December 18, 2002
BUY OR SELL? YES, J.P. MORGAN SAYS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe market is going up next year. No, it's going down. No, it will go sideways. Blame J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. for that exhibit of split personality. The company's...
DOW SINKS 92 ON POOR RETAIL SALES
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amBad economic news, predicting the continuation of a weak recovery in 2003, took down stocks yesterday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 92.01 to 8,535.39. The S&P 500 index declined...
VIDEOS UNPLUGGED MTV CRACKING DOWN ON PRODUCT PLACEMENT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amMTV is tired of advertisements masquerading as music videos. The Viacom-owned TV network has issued new internal guidelines that could make it difficult for musicians to air videos in which...
PUFFY EYEING N.Y. FOR FIRST SEAN JOHN SHOP
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amSean "P. Diddy" Combs is in the market for a retail space for his Sean John collection of sportswear. "We desperately want to have a store open by March or...
WORLDCOM BOARD MEMBERS QUIT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amWorldCom cronies - board members who allegedly approved of senior executives' looting company coffers and cooking the books - resigned en masse, handing the new CEO a clean slate. Six...
JUDGE BLOCKS UAL STAFF STOCK SALE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amA judge has refused to lift a ban on sales of stock by employee-shareholders of UAL Corp., the parent of United Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. The...
EX-DIRECTOR OF TYCO TO PAY $22.5M
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amA former Tyco director had to fork over $22.5 million after pleading guilty to securities fraud yesterday - a crime he said he orchestrated with former CEO Dennis Kozlowski. "I...
HEELS COOL ON BIG DEALS ; LARGE TENANTS ARE HOLDING OFF ON MAJOR LEASE DECISIONS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amIT'S the end of the year, and many large tenants in the market are holding off decision making - particularly those that have to give up space and buildings and...
PERSHING BIDFEST: GOLDMAN TARGETS CSFB'S LOWBROW CASH COW
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amGoldman Sachs Group is making a run at one of rival Credit Suisse First Boston's prime moneymakers, The Post has learned. The white-shoe securities firm is among a handful of...
FAO SCHWARZ PARENT WARNS IT MAY HAVE TO FILE BANKRUPTCY
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe parent company of legendary New York toy store FAO Schwarz is having such a serious cash crunch it could have to file for bankruptcy. Right in the heart of...
PHILLIPS-VAN HEUSEN SNAGS CALVIN FOR $400M IN CASH
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amCalvin Klein and business partner Barry Schwartz have finally done it. And Phillips-Van Heusen has emerged triumphant, winning the spoils of Calvin Klein Inc. PVH, with backing from private equity...
SI'S POWER LUNCHEON ; CONDE-NOLOGY REVEALS WHO'S BEEN NAUGHTY & NICE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amYES, Virginia, Media Ink is still documenting the high drama and intrigue surrounding the Conde Nast Christmas bash. "We thought you had forgotten all about us," groused one attendee when...
GEORGE BUSH - ENRON PARTY ANIMAL
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amNever act stupid at company parties, especially when it's videotaped. A home video of a 1997 office party of Enron's top brass - starring then-Texas Governor George W. Bush and...
HOUSE CALLS FOR FBI HELP
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amStill smarting from getting nowhere with tight-lipped accounting lawyer Nancy Temple, Congressional probers are calling on the FBI to work her over. The House panel that probed the accounting scandals...
GLOBAL TALKS STALL OVER NEW FEES
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amMillions in additional fees slapped on investment banks in talks with regulators to clean up tainted research on Wall Street are sending the hard-fought global settlement off track, The Post...
A KNOCK ON THE DOOR MEANS BIG TROUBLE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amDEVILS ON THEDOORSTEP In Mandarin and Japanese, with English subtitles. Running time: 139 minutes. Not rated (extreme violence, a glimpse of female breast). At the Film Forum, Houston Street, between...
STARR REPORT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amHey Mandy - NBC-ya in February These are busy times for Mandy Patinkin. The ex-"Chicago Hope" star is not only starring in a one-man Stephen Sondheim show on Broadway, but...
NEW EAST SIDE ETHIOPIAN COMES IN HANDY
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT ½ 1582 YORK AVE. (BETWEEN 83RD & 84TH STREETS) (212) 717-7311 IT'S a long way from Ethiopia to the Upper East Side. But a savory intro to that...
