January 25, 2005

Fight is brewing over proceeds of Metromedia International Group; 90-year-old John W Kluge, who made his fortune through opportune sales of holdings of television stations and cellular phone licenses in 1980's, still oversees large network of businesses through his private holding company, Metromedia Co, which had $1.5 billion of revenues in 2003; Kluge also has stake in handful of public companies; all of these investments are faring poorly; shareholders of Metromedia International, whose stock could prove worthless after deal of Kluge's partner Stuart Subotnick negotiated last month to sell company's assets; Kluge and Subotnick have said nothing publicly about proposed sale; neither has News Corp, long-term investor in Metromedia with 10 percent stake; some hedge funds have been buying shares in recent weeks, hoping that they can double or triple their money in this penny stock by opposing pending offer for Metromedia's assets, which they say they believe are worth more than $300 million price; company is worth about $132 million, which will be divided up among common shareholders and holders of preferred stock in Metromedia (Market Place column) (M)

Anthony Elgindy, well-known figure in Internet world of penny stocks, is convicted on charges that he used confidential information from FBI agent about criminal investigations to profit illegally in market; Jeffrey A Royer, former agent who supplied information, is also found guilty of securities fraud conspiracy charges related to Elgindy's stock-selling scheme (M)

Article on 31-year-old pianist Eric Lewis, who recently quit Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in effort to find fame and fortune; Lewis has been working on soundtrack for PBS documentary, a self-financed fictionalized film about his life and the score for ballet commissioned by Joffrey Ballet; photos (M)

British Antarctic Survey scientists report that massive glaciers and ice shelves in Antarctica are thinning and becoming unstable at historically rapid pace; describe how ice shelves protect from accelerated influx of glacial ice into sea during period of melting; Dr Eric Rignot, Jet Propulsion Laboratory glaciologist, expresses concern in paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, that earthbound ice, which falls into ocean, will raise overall sea level and impact many regions around world; hypothesis for causes of glacier and ice thinning discussed; glacier elevations, which in some places have dropped by 124 feet in six months, described; maps; photo (L)

Article on Robert Krulwich, television news reporter whose penchant for science has led him to host new PBS show, Nova Now, which debuts on January 25; photo (M)