Daily News from New York, New York • 228

The Ticker DOW JONES 10,963.84 I I 1 Boston Properties to build 500M office tower 36.30 2,621.43 ,1 lot'-7 -serr 2. fi i Boston Properties' Times -Square venture depicted in computer-generated image. IPC users a business environment." Both companies have developed software that detects and disables the virus. The Associated Press 1 A Mi NASDAQ power and other incentives. The project is getting tax breaks because the site is one of four targeted by the city and state in the 1980s as key to the re-vitalization of 42nd Street.

At the time, the area was overrun with pom shops and had one of New York's highest crime rates. Officials initially granted the tax breaks to Prudential Insurance and developer George Klein, who planned to build four towers. But the recession following the 1987 stock market crash delayed construction. Since then, Prudential has been selling the sites. Boston Properties closed on its location earlier this week, paying $152.5 million.

Boston Properties also has a contract to buy another site on the south side of 42nd Street, between Seventh Avenue and Broadway. The company hopes to build a 47-story office building once it signs a major tenant, Selsam said. present to structions," said Keith Peer, president of Medina, Ohio-based Central Command. "Unlike the Chernobyl virus, it can infiltrate Wrestling Federation theme restaurant and a night club operated by blues legend B.B. King and the Blue Note jazz club.

"Times Square is perhaps the greatest example to date of urban renais sance, said Mortimer B. Zuckerman, chairman of Boston Properties and REAL chairman and co-publisher of the Daily News. The project, like the other office developments in the area, is getting government assistance. The Boston Properties development will save about $160 million in tax payments over 20 years, according to Boston Properties senior vice president Robert Selsam. "If it were a fully taxed building, we wouldn't be able to rent it," Selsam said.

The Giuliani administration also agreed to give Ernst Young $20 million in tax breaks, cheap virus no dows NT machines, used by businesses, as the W32Kriz virus does. "This virus contains lethal in Barnes Noble turns loss into a profit Boosted by strong results at its giant bookstores, Barnes Noble recorded operating profits in its latest quarter of $9 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with a loss of $9.68 million, or 8 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales in the quarter were $727.17 million, up from $662.5 million. Analysts were expecting a gain of 7 cents a share. The book-selling giant's stock was down 5s yesterday at $24.12.

The '99 results exclude a $36 million gain in the quarter that came from the May initial public stock offering of barnesandnoble.com, in which Barnes Noble holds a 40 share, and the partial sale of Chapters. The figures also exclude a $5 million loss to cover costs associated with Barnes Noble's termination of its planned merger with Ingram Book Group, the nation's No. 1 book wholesaler. Mortgages ease down Average rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell below 8 in the latest week to 7.93 after climbing to a more than two-year high the previous week of 8.15. Fifteen-year mortgages fell to an average of 7.53 from 7.7.

while the one-year adjustable rate mortgage dipped to 6.18 from 6.24. A year ago. 30-year rates averaged 6.92, 15-year mortgages were 6.61 and the one-year adjustable was 5.58. Analysts said interest rates began falling back with lessening fears of inflation and severe Federal Reserve action. Going the distance Bell Atlantic reportedly will seek Federal Communications Commission approval next month to begin offering long-distance services in the state.

If okayed, the local carrier would be the first to enter the long-distance market and would likely spur local phone competition, ft reportedly could begin offering the service before the end of the year. Retreat from Street Uncertainty about interest rates, an oversupply of IPOs and summer doldrums in the markets continue to force companies to rethink their Wall Street plans. Telecom services firm Orius, Internet company Bamboo.com and online music network Tunes.com are the latest to postpone initial stock offerings. Their biggest concern was market conditions. Adds up to bigger loss Block's losses grew 40 in its latest quarter from a year ago as North Amenca's largest tax preparation agency spent heavily to expand its tax office network.

It reported a net loss from continuing operations of $37.1 million, or 38 cents per share, vs. a loss of $26.5 million, or 25 cents. The loss was smaller than Wall Street's expected 40 cents a share, and the stock traded up 1516 at $56.31. Headed to Houston Chase said it was closing its equity management department in the city eliminating 32 jobs, as the nation's third-largest bank continued to streamline its operations. The $39 billion operation will now be handled completely in Houston.

Shares fell 2 916 to $82.43. By PETER GRANT DA1UT NEWS BUSINESS WRTTER Boston Properties has sealed a deal to build Times Square's latest new office building, a 37-story tower that will be the headquarters for accounting giant Ernst Young. Construction will begin early next year on the $500 million project at the southwest corner of 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue. Over its 20-year lease, Ernst Young will pay Boston Properties more than $1 billion. The building will add even more fuel to the Times Square development boom.

A few hundred feet from the site, Conde Nast has just moved into its new headquarters, and across 42nd Street, the Rudin family is developing a new U.S. headquarters for Reuters. Many new restaurants and entertainment attractions also are scrambling to open before New Year's Eve, including a World Christmas A computer virus timed to strike Windows PCs on Christmas Day has yet to pose a significant threat because of its low prevalence, but anti-virus software makers are gearing up to help computer users combat it. The new virus, named W32Kriz.3862, is designed to damage Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT machines. The virus overwrites data oh hard drives and destroys the memory that stores a computer's setup, sometimes making a computer unbootable.

Just two cases of the virus have been detected "in the wild" so far, said Sal Viveros, group marketing manager in the virus defense division of Santa-Clara, Network Associates, maker of the McAfee virus protection software. Network Associates ranks the virus as a "medium risk" because of its low prevalence. Viveros said Network Associates would upgrade the assessment if more cases of the virus are reported. The virus contains a profane, anti-religious message, Viveros said yesterday. "That could be why it may hit on Christmas," he said.

Another maker of virus protection software. Central Command said the W32Kriz virus is more destructive than the Chernobyl virus that recently attacked 300,000 computers in Asia and the Middle East. That virus did not affect Win in cn CN Paul Walsh (I.) head of Pillsbury, which makes Haagen-Dasz products, and Joe Weller, head of Nestle, seek bigger bite of sweets market by combining their ice cream operations..