WIDGETS OF AHS ; TOP CHEFS PICK THEIR BEST TOOLS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amANY cook who remembers life B.C. - before Cuisinart - knows the value of a great cooking gadget. And no one knows better than the pros. We asked some of...
GORE WINS (REALLY)
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amAL Gore's foray into late-night TV proved to be more popular than, well, his run for the presidency. Gore's hosting of last weekend's "Saturday Night Live" helped the show notch...
HEAVYWEIGHT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amTERRANCE BRENNAN'S SEAFOOD & CHOP HOUSE ½ 565 LEXINGTON AVE. (BETWEEN 50TH & 51ST STREETS) (212) 715-2400 'IT'S a 40-count Idaho potato," the waitress chirps as she extracts the awesome...
LOVE YOU, BUT MUST LEAVE YOU
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amHERE'S something not shocking for a Dick Wolf show - one of its stars is leaving. Stephanie March, who plays assistant DA Alexandra Cabot on "Law & Order: Special Victims...
BROADCAST CRIX PICK FLIX
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amTHE dark comedies "About Schmidt" and "Adaptation" led the field with four nominations each for the Broadcast Film Critics Association's annual Critics' Choice Awards. Confirming the perception of an extremely...
HOBBIT FORMING ; SECOND 'RINGS' INSTALLMENT A TOWERING SPECTACLE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amTHE LORD OF THERINGS: THE TWOTOWERS Long, violent but visually majestic.Running time: 179 minutes. Rated PG-13 (strong, relentless violence). At the Astor Plaza, the Union Square, the Kips Bay, others....
ON THE SIDE: BOULUD BETTING ON VEGAS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amSIN City has enticed another top New York chef to its glitzy environs: Daniel Boulud has just signed on to open a restaurant in Steve Wynn's multibillion-dollar Le Reve hotel...
THAT GIRL IN THE VISA ADS: GIVE HER CREDIT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amTHAT excitable girl on the Visa ads is so popular she may get a regular gig on a new sitcom. Christina Chambers, the happy checkout girl who gushes over "Frasier"...
'GYPSY' SETTLEMENT ; BILLING GIMMICK DANCES 'ROUND RIFT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amTHE "Gypsy" billing dispute that caused such turmoil between hotshot Hollywood director Sam Mendes and the estate of the great Jerome Robbins has been settled. Though Robbins directed and choreographed...
HOLIDAY PARTY FLAVORS TO MAKE THE SEASON BRIGHT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amHOW much is it worth to you to be the life of the party? How does 50 bucks sound? That's the price tag on a bottle of Coyopa rum. It...
WHY ARE THEY SAYING NASTY THINGS ABOUT THIS DOCUMENTARY? MAKING A NICE PROPHET
December 18, 2002 | 5:00am"Muhammad: Legacyof a Prophet" Tomight at 9 onCh. 13 IF you've read any of the angry comments surrounding tonight's PBS documentary "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet," you'd think that the...
DEMS HOPE HILL PULLS A GORE IN '04
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amALBANY - New York Democrats want U.S. Sens. Joseph Lieberman or John Kerry - but not Hillary Rodham Clinton - as their party's presidential nominee, now that Al Gore is...
NEW GROUND ZERO PLANS DEBUT TODAY
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amSeven architectural teams from around the world will reveal their plans for Ground Zero today in what has been promised as a series of creative new takes that could reshape...
DEMS FORGET OWN PAST IMPERFECT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amNEXT to the Mohammed Ali-Joe Frazier fight, Madison Square Garden had never been so packed. Seventeen thousand people jammed the great monument of combat on Oct. 24, 1968, to listen...
STROM THURMOND, PROGRESSIVE?; ANOTHER FORGOTTEN TWIST IN OUR RACIAL HISTORY [[
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amGIVEN all the rhetorical hysteria of the past two weeks in the Trent Lott affair, it will doubtless surprise many to learn that, back in 1948, Strom Thurmond - though...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amGirls just wanna have fun in Iran - and they're taking desperate measures to do so. Cops in Tehran busted a barber who gave short haircuts to young women so...
ARIEL VS. ARAFAT IN WEB WAR
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe latest war between Israel and the Arabs isn't taking place in the Middle East - it's on the Internet. Pro-Arab and pro-Israeli Web surfers launched a Web war two...
'EAT & CHEAT' LIST GROWS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amA suspected con artist who allegedly tried to make several tony restaurants pay her dry-cleaning bill - claiming a waiter spilled food on her clothes - also tried to hose...
