January 5, 2006

INTEREST FATES; NEW FED CHIEF MUST BEAT THE CONUNDRUM

WITH a near-octogenarian in charge, the Federal Reserve has been shooting blanks for two years. Now Wall Street - expectant as ever at the start of any year - is...

VALET BIZ EYES N.Y.

Two all-female parking companies in California have hooked up to start a nationwide expansion of their voluptuous valet business. California Girls Valet Parking, based in Beverly Hills, wrote a $400,000...

DIGITAL SHIFT DOMINATES 2005 MUSIC SALES

Mariah Carey capped her comeback, record stores saw fewer fans shuffling through their aisles and listeners continued to flock to the Internet to buy music. While music fans shunned retailers...

RAGS TO RICHES - ANN TAYLOR'S A SURPRISE HOLIDAY STAR, GAP A DUD

Of all the potential winners and losers this holiday season, two retailers stand out from the crowd. Ann Taylor Stores Corp., which is in the midst of a turnaround, had...

SPITZER EYEBALLS E-MUSIC PRICE FIX

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is widening his probe into possible price-fixing among digital music companies and has formally asked for information from several online music services, The Post...

NYMEX, CME MAY TALK DEAL

Top brass of the New York Mercantile Exchange plan to meet today with Chicago Mercantile Exchange representatives to work on a deal to sell its Windy City cousin a slice...

RETAILERS REPORTING DECEMBER SALES RISE

Despite initial hand-wringing, retail sales for the holiday season appear to have increased modestly, in line with most analyst estimates, according to two reports released yesterday. Though both reports showed...

DIMMED BERNER GOES AT CONDÉ

Former Fairchild CEO Mary Berner resigned yesterday from Condé Nast Publications, apparently unhappy that the unit she once ran as an independent fiefdom was being forced under the umbrella of...

A $9M HOUSE GIFT; WSJ PUB'S PAYOUT IS LESS THAN OTHERS'

The shakeup at The Wall Street Journal empire that ended Karen Elliott House's role at its helm will see her walk out the door more than $9 million richer. House,...

PECKER PICKS PREZ FOR AMERICAN MEDIA

American Media CEO David Pecker is hiring a top executive from Hachette Filipacchi to be the first president and chief operating officer. John Miller turned in his resignation last night...

ANIMATED ACTION - PIXAR, DISNEY HEAD TOWARD HOLLYWOOD ROMANCE

Steve Jobs and Bob Iger appear close to a deal that would reunite Pixar and Disney. Yesterday afternoon, Pixar shares soared on speculation that Disney was close to a deal...

LYIN' 'KINGS' - ROYAL JERKS DON'T GET THE JOKE

"Four Kings" Tonight at 8:30 on NBC/Ch. 4 * (one star) MAYBE TV execs should start hanging out at the track more often. Why? Because despite TV programming wisdom (an...

CAREFUL BALANCHINE ACT

NEW YORK CITY BALLETNew York State Theater, Lincoln Center; (212) 870-5570. Season runs through Feb. 26. WITH all the Nutcracking finally cracked, New York City Ballet on Tuesday night moved...

MOSTLY MOZART TURNS 40

FOR someone born 250 years ago, Mozart's still a pretty lively guy - judging by all the work he inspires. A new Mark Morris ballet, a musical/digital art installation and...

SUNDANCE FEST GOES TO B'KLYN

AT least a dozen features from this year's Sundance Film Festival will be shown in May at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of a new collaboration between the...

WRESTLING WITH 'DANCE' ODDS

PRO-WRESTLING babe Stacy Keibler is the odds-on favorite to win the latest edition of "Dancing with the Stars," which starts its new season tonight (8 p.m./Ch. 7). Keibler leads the...

ROCKING THE SUBURBS - BROOKLYN GETS 'DESPERATE'

BROOKLYN native Nashawn Kearse still can't believe he's nabbed a role on "Desperate Housewives," which returns Sunday with its first new episode of 2006. "It still hasn't sunk in yet,"...

TED HEADS OVER TO CABLE

TED Koppel has gone cable, as expected. The venerable "Nightline" newsman, longtime producer Tom Bettag and eight other former ABC News staffers are now the resident journalists at the Discovery...

STARR REPORT

'Mac' milestone "Bernie Mac" celebrates its 100th episode Feb. 3 with a plotline in which Jordan (Jeremy Suarez) begins hanging out with a Jewish pal on Uncle Bernie's (Bernie Mac)...

