March 29, 2001

FIVE STOCKS THAT ARE WORTH A LOOK

IT'S time to stick my neck out again. My stock picker and I recommended 10 boring stocks in this column last April that have appreciated 28 percent over the last...

GUCCI VS. LVMH SLUGFEST HEADED BACK INTO COURT ; ARNAULT CALLS GUCCI PLOY ACT OF DESPERATION

Domenico De Sole's Gucci is headed back to court - prompting archrival Bernard Arnault to call his latest move a sign of "desperation." As the increasingly ugly battle between De...

POOR TED, HE'S BEING PICKED ON ; WWF BOSS USES DEAL TO TAUNT TURNER

As if Ted Turner's public humiliation hasn't been bad enough, now he's being taunted by none other than WWF boss Vince McMahon. It's been all downhill for Turner since AOL...

AOL-TW LOST $300M PLAYING THE MARKET

AOL Time Warner could use a new investment consultant. The media and Internet giant said it may take a "significant" non-cash pretax charge in the first quarter to write down...

HE'S BANKING WHILE HIS FIRM IS TANKING

As AOL Time Warner axes thousands of employees, its two head honchos are taking home a fortune. CEO Jerry Levin gained $152.6 million last year by exercising stock options granted...

BOSTON PROP SAYS IT WON'T LET LAWSUIT STOP ITS CITI CENTER BUY

Boston Properties intends to complete the acquisition of Citigroup Center despite a lawsuit against its prospective partner, it asserted yesterday in a statement. The real estate investment trust led by...

EISNER'S SON'S SITE ROMPING HOME

Hold the front page - a successful Internet subscription business has been discovered! According to its boss Eric Eisner, The Romp (www.romp.com) has pulled in a staggering 11,000 paying subscribers...

THE BEAR IS BACK; STOCKS SELL OFF AS 1ST-QTR. FORECAST IS THE WORST SINCE 1991

It was too good to last. The three-day stock market rally came screeching to a halt yesterday as the Nasdaq plunged almost 6 percent. Awful news from Palm Inc. and...

PALM SHARES PLUMMET 48%, DRAG DOWN MARKETS

The broad sell-off in stocks yesterday was sparked by Palm Inc., whose shares plummeted 48 percent after it forecast a loss this quarter because no one was buying. Palm, perhaps...

GOING ON A FIRST DATE

IT'S not a surprise that a growing number of us are doing our car shopping on-line, comparing prices to find the best deal. What is surprising is how many of...

MARRIOTT OF DANCE

For a special New YorkPulse series, Post critic CliveBarnes has been revisitingBroadway favorites to seehow they hold up over time. RIVERDANCE ON BROADWAY 1/2Gershwin Theater, 222 W. 51st St., (212)...

THEY 'DRILL' AND THRILL: ; 'BOOT' IS A HOOT

"Boot Camp" Last night at 9 on Fox/Ch. 5 FOX'S new "Boot Camp" is a scream - literally. The stars of this new reality-TV series, inspired by U.S. Marine Corps...

LITTLE STEVEN RESCUES ROCK

LITTLE Steven Van Zandt says rock is dead.But the New Jersey guitarist, member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and star of TV's "The Sopranos," has found a way to...

THE ICEMAN COMETH UP SHORT

MNEMONICJohn Jay College, 899 10th Ave. between 58th & 59th streets. Through May 24. WOW! All the lights went down. We had to put on a mask and recall last...

THE SWEET SMELL OF REVENGE

A FEW days ago, the elderly woman who lives above me put in a swimming pool - in my apartment.The second I discovered the flood, I began pairing things up,...

ONLINE POLL VOTERS SAY THEY'D... RATHER HAVE DAN'S NEWS

RUMORS of Dan Rather's imminent retirement are greatly exaggerated, CBS claims, but that hasn't stopped a lively guessing game about who might replace him. And so far, the answer is...

NOW 'SURVIVOR' MEETS THE HAMPTONS

HAS roller-coaster riding stock market ruined your chances of spending this summer at a luxe beach-front cottage in the Hamptons? Have no fear. ABC can take you there anyway via...

HOLD THE PHONE! ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN: VOICE MAIL CAN COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU

WELCOME to the land of the Internet, where Dancing Babies; a crazy Turkish man, Mahir; and, now, The Guy - who uploaded up his ex-girlfriend's disturbing voice mails - can...

BUY, BUY, BUY! 'COLLECTOR' SHOW FLASHES THE CASH

"The Incurable Collector" Sunday at noon on A&E 1/2 EBAY and "Antiques Roadshow" have turned millions of us into compulsive speculators. Suddenly, we're all running to our attics and closets...

