In Business This Week

SPOOKS WITH SPREADSHEETS

YOU WOULD EXPECT THE head of the Central Intelligence Agency's cloak-and-dagger shop to be a veteran spook with years of field experience. But David Cohen, the new deputy director for clandestine operations, is a career economic analyst who once headed the agency office that monitors trade and technology trends. Cohen's July 31 appointment, some agency watchers say, underscores a concerted move by the CIA to elevate what had been a backwater mission--economic intelligence. Indeed, under President Clinton, the scope and volume of economic tasks undertaken by the CIA is unprecedented. A recent example: The agency briefed U.S. negotiators on Japan's position in the recently concluded auto talks.EDITED BY KEITH H. HAMMONDS