KUDOS SHOCKER FOR 'VIRGIN' SCRIBES

THE raunchy comedy "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" scored - but "Munich" and Woody Allen got snubbed - as the second round of movie awards for 2005 began yesterday with the Writers...

DRESSED TO SPILL - FOR DEFENDANTS, A WAY TO SAY 'I'M GUILTY' WITH STYLE

HE gives new meaning to the term rat pack. Mysterious mega-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has offered to blow the whistle on his congressional pals in his fraud trial, showed up...

DONNING JACK'S COAT OF MYSTERY

LOOKING more like a Cold War operative than a defendant pleading guilty to felony charges, lobbyist Jack Abramoff made quite a fashion statement when he showed up to court in...

RANTS & CRAVES - KATHERINE'S DIET DIARY

The Social-Lite Diet - Day 4 IN her book, "How the Rich get Thin," Dr. Jana Klauer acknowledges that, on a diet, even Rockefellers get cravings. See, I am like...

KICK YOUR APPETITE TO THE CURB

THE next time you crave a chocolate donut, stop - and check your watch. In 15 minutes, your craving will be up. "In general, a craving lasts between 8-14 minutes,"...

HEIR-HEAD GUILTY OF DVD PIRACY

Randolph Hobson Guthrie II, the black-sheep scion of wealthy New York bluebloods, has been convicted of video piracy in a Mississippi court, and now faces five years in a federal...

FURY AT 'SORRY' KILLER; DRIVER FROM HELL JAILED

The family of a Queens honors student run down and killed by a career criminal whose license had been suspended 28 times lashed out at the driver yesterday as he...

FUZZ GET ACCIDENTAL BUZZ IN L.I. DRUG RAID

Three cops on Long Island were rushed to a hospital buzzing on cocaine after a drug peddler sprayed powder into the air during a raid, police said. Suffolk Police were...

NIGHT-MARE OF AN OWNER

The owner of the hansom cab carriage, which caused a life-threatening smashup in Midtown when its horse bolted, has a history of abusing his horses, authorities said. Lorenzo Riccobono, 52,...

AIDE-PAYOUT SCANDAL ROCKS HYNES' OFFICE

Long-term financial mismanagement is dogging Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes' office, with a slew of employees drawing far larger salaries than their positions entitle them to, an new audit has...

LETTERMAN VS. O'REILLY ; 'LATE SHOW' HOST IN TV WAR OF WORDS WITH FOX NEWS MAN

TV funnyman David Letterman traded punches with Fox News Channel yakmeister Bill O'Reilly on CBS's "Late Show" Tuesday night - taking O'Reilly to task for supporting the Iraq war in...

MYSTERY PUSH FOR COMMISH TO TAKE ON HILL

ALBANY - A mystery effort to draft state Health Commissioner Dr. Antonia Novello to run against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was launched yesterday - but so far, nobody is owning...

MIGHTY QUINN; TEARFUL SPEAKER TAKES REINS

Wiping away a tear as her voice cracked with emotion, Manhattan's Christine Quinn yesterday became the first female - and openly gay - leader of the New York City Council....

HORRIFIC CRASH KILLS MODEL SON; IN CAR WRECK AFTER THROWING DAD PARTY

A hardworking college student was killed in a Brooklyn car crash yesterday, a day after arranging a memorable birthday celebration for his proud father. Nelson Martis, 20, was driving west...

POSTER BOY FOR GREED; SELLS TWU PLACARDS

A top union official is trying to "strike" it rich by selling autographed copies of the walkout posters transit workers carried on the picket line. Eladio Diaz, who brags he...

CORN-Y GOV SPEECH BOOSTS STATE OF IOWA

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki, who is considering running for president, yesterday delivered his 12th and final State of the State Address - with a nod to Iowa voters by calling...

WELD MUM ON D'AMATO ATTACK

ALBANY - Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld refused to fire back at Alfonse D'Amato yesterday, despite the former Republican senator's attack on his gubernatorial campaign. D'Amato said on NY 1...

DAD OF 2 TOOK CLASSES WHILE SEEKING SAFER JOB

The sole survivor of the devastating West Virginia coal-mine disaster that killed 12 of his co-workers is a married father of two who was looking to switch to a safer...