GILDA RADNER LIFE TO BE A TV MOVIE: ANOTHER SAD STAR STORY FOR ABC NETWORK

FUNNYLADY Glida Radner is about to be immortalized in a made-for-TV movie on ABC. The network is developing the film, to be produced by Merv Griffin and others, based on...

JUMPING ROPES: HOW TO BUST INTO SPRING'S POSHEST PLAYPENS

You may have already read about the spring's hottest lounges -- Underbar, Cherry, Bungalow 8, The Cellar Bar and The Park -- on our very own Page Six. But do...

B'KLYN PIZZA-DELIVERY TEEN SHOT IN THE HEAD

A teenage immigrant - working 72 hours a week to help build his family's dream house back in Mexico - was shot and critically wounded early yesterday in Brooklyn as...

N.J. TREASURER PICK PULLS OUT

The woman tapped to be New Jersey's state treasurer bitterly dropped out yesterday after revelations she was fired by Citibank for using company funds to rendezvous with her married lover....

'POP' DIVAS ENDORSING RIVAL SODAS

It's the war of the soda-pop queens. Only weeks after Pepsi signed Britney Spears to hawk its product, Coke has hit back, inking Christina Aguilera. That means TV viewers will...

DISPOSABLE HEARING AID? SOUNDS GOOD

Now hear this - the world's first disposable hearing aid has gone on the market. Health experts hope it will encourage more people to take care of their hearing problems....

MCVEIGH LAMENTS DYING WITHOUT BECOMING DAD

Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's only regret is being caught before he could start a family - and he even considered having his sperm smuggled out of prison, a new...

ISRAELI CHOPPERS FIRE BACK ; MISSILE STRIKES AT PALESTINIANS A MESSAGE TO END TERRORISM

JERUSALEM - Israel's airstrikes against Yasser Arafat yesterday were the first step of "an ongoing offensive against terrorist targets," officials said. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered yesterday's helicopter rocket attacks...

PENSION-FUND LOSSES COULD DOG MCCALL AND HEVESI

ANALYSIS ALBANY - Wall Street's sharp decline is a ticking bomb that threatens to explode in the faces of two candidates - state Comptroller Carl McCall and city Comptroller Alan...

MEATPACKERS CAUGHT IN A POLITICAL GRINDER

THE businessman stood next to the garbage truck like a grieving widower as $500,000 worth of his meat was trashed under the watchful eye of federal investigators. Other businessmen in...

DAVID COPPERFIELD'S BLAZE OF GLORY ; MAGICIAN WILL STAND IN A FLAMING TWISTER

Master illusionist David Copperfield, who has disappeared lately while rival David Blaine grabbed the spotlight, is trying to regain the magic with his most dangerous stunt ever. He'll immerse himself...

LEVY'S WORK NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

PUBLIC education should be about leaning how to read, write and do math - the traditional "three Rs." But schools Chancellor Harold Levy has been making public education more about...

DEM MAYOR FOES FIGHT FOR HOSPITAL-UNION BACKING

The four Democratic mayoral candidates are poised for their first big showdown tonight - vying for a key endorsement from the powerful hospital-workers union and later facing off in a...

FORMER NUN: I WAS RAPED BY PRIEST ; SAYS ABUSIVE CLERIC TOOK HER INNOCENCE - THEN HER FAITH

FORMER nun Yvonne Maes brings a shocking human focus to a Vatican study that claims the sexual abuse of nuns by priests is widespread. Maes says she was raped repeatedly...

CRITICS CHARGE U.S. CHURCH IS 'IN DENIAL'

THE Vatican report on the abuse of nuns by priests lists the United States among 23 countries plagued by such sexual attacks - and activists say the church here is...

WHISTLE-BLOWER OUTRAGED BY LEAK OF HER REPORT

THE medical missionary who revealed that nuns have been raped by priests and forced to undergo abortions agonized over bringing the abuse to the Vatican's attention, but "didn't want anyone...

SHARON & PERES SHOW DOUBLE-BARREL RESOLVE

ANALYSIS JERUSALEM - When Prime Minister Ariel Sharon - the so-called hawk - opened a meeting of his defense Cabinet last night, he said, "Pay attention: Peres has become tougher...

FROM HONEY NAG TO MONEYBAG

A nagging wife paid off big-time for a New Jersey man, who won $100,000 a year for life in the lottery thanks to his insistent spouse. Jeweler Rasen Patel was...