SKY-HIGH RADIO TRANSMITS PROPAGANDA
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - The Pentagon has begun massive psychological warfare operations in Iraq, beaming radio messages that call on civilians and the military to abandon Saddam Hussein "before he destroys Iraq."...
JOSEPH BRUNO ON THE HOT SEAT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amNow it's state Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno on the hot seat. Several City Council members demanded yesterday that Bruno resign his post for defending U.S. Sen. Trent Lott by...
LAST CALL FOR HIGHER DUI LEVEL
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amALBANY - The state Senate yesterday gave final passage to legislation to lower the threshold for drunk driving in New York for the first time in 30 years. The bill,...
MAN BITES DOGS: POL WANTS FELON BAN
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amALBANY - An upstate state Assemblyman wants to make it illegal for convicted drug dealers and felons to own pit bulls, Rottweillers and other attack dogs. Assemblyman Thomas Kirwan, an...
ARIEL GOES BALLISTIC OVER POL SCANDAL
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon threatened to kick out any members of his party - "no matter what rank, even a Cabinet minister" - who are caught in Israel's...
TIME BOMBSHELL: TERRORIST MAY WIN
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amIT SOUNDS like a rotten joke wrapped in a cliché. When the brain trust at Time unveils its ballyhooed "Person of the Year" Sunday, betting folks predict the mag might...
GOPERS SAY YEA TO GAY RIGHTS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amALBANY - Thirty years after it was first introduced, a gay-rights bill banning discrimination against homosexuals won swift passage yesterday in the GOP-controlled state Senate. The measure, which had languished...
'GUINNESS' ON TAP FOR NEW YEAR'S
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amIf the world's most famous superhero isn't enough excitement for the world's biggest New Year's Eve party, this year's Big Apple revelers will also try to set a world record...
MCDOWNALD'S ; FOOD TITAN POSTS 1ST QUARTERLY LOSS EVER
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThere's some tarnish on those Golden Arches. Or is it burger grease? McDonald's, the world's largest restaurant chain, announced yesterday that it expects to report the first-ever quarterly loss in...
FEDS: MUSLIM BIG SENT $3M TO YEMEN
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amA prominent upstate spokesman for the Muslim community, the uncle of an uncharged co-conspirator in the Lackawanna "sleeper cell" case, was arrested yesterday for allegedly spiriting millions of dollars out...
NIGHTMARE MANOR
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe name alone suggests a haven at the water's edge, a humane alternative to the state's infamous psychiatric wards - but officials now say the Seaport Manor Home in Canarsie...
'HOMELESS' SHIP LEFT TO GATHER DUST
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amEXCLUSIVE The Floating Hospital, a vessel that served the city's homeless for the last century from Manhattan, is now docked off an inaccessible pier in Brooklyn indefinitely, The Post has...
SADDAM TRICKS PENN PAL: STAR RILED BY IRAQIS' BETRAYAL
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amSean Penn, just back from his three-day "fact finding" trip to Iraq, turned on his new pals in Saddam Hussein's government - claiming they've transformed him into a weapon of...
PARIS PROBES PLOTS BY CELL
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amFour shadowy al Qaeda suspects, nabbed with mysterious substances and an anti-contamination suit in their Paris digs, were likely plotting a deadly terror attack, authorities said yesterday. French agents raiding...
DUBYA OKS 'STAR WARS II'
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday kept a 2000 campaign pledge and gave the green light to a "Son of Star Wars" missile defense shield that the Pentagon admits is limited...
YOU SHOULD STRIKE: MTA GETS MOVING AGAIN ON FARE-HIKE PLANS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amGet ready to dig deeper for your bus and subway rides. With contract talks resolved, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority today will begin discussions for a fare hike that could slam...
AEROSMITH COP LANDS ON DESK DUTY
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe NYPD inspector under investigation for allegedly helping Aerosmith rockers Steve Tyler and Joe Perry get gun licenses was placed on modified duty yesterday, officials said. Inspector Bernard Petrofsky, former...
GOTTIS GOING TO TRIAL AFTER REJECTING DEALS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amProving the Gottis are no chickens, three of the late Dapper Don's clansmen have rejected plea offers and vowed to take their chances with a jury. Peter Gotti, John Gotti's...
MAYOR HAILS DROP IN CRIME & FIRE DEATHS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amEighty-six civilians perished in fires this year - and if the trend continues, it'll be the first time since 1921 that fire fatalities in the city haven't reached 100, Mayor...
