November 10, 2005

PREDICTION: YULE BE SHOPPING ONLINE DEC. 12

There may be 12 days of Christmas, but for online retailers, one key day will mark this year's Yuletide bonanza: Dec. 12. That Monday is expected to be the biggest...

M'SOFT TIES WITH AP FOR WEB VIDEO NEWS FEED

Hoping to capitalize further on the growing online advertising market and an increased demand for video on the Internet, Microsoft and The Associated Press are teaming up to launch an...

TOO MANY COOKS - TENSIONS GROW IN SAKS CROWDED EXECUTIVE SUITE

The breakup of Saks Inc. has renewed a debate over its top-heavy management, made even weightier by the recent divestitures of two large divisions. The salaries of the top executives...

HOW HEDGE FUNDS MOVE THE MARKETS

HEDGE funds are causing the stock market to be predictably good at the very end and the very beginning of months. You've been reading a lot about this phenomenon in...

AIG GIVES GLIMPSE OF PROFIT AT INSURER

Even after three tries, bean counters at American International Group still can't untangle its labyrinthine finances secreted mostly in the brain of founder Hank Greenberg. The giant insurer - a...

CRUDE ARGUMENTS ON HILL ; OIL CO. HEADS: 'WE'VE EARNED IT'

Paraded before the Senate in a "gouge-gate" probe, oil giants defended their record $34 billion in summertime profits by saying Wall Street is twice as greedy. Exxon Mobil's veteran chief...

APAX LEADS BIDDING FOR TOMMY H.

Fashion house Tommy Hilfiger has received buyout offers from private equity firms, including Apax Partners, which is said to be a front-runner in the auction, according to people familiar with...

MARKETERS LOOK TO OLYMPIANS' STORIES

As the countdown to the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, begins, advertisers have begun backing athletes whose life stories may be more golden than their medal prospects. Olympians with a...

CALPINE LOSES ROUND

Calpine, the troubled energy giant whose $17 billion in debt is widely held across Wall Street, lost a courtroom skirmish yesterday in its quest to stay out of bankruptcy. New...

LAZARD HITS WIN STREAK

Bruce Wasserstein is on a winning streak with his recently conquered Lazard Ltd., with the Wall Street bank's profits tripling to $32 million yesterday due to several lucrative deals in...

MILLER CHILLED ; 28-YR. VET FROZEN OUT AT TIMES AFTER MISLEADING BRASS

After weeks of negotiations, embattled New York Times reporter Judy Miller "retired" from the paper of record, effective yesterday. In a "Farewell Letter" posted on her Web site last night...

WINNER OF REFCO FUTURES UNIT DUE TODAY

Negotiations continued late into the night yesterday at the Times Square headquarters of Skadden, Arps for Refco LLC, the futures-trading unit of collapsed futures kingpin Refco Inc. and its crown...

MILLER CHILLED ; FROZEN OUT AT TIMES, SHE QUITS AS 'A FREE WOMAN'

After weeks of negotiations, embattled New York Times reporter Judy Miller "retired" from the paper of record, effective yesterday. In a "farewell letter" posted on her Web site last night,...

LAZARD PROFITS TRIPLE

Bruce Wasserstein is on a winning streak with his recently conquered Lazard Ltd. - if he can hold down any revolts in its rarified ranks. The Wall Street bank's profits...

BUYOUT BIDS FOR TOMMY

Fashion house Tommy Hilfiger has received buyout offers from private equity firms, including Apax Partners, which is said to be a front-runner in the auction, according to people familiar with...

REAL WORLD OF 'COMEDY' NOTHING TO LAUGH AT ; SAD CLOWN

"Comedians of Comedy" Tomorrow night at 11 on Comedy Central * ½ (one and a half stars) ONE of the comedians in Com edy Central's new reality se ries "Comedians...

DEAD LIKE ME; 'LOST' SHANNON JOINS BROTHER IN GREAT BEYOND

FRIENDLY fire ended the life of another main character on "Lost" last night. Poor-little-rich-girl Shannon Rutherford (Maggie Grace) was shot and killed on the popular show, becoming the second series...

'KONG' PIT STOP; CREEPY SPIDER SCENE ON NEW DVD

AS if Peter Jackson weren't busy enough finishing his remake of "King Kong," due next month, he has found the time to painstak ingly reconstruct a legendary lost sequence from...

INJURED & AGED ROCK ON

AEROSMITH and LENNY KRAVITZ SEPARATED by a generation, Boston's Aerosmith and New York's Lenny Kravitz were an unlikely pairing at Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday. Baseball rivalries aside, the two acts...