N.Y. EXEC KNEW OF PROBLEMS: EX-HONCHOS

New York billionaire Wilbur Ross had been intimately involved with the company that owned the West Virginia mine where 12 miners perished - and he knew all about its safety...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN *** Police yesterday released a photo of a suspect who, they say, fatally shot a man in a Harlem mugging last month. Henry Hammond (above), 20, confronted Walter Eberheart,...

SUBWAY SAVIORS REUNITED; SAVED TEEN ON TRACKS

A Brooklyn mail-room manager who helped pull a seizure-stricken teenager out of the path of a subway train said that he was "feeling good" yesterday after saving a life. "I...

JOLT TO 'JERKY' JUDGE

A judge accused of masturbating on the bench will rise as a defendant thanks to one of his former employees - a court reporter who kept detailed records of the...

ARMED CROOK BAGS 131G

An armed bandit robbed a Midtown check-cashing business of $131,000 yesterday, the store manager said. An employee at NYC Check Express, at 117 E. 41st St., was opening the business...

THUGS GUILTY IN 'MOB' WAR

A federal jury convicted a gang of Albanian-led mobsters of a string of violent racketeering crimes carried out in their bid to take over the Mafia's turf - but cleared...

LOBBY MOB-HIT LINK; ABRAMOFF GUILTY OF CASINO-BOAT FRAUD TIED TO TYCOON MURDER

Disgraced super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty yesterday to fraud in a deal to buy a fleet of Florida gambling boats from a man who was then whacked - allegedly by...

COP-STABBER BLOWN AWAY

An off-duty NYPD sergeant fatally shot an ex-convict who was stabbing another city cop yesterday outside a notorious Yonkers pub, authorities said. "Drop the knife!" yelled Sgt. Michael Ingram to...

WEINER WALLOPS 'HOMELAND' $HAM

WASHINGTON - New York Rep. Anthony Weiner yesterday ridiculed some of the unlikely regions slated to get millions of dollars under a new formula by the Department of Homeland Security....

EMTS RALLY AT CITY HALL

Hundreds of city paramedics and EMTs are taking their contract fight to Mayor Bloomberg by holding a rally at City Hall today, union officials said. "We have an extremely important...

KILLED OVER A LOUD TV; MAN 'STRANGLES' SIS

A Brooklyn man strangled his sister because the television was too loud, police said yesterday. Ozem Goldwire, 27, is accused of squeezing the life out of his 28-year-old sister Sherika...

STERN'S KID CUTS SMUT; DAUGHTER QUITS NUDIE SHOW

Howard Stern's statuesque daughter, Emily, has abruptly pulled out of an off- Broadway show in which she appeared stark naked. Fearful that audi ence members were snapping pictures of her...

MR. CLEAN CAN COME IN & WIPE UP FLOOR OF CONGRESS

YOU can almost smell the fear in Washington that America's mood is racing toward "throw the bums out" - and a yearning for fresh, clean faces in politics. The revolting...

ANATOMY OF A CRUEL MISTAKE; BOSSES KNEW MINERS WERE DEAD - ; BUT WAITED THREE HOURS TO TELL LOVED ONES

As a West Virginia town joyously celebrated word that 12 men trapped underground were alive, mining executives learned the report was wrong - but withheld the information from relatives for...

1,000S HIT BY BONE SCANDAL

Thousands of people throughout the country might have received bone transplants from tissue believed to be illegally harvested from New York funeral homes, according to a lawyer representing potential victims....

MY STALKER IS NOT MY SON: MOM

Not only does a Queens lawyer want nothing to do with the child she gave up for adoption almost four decades ago, but she doesn't even feel like he's her...

ED. BIGS CRY FOUL OVER 'CRIMINAL' WORKERS

The city Education Department defended its work force yesterday amid news that the number of criminal charges brought against school workers last year skyrocketed, saying the number of arrests was...

NO. 2 IN CHARGE, BUT NOT FOR LONG

WASHINGTON - Power in Israel was smoothly transferred from ailing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to his deputy, Ehud Olmert, last night - but experts said there will be turmoil at...

BUSH'S PAL KEY TO U.S. PEACE PLAN

WASHINGTON - For President Bush, Ariel Sharon has been the essential partner for Mideast peace - no one played a more central role in Bush's strategy to create a Palestinian...

ARIEL SUFFERS HUGE STROKE; 'IT LOOKS VERY BAD' AMID EMERGENCY OP

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was fighting for his life last night after undergoing emergency surgery at a Jerusalem hospital for a "massive stroke." Sharon's powers were transferred to his...