RUDY: ACTIVIST NOT RIGHT FOR COP WATCHDOG

Mayor Giuliani yesterday suggested he is likely to turn thumbs down on the appointment of Iris Baez - a vocal crusader against police brutality - to the police Civilian Complaint...

NEW YORK POST: FROM MARCH 29, 1848

"John Jacob Astor died at seven o'clock this morning, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. He was born in a little village near Heidelburg, in the Grand Duchy of...

BROOKLYN HS BOMB THREAT A HOAX

A hoaxer hit a Brooklyn high school with a racist bomb threat yesterday morning - the latest in a disturbing string of incidents. The call came into South Shore HS...

'PUFFY' IS A 'NAME-DROPPER' ; SAYS HE'LL BE 'P. DIDDY' IN JUNE

First, Prince changed his name. Now, meet the artist formerly known as "Puff Daddy." Sean "Puffy" Combs revealed yesterday he's hip-hopping away from his famous nickname because of the bad...

NO-FAULT DRIVES UP RATES

ALBANY - New York's no-fault auto insurance system - considered a key factor behind the state's high rates - saw payments for accident victims jump a nation-leading 24 percent last...

APPLE KEY TO FIRM'S FUTURE

Edison needs to make it here - eventually. Analysts agreed yesterday that failing to take over five schools in Brooklyn, The Bronx and Harlem might not hurt the company in...

REVLON HOPES FOR RHEA-VIVAL

Supermodel stunner Rhea Durham has been chosen as the new face of Revlon, The Post has learned. The glamour girl emerged victorious over reported contenders Liv Tyler, Kate Hudson, Gisele...

EX-WORKER KICKS BALLET BOSS WITH HARASS COMPLAINT

The head of the American Ballet Theatre has created a "hostile work environment" where sexual harassment, discrimination and "vulgar actions" are allowed to run rampant, a complaint charges. The complaint,...

NYCLU HITS STATE WITH SCHOOLS SUIT

A new lawsuit filed yesterday asks a judge to force the state to take a more hands-on role in helping failing schools. The New York Civil Liberties Union said the...

JESSE'S MISTRESS WRITING A TELL-ALL

The mother of Jesse Jackson's love child is penning a tell-all book that claims she received a secret payoff of $450,000 from the civil-rights leader, a new report says. Ex-mistress...

PROF. TELLS POLS OF SECRET ISLAND FOR HUMAN CLONING

WASHINGTON - Horrified lawmakers yesterday heard from a Kentucky fertility expert who declared "the genie's out of the bottle" - and claimed he has 700 people eager to participate in...

D-DAY IN SENATE FOR MCCAIN: VOTE DUE ON CAMPAIGN-$$ REFORM

WASHINGTON - The final battle in the Senate for Sen. John McCain's bid to overhaul the campaign-finance system comes today. The stage was set yesterday after McCain won another round...

RICH TRIED TO TEMPT JEWISH GROUP

WASHINGTON - The head of the American Jewish Congress revealed yesterday fugitive billionaire Marc Rich used the lure of a big donation to try to win support for a pardon...

HOUSE OKS TAX CUT ALONG WITH BUDGET

WASHINGTON - House Republicans yesterday pushed through President Bush's $1.9 trillion budget for next year, which includes his tax-cut plan, on a near party-line vote. Bush said the second vote...

POLL: HALF FIND HILLARY UNTRUSTWORTHY

ALBANY - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's favorability rating continues to slide, while former federal Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo is gaining support in his Democratic primary battle against state Comptroller Carl...

BUSH KEEPS HIS POKER FACE AS HE BLUFFS LIKE A PRO

BILL CLINTON loved to play hearts, but George W. Bush must be a pretty good hand at poker when he has pals over to his ranch to play. The campaign-finance...

TWA STRANDS ISRAEL-BOUND FLIERS

Bankrupt TWA has abruptly canceled its flights between New York and Israel, leaving countless travelers up in the air just days before Passover. The soon-to-be-no-more airline, which flew one daily...

BUSH SHUTTERS WOMEN'S OFFICE

WASHINGTON - President Bush has deep-sixed a special White House office for women's issues set up by Bill Clinton, aides confirmed yesterday. Bush earlier shut a special office for race...

CUOMO OPENS UP 7-POINT LEAD OVER MCCALL

ALBANY - Former federal Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo is gaining support in his Democratic primary battle against state Comptroller Carl McCall, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton continues to slide in...

N.J. TREASURER PICK PULLS OUT AMID $CANDAL

The woman tapped to be New Jersey's state treasurer bitterly dropped out yesterday after revelations she was fired by Citibank for using company funds to rendezvous with her married lover....