'DESPERATE' REPLACEMENT

LITTLE-known Nashawn Kearse has landed the most coveted acting job on TV - replacing Page Kennedy as "the guy-in-the-basement" on ABC megahit "Desperate Housewives." Kennedy, now destined for trivia-question status,...

STARR REPORT

Billy's better half Katie Lee Joel, better known as Billy Joel's wife, will host Bravo's reality show "Top Chef," currently shooting in San Francisco. The 10-episode series, scheduled to premiere...

A CLASSIC GETS ROYAL TREATMENT IT DESERVES

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band "Born to Run: 30 Anniversary Edition" Columbia Records (four stars) LIKE the music of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run," the 30th anniversary special...

FOOTAGE RE-BORN IN CONCERT FILM

TO put together the concert and documentary that are part of the 30th anniversary edition of "Born to Run," Thom Zimny had to play detective as much as director. Springsteen...

DEADLY STREETS OF COLOMBIA

LA SIERRA (three stars) In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 84 minutes. Not rated (violence, drug use). At the Two Boots Pioneer Theater, Ninth Street and Avenue A. 'LA...

OBSESSED WITH GETTING A FITCH FIX

OAbercrombie,where art thou? For years,the only answer to my call for the all-American store in Manhattan was an outpost at the South Street Seaport. I 've trekked out to Long...

COLD JEN

In "Derailed," Aniston drops the sweet stuff to play a cheating spouse with a devious heart. Top of Form 1 " name=byline Nobody seems to know quite who the former...

GIRL TELLS OF ABDUCT ORDEAL

Police on Long Island are investigating the reported abduction and assault of a 15-year-old girl in Elmont yesterday. The girl told cops in a 911 call she placed just before...

ROBBER SLAIN NEAR BODEGA

A would-be robber was shot and killed outside a Brooklyn bodega last night during a struggle with a store worker - who was also shot, cops said. Three bandits went...

PARENTS IN SCHOOL BEEF

The top liaison between public-school parents and Chancellor Joel Klein accused the Department of Education yesterday of mismanaging resources and running roughshod over its own regulations. Department rules mandate that...

BE$ET AMTRAK FIRES GUNN

WASHINGTON - Amtrak's board of directors yesterday fired President David Gunn, saying the debt-laden rail carrier needs "a leader with vision and experience." Gunn has struggled to maintain Amtrak service...

MEGA JACKPOT AT $262M

The bad news is that nobody won the big Mega Millions jackpot earlier this week; the good news is it means the prize is now up to a whopping $262...

GREENPEACE MUST PAY GREEN

Greenpeace has been whacked with a $7,000 fine after it was determined the environmental group damaged a coral reef at a World Heritage site in the Philippines. The group's Rainbow...

FERRER VOTE FLOORS POLLSTERS

New York's top pollsters were scrambling yesterday to explain why they were way off base on the mayor's race - drastically underestimating Fernando Ferrer's support. The pollsters cited low turnout,...

HEVESI KOS 'MOB' PACT

ALBANY - In an unusual move, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi (left) yesterday blocked a $46 million contract awarded by the Pataki admin istration to a company with reported mob connections....

ABUSE MOST FOWL; CHICKEN-DEATH BUST

An Orthodox Jewish man was charged with animal cruelty yesterday for causing the drowning deaths of 35 chickens meant for slaughter in a religious ritual and keeping hundreds more in...

ROCK CENTER GETS A TREE OF LIFE

For one New Jersey man, this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is more than a gift of holiday cheer, it's a tribute to the late love of his life. Over...

B'KLYN MAN CONFESSED TO PLOT: FEDS

A Pakistani man living in Brooklyn confessed in "chilling detail" how he tried to sneak an al Qaeda operative into the U.S. to carry out a deadly chemical attack, a...

BLOOMBERG'S SECOND TERM OF ENDEARMENT

As Mayor Bloomberg got back to running the city yesterday, he was greeted everywhere he went by New Yorkers who congratulated him on his record-setting victory. The mayor started his...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN *** A gunman on a Bedford-Stuyvesant street fired several rounds into the empty personal vehicle of an off-duty cop, police sources said yesterday. The gunfire began at 4:30 p.m....

CLINTONS A HOT TICKET IN ISRAEL

JERUSALEM - Wealthy Israelis are paying up to $100,000 just for a chance to sit near the Clintons when they visit the Jewish state this weekend. Former President Bill Clinton...

