April 8, 2005

Photo of bass viol player Jordi Savall, who is focus of retrospective series at Metropolitan Museum

F.D.A. Expands Warnings On Popular Painkillers Federal drug regulators issued sweeping warnings that many popular painkillers could hurt the heart, stomach or skin, and they persuaded Pfizer to withdraw its once hot-selling pain pill, Bextra. Tough warnings about heart risks will soon dominate the labels for many prescription painkillers, and the labels of popular over-the-counter pills like Advil and Aleve will have to cite risks to the heart, stomach and skin, the agency said. [Page A1.] Ruling Favors DaimlerChrysler A federal judge ruled against the billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian in his fraud lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler. [C2.] MG Rover Near Insolvency The British government said the country's last major car producer, MG Rover, was nearing bankruptcy after the collapse of takeover negotiations with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation of China. [C2.] Wal-Mart Tries a New Focus Wal-Mart announced that it was upgrading its merchandise, while trying to maintain the loyalty of its core customer, the woman who is struggling to provide for herself and her family. [C3.] The nation's retailers reported mixed sales in March as cold weather kept many shoppers indoors, but analysts said consumers' willingness to spend nonetheless appeared robust. Wal-Mart, the largest retailer, said its sales at stores open at lease a year rose 4.3 percent. [C3.] Limits on Internet Gambling Upheld An appeals panel of the World Trade Organization ruled that the United States can maintain many of its restrictions on Internet gambling, largely reversing an earlier ruling. [C14.] Oil Prices Hurt European Economy With crude oil trading well above $50 a barrel, the European Central Bank said that the high price was ''very unwelcome,'' pulling down Europe's growth and pushing up inflation. [C2.] Opinion on Tax Refunds in Europe A member of Europe's highest court offered a preliminary opinion that could lead to billions of euros in tax refunds to companies at a time when many European governments can least afford them. [C2.] N.Y.S.E. Elects a Chairman The New York Stock Exchange elected Marshall N. Carter, a former chief executive of the institutional investment firm the State Street Corporation, as its new chairman. He succeeds John S. Reed, who was brought in after the departure of Richard A. Grasso. [C6.] Major Stock Indicators Show Gains Stocks rose as oil prices fell. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 7.07 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,191.14, and the Dow Jones industrial average rose 60.3 points, or 0.6 percent, to 10,546.32. The Nasdaq composite index added 19.65 points, or 1 percent, to 2,018.79. [C6.] '60 Minutes II' Wins Major Award One of the George Foster Peabody Awards for excellence in electronic media went to ''60 Minutes II'' for an exclusive, reported by Dan Rather, left, and produced by Mary Mapes, about abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Several months after that report ran, Ms. Mapes was fired and Mr. Rather retired as anchor of the ''CBS Evening News'' earlier than planned, in the wake of another broadcast, on President George W. Bush's National Guard service. Also winning a Peabody Award was ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,'' for its comedic coverage of the 2004 presidential race. [C6.] Half a Minute Can Be So Confining Three decades after the 30-second spot became the standard way to sell products on TV, marketers are increasingly willing to buy commercial time in different lengths.Stuart Elliott: Advertising. [C6.]

For nearly 85 years, neither icon has blinked. In Brooklyn, the statue of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, has maintained eye contact with the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, three and a half miles to the west. And all this time, Minerva's upraised left hand has saluted the torch of the goddess of liberty. But now a developer plans to build a 70-foot-tall condominium that would block the view known to generations of visitors to the monument on Battle Hill in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. And community groups have risen in protest, not only to preserve ''the view to Liberty,'' as they call it, but also to oppose developers' frenzy to build tall apartment blocks in their low-rise neighborhood. ''It would be a shame to lose this view,'' said Kent L. Barwick, president of the Municipal Art Society of New York. ''It is indicative of the total neglect in considering the visual consequences of developing our waterfront.''

Ben Brantley reviews revival of Ernest Thompson play On Golden Pond, directed by Leonard Foglia; James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams star; photos (M)

LET'S not go overboard here. It isn't as if scads of New York 50-somethings have been so enchanted by the planned wedding tomorrow of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles that they themselves are suddenly dashing madly down the aisle. That notion would be ''kind of a stretch,'' said Fay Goldman, a matchmaker who runs a Manhattan company called Meaningful Connections.