug turf (M)

Jury Rejects Death Penalty In 2 Killings

The producer Richard D. Zanuck, 68, knows something about the relationship between fathers and sons. He tussled for many years with his father, the legendary cigar-chomping movie mogul Darryl F. Zanuck, who virtually brought his son up on the lot of the 20th Century Fox studio, picked him to take over the reins at 26 and fired him nine years later.    ''It was different from a normal father-son relationship,'' Mr. Zanuck said in an interview over a lunch salad in Beverly Hills. ''But I was able to patch everything up before my father died.''  

With Father-Son Movies, a Zanuck Knows All About That

Mexican Congress again rejects Pres Vicente Fox's proposal to raise nation's low tax collection rate and overhaul tax system; Fox scores vote as historic mistake, televised speech; defeat leaves him looking outmaneuvered again by old-school politicians (M)2

Mexican Congress Rejects Tax Changes

Brazil reports its jobless rate fell in Nov to 12.2 percent in six-largest metropolitan areas from 12.9 percent in Oct (S)

World Business Briefing | Americas: Brazil: Jobless Rate Falls

Standard & Poor's says it raised more Japanese corporate credit ratings than it cut for first time since 1990's; cites corporate cost-cutting efforts and stronger profits (S)

World Business Briefing | Asia: Japan: More Corporate Upgrades

Japan's merchandise trade surplus grew 11.3 percent in Nov from Nov 2002 to 990 billion yen ($9 billion); exports fell 2 percent; surplus with United States shrank 30 percent, to 548 billion yen (S)

World Business Briefing | Asia: Japan: Trade Surplus Expands

The Bush administration proposed to overhaul federal vehicle fuel economy regulations yesterday for the first time since they were created after the oil shocks of the 1970's.      But it is not clear to what extent, if at all, the proposals -- which are aimed at sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and minivans -- would reduce gasoline consumption or save lives, two of the main stated goals of the program.  

Plan Offered To Overhaul Fuel Rules For Vehicles

PetroChina Company Limited is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. The company is currently Asia's largest oil and gas producer. Traded in Hong Kong and New York, the mainland enterprise announced its plans to issue stock in Shanghai in November 2007, and subsequently entered the constituent of SSE 50 Index. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, PetroChina was ranked as the 32nd-largest public company in the world.

An explosion at the PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field in Kai County, Chongqing, China, kills at least 234.

December 23, 2003

Headlines from December 23, 2003

The Listing Knicks Make a Change at the Top

A Tense Border's More Peaceful Past

World Business Briefing | Europe: France: Debt Agreement Said Near

From the Head of a Rooster To a Smiling Face Near You

World Business Briefing | Asia: Thailand: Bank Outlook Raised

Billboard 200

The Diary Of Alicia Keys

Shock'n Y'All

Closer

Now 14

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Historical Events

Historical Context for December 23, 2003