ANATOMY OF A CRUEL MISTAKE ; BOSSES KNEW MINERS WERE DEAD - BUT WAITED THREE HOURS TO TELL LOVED ONES

As a West Virginia town celebrated word that 12 men trapped underground were alive, mining executives learned the report was wrong - but withheld the information from relatives for nearly...

KILLED OVER A LOUD TV ; MAN 'STRANGLES' SIS

A Brooklyn man strangled his sister because the television was too loud, police said yesterday. Ozem Goldwire, 27, is accused of squeezing the life out of his 28-year-old sister, Sherika...

HARD-LINER'S LONG STRUGGLE; 'BULLDOZER' LED HIS NATION IN WAR ANDIN PEACE PUSH

Ariel Sharon earned the nickname "The Bulldozer" for his relentless pursuit of military victory - and his equally determined drive for peace and security as prime minister. Just hours before...

PATAKI PUSH FOR COMMISH TO TAKE ON HILL

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki yesterday unexpectedly boosted state Health Commissioner Dr. Antonia Novello as a "strong candidate" to challenge U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the November election. In a...

SPENDTHRIFTS' $3M SCAM STAYED ALL IN THE FAMILY

Larceny began at home for four heartless crooks who swindled their aunts, uncles and cousins in a $3.3 million investment scheme - then squandered the money on champagne and Italian...

CRASH-HANSOM OWNER STARVED HORSE

The owner of the hansom cab involved in a life-threatening crash after its horse bolted has a history of abusing his animals, authorities said. Lorenzo Riccobono, 52, is well known...

WIFE KILLER GETS 18 YRS.

A Queens woman whose husband stabbed her to death in front of their toddler stayed with the fiend for years, despite beatings and verbal abuse, her mother said yesterday as...

ARIEL SUFFERS HUGE STROKE; HIS CHANCES OF RECOVERY ARE LOOKING 'VERY BAD'

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was fighting for his life today after undergoing emergency surgery at a Jerusalem hospital for a "massive stroke." "It looks very bad," said a senior...

SIMPLE FOLK VENT THEIR OUTRAGE AT THE BIGSHOTS

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va. - The folks here, tight by the hardscrabble hills, don't have much and they don't ask for much - just honesty. Being jerked around about the fate of...

BX. TEACHER BUSTED IN KID BRAWL

A Bronx middle-school teacher was arrested last night for threatening a 10-year-old student following a brawl in a school cafeteria, police said. José Garcia, 47, a teacher at MS 390...

GRANNY DIES IN CIG BLAZE

An 84-year-old woman died yesterday after a cigarette she was smoking apparently sparked a small fire in her Queens apartment, authorities said. Nancy Graves was pulled unconscious from her third-floor...

ARIEL SUFFERS HUGE STROKE - HIS CHANCES OF RECOVERY ARE LOOKING 'VERY BAD'

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was fighting for his life today after undergoing emergency surgery at a Jerusalem hospital for a massive stroke. "It looks very bad," said a senior...

CLASSROOM EXTRA - FRANKLIN PIERCE - THE FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT - 1853-1857

FRANKLIN PIERCE - THE FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT - 1853-1857 Franklin Pierce became the nation's second dark-horse president during a period of uneasy calm, but the truce was temporary. Franklin Pierce was...

COP-STABBER BLOWN AWAY IN YONKERS

An off-duty NYPD sergeant fatally shot an ex-convict who was repeatedly stabbing another cop yesterday outside a notorious Yonkers pub, authorities said. "Drop the knife!" yelled Sgt. Michael Ingram to...

SJU MELTS DOWN IN CRUNCH TIME

OVERTIME Seton Hall 69 St. John's 61 St. John's has endured its fair share of pain, but rarely, if ever, has it had to suffer something quite like this. In...

ARIZA ON HOT SEAT

Trevor Ariza expressed his displeasure at being benched before the Knicks beat the Suns on Monday night, but the man who put him there didn't want to hear it yesterday....

JAMES BACK AT PRACTICE

KNICK NOTES Jerome James returned to Knicks practice yesterday, but his status with the team remains unclear. The center was suspended indefinitely prior to Monday's game after the team said...

ABSENCE PIERCE-ING

No one feels more helpless than Antonio Pierce, who hobbled through the Giants' locker room yesterday nearly pleading for his teammates to extend the season at least one more week...