DON'T FENCE ME IN: PEDESTRIANS IGNORING JAYWALKING BARRICADES

New barricades are popping up to stop New Yorkers from jaywalking - but pedestrians and observers say the pesky fences are useless and create more congestion. In downtown Brooklyn at...

SERIESNOTIN THECARDS

THIS team is designed to win now so anything less than a repeat of the NL Championship will be disappointing. The players might not like that when they read it,...

PAYTON AND PEREZ ON TARGET FOR RETURNS

MET NOTES VERO BEACH - Both Jay Payton and Timo Perez said they felt better yesterday, but the two outfielders didn't play in the Mets' 5-3 exhibition win over the...

BOMBERS GET BOOST ; DEREK & EL DUQUE PASS MAJOR TESTS VS. MINOR LEAGUERS

TAMPA - Yankee fans have to dig yesterday's electronic readings registered during a Triple-A game at the minor league complex. Serving as Columbus' DH against Syracuse, Derek Jeter was clocked...

'BIG TRAIN' NEXT STOP ON ROCKET WHIFF LIST

There are times when the magnitude of the name washes over Roger Clemens like a frigid North Atlantic wave. He will read or hear about the man and take a...

PIAZZA GREAT CATCHER IN ALL WAYS BUT ONE

ANYBODY who blames Mike Piazza's throwing problems on pitchers for being too slow to the plate or for not holding runners closely enough is a scheming apologist trying to get...

NEW REY - NOT SHEA-ROD

It's crossed GM Steve Phillips' mind. The Mets lost the decisive Game 5 of the World Series when Luis Sojo's dribbler fell underneath the glove of the diving Kurt Abbott...

PATCHWORK NETS REFUSE TO LOSE

Nets 99 Nuggets 96 With his team being pieced together virtually on a daily basis as players get hurt and temps are shuttled in, Byron Scott turned to the latest...

MARBURY'S SEASON OVER

Nets 99 Nuggets 96 Five months and a staggering array of injuries too late. Byron Scott brought his father, an ordained minister, to New Jersey where he visited the Nets'...

TULSA FINAL TEST FOR CRIMSON TIDE

By the time Tulsa and Alabama players scramble for the opening tap at tonight's NIT championship game at the Garden, all disappointing thoughts about not making it to the NCAA...

MCMULLEN WON'T BUY BACK DEVILS

ATLANTA - It just wouldn't seem like a Stanley Cup chase if the Devils weren't in danger of being sold or moved. Amid reports of infighting and financial scrambling as...

OMMADON BACK WITH BANG

Last year's Gr. 3 Nashua winner Ommadon made a nice comeback in yesterday's fifth race. In his first start since finishing second in the Nov. 25 Remsen, the son of...

HENNING BEMOANS TEAM'S LACK OF DISCIPLINE

This was the lack of discipline Butch Goring always complained about. Ending their seven-game road swing without the poise they had showed earlier in the trip, the Islanders committed 14...

SPREE: NO MORE MR. NICE GUY

VANCOUVER - It is no coincidence Latrell Sprewell trash-talked his way through the Bay Area two consecutive nights in two consecutive overtime games. No coincidence at all. Sprewell says there...

NO SWEET RETURN FOR OTHELLA

KNICK NOTES VANCOUVER - Othella Harrington wasn't surprised to awake yesterday morning to rain and clouds. That's how he remembered Vancouver much of the time during his 21/2-season stay. It...

JETER MAY RUN OUT OF FINGERS ; SHORTSTOP MAKING A RUN AT YOGI'S RECORD 10 RINGS

TO WATCH Derek Jeter go about his work is to know he won't be satisfied until he is the most decorated champion in the history of sports. Jeter, 26, already...

A MIXED BAG FOR FRANCO : HIS SWING'S BACK - HIS ROSTER SPOT IS ANOTHER STORY

Mets 5 Dodgers 3 VERO BEACH - With the scouts behind home plate studying him, Matt Franco didn't pull his body off the ball, as he did last season. The...

MCMULLEN NIXES BUY-BACK OFFERS

ATLANTA - It just wouldn't seem like a Stanley Cup chase if the Devils weren't in danger of being sold or moved. Amid reports of infighting and financial scrambling as...

MARTELLI NOT INTERESTED IN TAKING RUTGERS JOB

MINNEAPOLIS - Despite his best efforts, Rutgers athletic director Bob Mulcahy was unsuccessful in luring Phil Martelli away from St. Joseph's. Mulcahy and Martelli met yesterday in Piscataway and the...