GIRLFRIEND BETRAYS BEAU IN PIZZA SLAY
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe key witness against a trio charged with killing a pizza delivery man during a Brooklyn robbery last year identified the father of her baby as the shooter - contradicting...
LIZ HURLS 158G BACK AT BING
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amElizabeth Hurley fired a stinging missive at the multimillionaire father of her 8-month-old love child last night, telling Steve Bing - take your money and shove it! The star exploded...
'PAINED'WEBBER: GEEK TRIED TO SINK STOCK WITH CYBER 'BOMB': FEDS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amAn angry ex-employee detonated a "logic bomb" at UBS PaineWebber, hoping to wreck the brokerage's computer network and drive its stock price down, prosecutors said yesterday. Though the bomb caused...
'FEAR'-HAIRED BOY: TEACHER GIVES SUBWAY-CHAOS STUDENT 'A'
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe city art student who wreaked havoc by placing ominous black boxes labeled "FEAR" in the Union Square subway station for a school project earned an "A" in the class,...
POL DEFENDS OLYMPIC PLAN
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amDeputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff yesterday was peppered with questions about the city's bid for the 2012 Olympics at a City Council hearing. "Everything we've tried to do is designed to...
JUDGE'S 1ST-EVER LIFE TERMS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amA veteran federal judge in Brooklyn yesterday doled out a life sentence for the first time in 35 years on the bench - and he did it three times, to...
JEALOUS ROMEO RAGE: MAN OUT ON BAIL SHOOTS EX IN EYE, THEN KILLS SELF
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amA Bronx woman was critically wounded yesterday when her ex-boyfriend - out on bail for firing at her last week when he found her with another man - pumped a...
9/11 WELL I$ DRY ; $8.8B IN FED AID ALL BUT GONE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe $8.8 billion in federal emergency funds meant to help New York recover from the Sept. 11 terror attack has nearly all been spent or spoken for - and the...
BUSH 'WAVES' LOTT BYE-BYE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - With a dismissive wave of his hand, President Bush yesterday pushed Trent Lott one step closer to losing his position as Senate majority leader. Asked at an event...
'VALEDICTORIAN' EYES BOYCOTT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amSchools Chancellor Joel Klein has blasted an assault against an immigrant honors student in front of Brooklyn's Lafayette HS as "totally unacceptable" - and promised to attend the boy's graduation...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amMANHATTAN A 35-year-old woman was found dead of an apparent drug overdose in Harlem, police said yesterday. At around 4:30 p.m. Monday, police were called to West 129th Street and...
SISTER FINDS TEEN SLAIN
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amA Brooklyn youth who aspired to be a rap star was found slain yesterday in his sister's Canarsie apartment, police said. Jermane Alvarez, 18, was found dead of stab wounds...
RUMSFELD: LET EXPERTS OUT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday the single biggest test for Saddam Hussein is whether he'll let Iraqi scientists talk to inspectors outside the country. "If I were...
KNICKS' NARROW WIN REASON FOR REVELRY: HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS FOR NETS' TRASH TALKING
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amKnicks 101 Nets 99 Is it a rivalry now, Byron? The scrappy Knicks dove on the floor for loose balls, ferociously crashed the boards and fought - fought right until...
MARTIN MAKING GRAND RETURN
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amJET NOTES Curtis Martin might be headed for another historic personal moment Sunday night in Foxboro, where the Jets play the Patriots, Martin's former team. Martin needs 95 yards to...
FASSEL MADE RIGHT CALL
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amTHERE is hope and gratitude. "I'm grateful we have a big game in the 15th week," Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi said yesterday. "People are excited around here. There's something...
DEVILS DEAL WITH ORDINARY JOE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe Devils are held to a higher standard. If you don't think so, go ask coach Pat Burns, who was quoted this week saying more is expected of his team...
CAN CHAD BOUNCE BACK? JETS QB FACING TOUGHEST TEST YET
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amALL eyes are on Chad Pennington right now. The glare of the white-hot, national-television spotlight will beam upon the Jets' young quarterback Sunday night in Foxboro, where the Jets will...
BROOKS SIGNED TO HELP O-LINE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES With one eye on today and another firmly on the future, the Giants yesterday signed Barrett Brooks, a 30-year old offensive tackle who has started 62 games in...