ALITO GROWS ON CHUCK

WASHINGTON - Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito a man of "modesty" who might be inside the judicial "mainstream," after a one-on-one meeting yesterday. He handed...

HILL A MARKED GAL; VA. GOV EMERGES AS RIVAL

DEMOCRATS get to gloat about President Bush and the 2005 elections, but Sen. Hillary Clinton can't gloat too much because a rival Dem 2008 star was born in the person...

THE MIKE SPIKE; BREAKDOWN OF MAYOR'S LANDSLIDE VICTORY

Hispanic women were the least likely to have voted for Mayor Bloomberg, with only 30 percent backing him. Jews were the most likely to pull the lever for Hizzoner's second...

GI GROOM KILLED; L.I. HERO DENIED PROPER WEDDING

Army Spec. Robert Pope Jr. never got to kiss his bride. The 22-year-old East Islip native's marriage to sweetheart Lynnea was done in June by proxy - with bureaucratic paperwork...

YOU'RE 'THE GREATEST'; W. GIVES ALI MEDAL

WASHINGTON - Boxing legend Muhammad Ali yesterday traded private laughs with President Bush as he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Ali, battling...

L.I. 'SLAVE' SMUGGLER GETS 15 YEARS

A Long Island woman convicted of running a virtual slave trade was sentenced to 15 years behind bars for smuggling dozens of people into the country and forcing them to...

SIC SON KILLS HIS MOM'S DOG ; THROWS POOCH OUT WINDOW IN JEALOUSY: COPS

An angry Brooklyn man tossed his mother's sleeping pit bull out of a fifth-story window yesterday morning because "she loved the dog more than [me]," he told cops. Allan DeCosta,...

HARBOR GUY SPOUSE GETS LOVEY-DOVEY

The estranged wife of a horny harbormaster suing his former boss for sexual harassment stood by her man yesterday - dutifully sitting in the courtroom for closing arguments. During breaks...

'BARAMI MOLEST' MODEL SPEAKS OUT

The aspiring model who claims she was sexually preyed upon by fashion big Barami during a job interview says she didn't realize what was happening to her until it was...

HIZZONER THROWS 250G VICTORY BASH

Tack on a cool $250,000 to Mayor Bloomberg's re-election campaign tab of $66 million and counting. That's what it cost to put on the mayor's election-night victory party for 3,000...

OTHERS $OCKED SHEFF; SEXTORT BIDS BARED

CHICAGO - Gary Sheffield's wife was the target of several extortion bids - including one for an "exorbitant" amount of money - over a raunchy sex tape featuring her and...

A LIFE 'CUT' SHORT; S.I. BARBER 'HIT' EYED

Cops are looking into whether a former boss may have hired the two masked gunmen who blew away a Staten Island barber in front of his 11-year-old stepson, sources said....

REAL SLOW ESTATE; PRICE SLIDE CONTINUES

Has the Manhattan residential real-estate bubble finally burst? Apartment prices continued a downward trajectory in October on the heels of a disappointing third-quarter report, according to the latest monthly figures...

SON 'FREED TO KILL' DAD; MA'S GRIEF OVER PSYCH RELEASE

A Queens psychiatric hospital inexplicably released a mentally ill teen back to his terrified father, whom the boy savagely murdered days later with a nail file, the boy's heartbroken mother...

COPS RELEASE 3 NEW SHOTS OF SUSPECTED 'FDNY FIEND'

Police yesterday released three new photos of alleged phony fireman Peter Braunstein - as authorities for the first time officially declared him the suspect in a bizarre Halloween sex attack...

DNA NAILS CHELSEA SEX FIEND IN '73 RAPE

A Manhattan jury took just two hours yesterday to convict a suspected serial sex fiend of raping a woman at knifepoint 32 years ago - a verdict based on DNA...

FINEST WILL HAVE INFO WELL 'IN HAND'

The NYPD will issue new hand-held devices allowing officers to quickly access data ranging from arrest warrants to photos of wanted suspects, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday. As part...

2ND AVE.SUBWAY IS BACK ON TRACK

More than 75 years of talk about the Second Avenue Subway is finally leading to action, thanks to voters' approval of the Transportation Bond Act in Tuesday's election. Shovels will...

PARENT PANEL IN SCHOOL BEEF

The top liaison between city public-school parents and Chancellor Joel Klein accused the Department of Education yesterday of mismanaging resources and running roughshod over its own regulations. Department rules mandate...