AMAKER WALKS OUT ON HALL ; OKS FIVE-YEAR DEAL TO COACH MICHIGAN

The worst-kept secret and longest-running melodrama in college basketball came to pass yesterday when Tommy Amaker resigned at Seton Hall to take the vacant Michigan post. The 35-year-old Amaker, who...

HOORAY FOR RAY'S RAY

Following Allan Ray's 23-point performance in the State Federation championship game against Schenectady, St. Raymond's head coach Gary DeCesare said "the torch had been passed from Julius [Hodge] to Allan."...

YANKS DODGE BULLET

TAMPA - Like a well-choreographed version of superstars passing in the day, Orlando Hernandez departed a back diamond at the Yankees' minor-league complex just as Derek Jeter was showing up....

TAKES TWO TO TANGLE ; LET'S HOPE METS SHOW UP AT NEXT SUBWAY SERIES

NEW York, you waited 44 years to see two teams from your town make it to the World Series. Is it too much to ask that maybe this year, both...

THESE TEAMS AREN'T EASY TO FOUR-GET

MINNEAPOLIS - The two businessmen on Continental Flight 697 from Newark to Minneapolis couldn't believe their bad luck. Everyone else on the plane seemed to have some connection to the...

OH, BROTHER, HE'S GOOD ; FRANK TORRE: JOE BELONGS IN THE HALL

Frank Torre still calls his little brother the accident in the family. Frank was supposed to always be the youngest child; at least that's what the doctors told Mrs. Torre...

BOBBY V MAKES BRANCA PROUD ; GOOD SON-IN-LAW'S 'PROBABLY THE BEST MANAGER IN BASEBALL'

It wouldn't be proper for Bobby Valentine to issue an "I told you so" for leading the Mets to the National League championship and a World Series appearance last fall....

HERE THEY COME TO SAVE THE DAY! UNFLAPPABLE RIVERA HAS STAYING POWER

MARIANO Rivera, you are the greatest closer of all time. "I don't know about that one," Rivera said. "There are a lot of great ones out there and there were...

AMAZIN'S BELIEVE BENITEZ IS WORKING OUT JUST FINE

EACH morning in the first week of spring training, Bobby Valentine attacked his workouts with a twin purpose. He was there to improve physically and gauge Armando Benitez mentally. What...

APPIER'S QUOTA: 15 IN WIN COLUMN ; RIGHTY MUST FILL HAMPTON VOID

Kevin Appier doesn't think he is great at anything. He thinks he owns a good fastball, a good change, a good pickoff move. "But I don't think I'm great in...

YANKS MAKE MUSSINA FEEL LIKE WANTED MAN ; EX-ORIOLE APPRECIATES THE FIRST-CLASS TREATMENT

It didn't take long for Mike Mussina to realize that the Yankees do everything possible for their players. Other teams spend like the Yankees, but often leave the smaller issues...

PETR SIFTS THROUGH RANGER WRECKAGE

Rangers 4 Islanders 2 Petr Nedved unplugged prior to the Rangers' 4-2 victory over the Islanders last night at the Garden: ISSUE ONE, THE SEASON: "Very disappointing for everyone in...

TRACHSEL MAKES DEEP IMPACT

VERO BEACH - The Mets don't expect Steve Trachsel to replace Mike Hampton in the rotation - but if yesterday was any indication, Trachsel has a shot at replacing baseball's...

SHEFFIELD FINDS MISSING PEACE TO DODGER PUZZLE

VERO BEACH - In keeping with annual tradition in this sleepy seaside town that worships the Dodgers, a large crowd of baseball fans gave the team a warm sendoff yesterday....

FTOREK KEEPS EYE ON ISLES

Further familiarizing himself with the club he might be coaching next season, Robbie Ftorek came to watch the Islanders take on the Rangers at the Garden last night. Sitting in...

SID'S NOT SURE ABOUT HIS FATE

Reds 7 Yankees 3 TAMPA - Sid Fernandez took the Legends Field mound last night trying to show the Yankees he has enough to be their fifth starter, which would...

DEVILS ARE STILL KINGS OF THE ROAD

Devils 4 Thrashers 2 ATLANTA - They won both their Stanley Cups with road heroics. This time, the Devils have started early. They weren't their usual selves last night, sluggish...

BOMBERS SHIP HILL AND HIS $1.5M SALARY TO ANGELS

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - The Yankees' front office, Joe Torre and the coaches will meet today at 12:30 to decide what the three-time defending World Champions' roster will look like...

ISLES WATCHING COACH SEARCH

With GM Mike Milbury in the process of interviewing coaching candidates, the Islander players can only hope they like what they get. Several Islanders have a list of criteria that...