NEDVED TAKES CENTER STAGE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amIf Petr Nedved has confused you over the past five seasons, you're not alone. The Rangers' speedy, talented pivot flashes signs of brilliance, only to go into hibernation shortly afterward....
BOARDMAKERS BEEFING UP
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amSINCE it began to gain public attention with such events as the X-Games and the Gravity Games, snowboarding has been spreading like wildfire. As more people strap in sideways on...
CHILDS: NETS' BAD OLD DAYS WERE NOTHING TO BRAG ABOUT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amChris Childs has seen it from both sides. Actually, from three sides. He watched the Knicks dominate while a down-and-out Net. He watched the Nets struggle while a NBA Finals-bound...
ISLES' LAVIOLETTE KEEPIN' THE FAITH
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amPeter Laviolette has no doubts that his Islanders will be one of the eight teams left standing when all is said and done. At times during the early and recent...
NEAGLE TRADE APPEARS TO BE ON THE ROCKS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe Denny Neagle-for-Jeromy Burnitz deal seems dead, but it could always be revived at a later date. Met owner Fred Wilpon will not take on the remaining three years and...
FORBES GETS HIS, BUT BOYS PREVAILS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amB & G 62Banneker 61 Carlos Collazo had a simple thought before Boys & Girls visited Banneker and its Virginia-bound star Gary Forbes yesterday. "I don't care if he scores...
HAPPY DAYS FOR HARLEM'S HODGE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amSince Julius Hodge has never been one to disregard advice, Maryland star Juan Dixon had Hodge's rapt attention last year. "He told me, 'You don't have to talk as much...
ROG RETURN? REP UPBEAT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amRoger Clemens' agent believes his client will return to the Yankees for a fifth season, despite all the noise about the Bombers having to choose between trading for Bartolo Colon...
RIVALRY REQUIRES MORE LIKE THIS GAME
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amKnicks 101Nets 99THIS was a start, something to build on, a tantalizing preview of what could be, a reminder of how badly New York City craves a basketball rivalry to...
ISLANDER LEAKY 'D' UNDERMINES OZZIE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amIslanders 2Red Wings 2 Even when they struck hard, struck first and showed little mercy early in their own building against the defending champs, the Islanders didn't win. Instead, they...
RUDE RETURN FOR HARLEM'S HODGE
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amGonzaga 69N.C. St. 60 Julius Hodge has never been one to disregard advice, so Maryland star Juan Dixon had Hodge's rapt attention last year. "He told me, 'You don't have...
LATE MISS FOILS KIDD'S GREAT NIGHT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe night had all the extra trappings. In the Garden, basketball's premier showcase. A little - no, make that a lot - of extra spice leading up to it about...
JEFF STILL JABBING AT KNICKS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amNET NOTES Richard Jefferson kept the Knicks-Nets firestorm going, both before and after the game. When the Knicks responded that, although they are behind the Nets in the standings, they...
THOMAS' NUMBERS ARE ALL-STAR WORTHY
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES The Knicks were pilloried in August for not pulling the trigger on a Dikembe Mutombo-for-Kurt Thomas/Charlie Ward offer - the consensus being they blew a chance of gaining...
BEARCATS BLAST NO. 7 DUCKS
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amCincinnati 77Oregon 52 It was supposed to be a classic clash of styles. But this was no classic, no clash and no contest. Just a lopsided Bearcat beating from start...
LOCATION'S NOT ENOUGH FOR THIS RIVALVRY
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amLET'S be clear about this: Proximity means nothing in establishing a rivalry. Geography? Byron Scott has a story about geography. When the Nets' coach was a Laker, he often socialized...
KURT'S STAR ON THE RISE : THOMAS COULD BE TOP PIVOT IN EAST
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amThe Knicks were pilloried in August for not pulling the trigger on a Dikembe Mutombo-for-Kurt Thomas Charlie Ward deal, the consensus being they blew a chance of gaining an All-Star...
RIVALS ARE BIG GAMES FOR K-MART
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amNET NOTES Knicks-Nets? Bah, humbug. Now, you want a real rivalry? Try Cincinnati-Xavier. "This is just like the Xavier game," said Kenyon Martin, the best product out of Cincinnati in...
CHANEY HAS ANSWER FOR JEFFERSON'S SHOT
December 18, 2002 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Don Chaney was as confident as the Nets were arrogant. Chaney said the Knicks must "protect their pride" after being whupped by the Nets four straight games last...