DEVILS WAIVE BYE TO MOGILNY

It's as if summer never happened, except for the humongous bills. Lou Lamoriello's big preseason dive into the unrestricted market can now officially be classified among his worst pratfalls. By...

ENDS AND ENEMIES ; UMENYIORA SAYS: WE'RE FINER THAN CAROLINA'S

CHARLOTTE - The first verbal grenade before the Giants-Panthers NFC playoff game was thrown yesterday. Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora provided some bulletin-board material when he told reporters at Giants...

NETS GETTING ANTSY

Winter vacation has finally arrived, but Vince Carter is ready to play a real game. Today is the Nets' sixth-straight day off, which means only one thing: more practice. "Some...

SHOCKEY: MAYBE I'LL PLAY

GIANT NOTES Jeremy Shockey returned to practice yesterday after missing last week's NFC East clincher in Oakland with a high ankle sprain. But he is making no promises about his...

A-ROD TO HEAR CLASSIC PITCH

YANKEE NOTES Alex Rodriguez is willing to listen to what the Players Association and Major League Baseball have to say in regards to him participating in the World Baseball Classic,...

NO RAY OF HOPE: SEO TO L.A.

Frustrated by their inability to finalize a deal for Devil Rays closer Danys Baez, the Mets dipped into their surplus starting pitching yesterday by trading Jae Seo along with Tim...

ISLES WELCOME COSTLY WIN

OVERTIME Islanders 4 Panthers 3 They lost a goalie and the Islanders lost their best forward to injury last night. But hey, at least they finally won a game. The...

TIME RUNS OUT ON TROJANS

PASADENA - In Heritage Hall, Southern Cal's football headquarters, a huge mural of a packed stadium is headlined by four words in block letters that challenges the Trojans - Own...

PETE'S BONEHEAD MOVE SEALED TROJAN'S DOOM

PASADENA - So maybe the last few years really were a mirage. Maybe all those glowing press clippings Pete Carroll has collected since returning USC to prominence really were a...

A VIN-STANT CLASSIC WIN - HORNS CHAMPS AS YOUNG DELIVERS ON GUARANTEE

PASADENA - Vince Young stood on a stage at the Hard Rock Cafe in Manhattan on the night of Dec. 10 and apologized to his family, his teammates, his hometown...

BUSH: USC IS USA'S TEAM

PASADENA - When the Trojans trudge off the practice field and file into the tunnel in Heritage Hall that leads to their locker room, a huge mural of a packed...

AFTER BROKEN LEG, SUPER STEVE BREAKING FOES' HEARTS

CHARLOTTE - The 2004 season ended quickly for Panther receiver Steve Smith when he broke his left leg in the team's opening game, against the Packers. He would miss the...

BIG BLUE KEY - STOP SMITH

Everyone knows that receiver Steve Smith is the fuel that drives the Panther offensive engine - but is he the one player the Giants on Sunday need to contain more...

HERM SQUIRMS - EDWARDS SET TO BECOME A CHIEF

Cue up the sad, old pathetic chorus at Weeb Ewbank Hall: Another good head coach is about to walk away from the Jets. They all do. Everybody leaves. The Jets...

THE JV JETS GET FIRED ONCE AGAIN

THE galling part is that for the fourth straight time, the Jets of New York City, the Jets of the No. 1 market in the world, the Jets of Joe...

HALL TURNS TO GAINES AS STOPPER

Louis Orr's teams always have been defined by their defense, reliant upon stops for wins. In forward Stan Gaines, he has the most versatile defender he's ever coached, and one...

YOUNG AT HEART - TROJANS PAID HEED TO NAMATH-LIKE BOAST

PASADENA, Calif. - A copy of the Dec. 11th Post sits on a table in the USC football offices where players and recruits wait to meet with coaches. It has...

MORE SNOW IN NASSAU

The Islanders went into last night's Coliseum clash against Florida looking to snap a season-long five-game losing streak with so many questions as to how to turn around their season....

THIS WEEK WAS JUST WHAT NCAA NEEDED

PASADENA - All across the last three days of the football season, the last arguments standing in the way of progress began tumbling like so many dominoes. Anyone with a...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

An Oregon church planning a mission of mercy to Costa Rica has become the butt of jokes - for raising money for the trip by selling toilet paper. The Rev....