ROCK CENTER GETS N.J. MAN'S TREE OF LIFE

For one New Jersey man, this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is more than a gift of holiday cheer, it's a heartfelt tribute to the late love of his life....

QAEDA KILLS 67 IN JORDAN ; WEDDING CARNAGE AS THREE HOTELS ARE BOMBED REUTERS

Suicide bombers with suspected ties to al Qaeda attacked three U.S.-based hotels in Jordan simultaneously last night, killing at least 67 people in one of the most stable and pro-American...

GREENPEACE TO SHELL OUT GREEN

Greenpeace has been whacked with a $7,000 fine after it was determined the environmental group damaged a coral reef at a World Heritage site in the Philippines. The group's Rainbow...

COACH SPEAKS FRANKLY - LEARNED LESSON FROM NBA FINE

THE Lawrence who coaches the Nets never would admit to it, not even after some minutes of prying and goading and verbal gymnastics to get him to talk about the...

DNA NAILS SEX FIEND IN '73 RAPE

A Manhattan jury took just two hours yesterday to convict a suspected serial sex fiend of raping a woman at knifepoint 32 years ago - a verdict based on DNA...

18 YEARS IN MOB-STEPDAD SLAY

A mob-linked carting contractor who blew away his millionaire stepfather in 1989 - and spent the next 16 years dodging prosecution - was finally packed off to prison yesterday for...

18 YEARS IN MOB-KIN SLAY

A mob-linked carting contractor who blew away his millionaire stepfather in 1989 - and spent the next 16 years dodging prosecution - was finally packed off to prison yesterday for...

HEVESI KOS GOV'S 'MOB' PACT

ALBANY - In an unusual move, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi yesterday blocked a $46million contract awarded by the Pataki administration to a company with reported mob connections. Connecticut-based Worth Construction...

REAL SLOW ESTATE - PRICE SLIDE CONTINUES

Has the Manhattan residential real-estate bubble finally burst? Apartment prices continued a downward trajectory in October on the heels of a disappointing third-quarter report, according to the latest monthly figures...

2ND AVE. BACK ON TRACK

Hard as it seems to believe, more than 75 years of talk about the Second Avenue Subway is finally leading to action, thanks to voters' approval of the Transportation Bond...

PARENT PANEL RIPS SCHOOL 'LIP SERVICE'

The top liaison between city public-school parents and Chancellor Joel Klein accused the Department of Education yesterday of mismanaging resources and running roughshod over its own regulations. Department rules mandate...

ST. PETR STRIKES AGAIN

SHOOTOUT Rangers 4 Panthers 3 SUNRISE - Dumb luck? Well, the Rangers were dumb enough to commit six third-period penalties to make Dominic Moore's high-wire, game-tying, goal from behind the...

JAMES IS BANISHED TO BENCH

KNICK NOTES PORTLAND - No one knows Jerome James better than Nate McMillan, his former coach. And the new Blazers leader thinks James might be sulking because of the Eddy...

0-FOUR-LARRY! BROWN'S & CO. WINLESS AFTER 2ND-HALF FOLD

Blazers 95Knicks 83 PORTLAND - Another Larry Brown lineup shuffle. Another sloppy Knick loss. The Knicks began their six-game western trip playing a fluid first half, building a 10-point halftime...

PIGSKIN PROFIT - LENN ROBBINS PICKS THIS WEEK'S GAMES

RUTGERS at L'VILLE 8 p.m. Tomorrow ESPN2 Line: Louisville -211/2. Angle: The Scarlet Knights saw their three-game winning streak come to a crashing halt in a loss to South Florida,...

VITALI CALLS IT A CAREER

Hasim Rahman will become the WBC heavyweight champion without having to take a single punch from Vitali Klitschko, who announced his retirement from boxing yesterday following knee surgery. Klitschko, 34,...

MCINNIS STARTS TO GET POINT

Through the end of preseason and this season's first three games, Nets backup point guard Jeff McInnis had been all but invisible. Even his coach seemingly forgot about McInnis, leaving...

'POW-WOW' REVS JET 'D'

Donnie Henderson called it a "pow-wow." His players embraced the idea. Now we'll see if it works. Instead of the usual Monday rehashing of game film following Sunday's 31-26 loss...

HERM NOT UP TO DATE ON WAYNE

JET NOTES Herman Edwards said yesterday he hasn't yet spoken to Wayne Chrebet, his fallen receiver who was placed on injured reserve Monday following another concussion. "He's been bombarded by...

