September 28, 2004

Former Enron executive Michael Kopper testifies against four former Merrill Lynch & Co executives and two former Enron executives charged with conspiring with former Enron chief financial officer Andrew S Fastow to rig bogus deal in Dec 1999 that made it appear Merrill bought interest in some Nigerian barges owned by Enron to let Enron report some $12 million in profit; offers glimpse through eyes of participant of deals Fastow orchestrated; says Fastow told colleagues of oral agreement to take Merrill out of investment within six months; alleged accord between Fastow and defendant Daniel Bayly, former head of investment banking at Merrill, is at heart of case; Kopper says Fastow arranged for LJM2, investment fund Fastow managed, to buy investment at profit for Merrill and said unnamed Enron executives would buy out LJM2's interest in barges if buyer could not be found by early 2001; photo (M)

Pres Bush's campaign is pressing audiences at his campaign rallies to work as foot soldiers before, during and immediately after Bush events; tickets to Bush rallies are being given to volunteers who man phone banks, canvass Republican homes or put up lawn signs; tactic points up stark difference between presidential campaigns: while Sen John Kerry uses his rallies and forums to try to reach undecided voters and to close deal with standoffish Democrats, Bush campaign packs his audiences with supporters who must identify themselves as such in questionnaires. whipping them into brigades ready to blitz crucial districts to get every last voter to polls; Yale political science Prof Donald P Green calls Bush strategy inspired but Kerry aides scoff at invitation-only audiences; Kerry himself mocks Bush's policy, noting that nobody has to sign loyalty oath to attend one of his rallies; photo (M)

Dallas Cowboys defeat Washington Redskins, 21-18; photos (M)

Ifo Institute's index of German business confidence falls to 95.2 in September from 95.3 in August, held down by stagnant consumer spending; business confidence graph (S)

Article on late Spanish artist Salvador Dali, who was expelled from Surrealist movement in 1939 but remained best known Surrealist until his death in 1989; centenary of his birth has spawned Dali exhibitions across Catalonia, elsewhere in Spain, Europe and US; major touring show, Dali and Mass Culture, will be at Salvador Dali Museum in St Petersburg, Fla, from October 1 through January 30; another exhibit Dali, which focuses on his paintings, is at Palazzo Grassi in Venice through January 16 and will be at Philadelphia Museum of Art from February 16 through May 15; photos (M)