CARTER READY TO FACE TWO TOP DEFENDERS

NET NOTES Interesting couple of days for Vince Carter. Last night, he faced Utah's Andrei Kirilenko, the NBA's leading shot-blocker last season. Tomorrow night, Carter gets Indiana's Ron Artest, one...

'SKIPPER' LOU EYES RIGHT JOB

Lou Piniella no longer has to worry about saying the wrong things about replacing Joe Torre as Yankee manager. It's not happening. But Piniella is open to managing again. First,...

HEALY WON'T CALL METS

While SportsNet NY made it official yesterday that Gary Cohen is the new TV voice of the Mets, sources have told The Post that Fran Healy will not be part...

YANKS, MATSUI TALKIN' 'SUSHI'

PALM SPRINGS, Cal. - Last night over dinner, Yankee GM Brian Cashman and agent Arn Tellem began negotiating a new contract for Hideki Matsui. Tellem picked the sushi restaurant, which...

METROS TAB JOHNSTON

GM Alexi Lalas spent the past month looking for the coach who could turn his MetroStars - losingest franchise in MLS history - into the championship-winning "superclub" he envisions. Yesterday...

CASHMAN SEES TINO COACHING FOR YANKS

BASEBALL NOTEBOOK PALM SPRINGS - When Brian Cashman spoke with Tino Martinez on Tuesday, the issue of him becoming a coach came up briefly. The Yankees declined the $3 million...

ISLES TRY TO KEEP IT GOIN'

The Islanders stopped the bleeding of a skid - they had lost five of seven games - with Tuesday night's 4-1 win over the struggling Devils. But when they take...

RAFFY REITERATES 'ROIDS STORY

In his first public statement in three months, Rafael Palmeiro yesterday insisted that he does not know how he failed a steroid test in May. The pronouncement came in a...

MSG MUFFS RANGER OT

It has, since the start of this NHL season - the season after no season - been one TV disaster after another, from lost video, to lost audio, to the...

FRANK FINED $25,000 FOR MIAMI OUTBURST

NET NOTES In the past, NBA coaches have been fined about $5,000 for arguing calls or not leaving after an ejection or at game's end. That's why the $25,000 fine...

ZORAN 77-FOOTER JOLTS JAZZ

All too often, a lot of style means a lack of substance. But not last night against Utah. From Zoran Planinic's miraculous buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the logo - his own...

R.J.'S GEM LIFTS NETS

NETS 91 JAZZ 83 With 11 seconds left, Jazz rookie Deron Williams missed a three. As two Nets scrambled for the rebound, Vince Carter jumped from the Net bench. But...

MINNESOTA CRACKS - SINCE 2000 TITLE GAME, GIANTS OWN VIKES

After his team was smacked around yet again by the Giants, Vikings coach Mike Tice last season gleaned one positive out of a dreary 34-13 loss. "The Giants are not...

FRANK HIT WITH FINE

Lawrence Frank was asked about the fine levied on him by the NBA yesterday for his outburst following some dubious officiating in Monday's one-point loss at Miami. "Right now our...

BIG FISH - METS LOOKING TO REEL IN MARLINS' BURNETT

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Last winter the Mets went after the best free-agent starter on the market and landed Pedro Martinez. This winter, they could be looking at making it...

NATE HAS THE SCOOP ON JAMES

KNICK NOTES PORTLAND - Portland coach Nate McMillan had a big smile on his face yesterday when the subject turned to Knicks center Jerome James. Perhaps because he is no...

COACH SPEAKS FRANKLY - CALLS NBA FINE LESSON LEARNED

THE Lawrence who coaches the Nets never would admit to it, not even after some minutes of prying and goading and verbal gymnastics. But the fact is, the Lawrence who...

COUGHLIN SKIRTS AROUND SUPER BOWL, OWENS

GIANT NOTES A cringe is not audible, but if it were, the one coach Tom Coughlin displayed during yesterday's press conference would have been deafening. The question that prompted the...

MISSING POWER RANGERS

SUNRISE - The Rangers will go as their power play goes. That's because the NHL goes as the power play goes. Going into last night's games, 553 of the 1,451...

JAMAL'S BACK - CRAWFORD RETURNS TO KNICK LINEUP

PORTLAND - Larry Brown sensed it.Jamal Crawford had let the disappointment of his demotion to the bench affect his confidence and performance. Yesterday,Brown reversed course again. He juggled the starting...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A robber marched out of a Pennsylvania bank with $1,100, then marched back in a few minutes later and gave it back. "He had a change of heart," said Ambridge...