We give an example of a Banach space X such that J^(X, X) is not an ideal in J(f(X, X**). We prove that if z* is a weak* denting point in the unit ball of Z* and if X is a closed subspace of a Banach space Y, then the set of norm-preserving extensions HB(x*®z*) c jSf(Z*, Y)* of a functional x*®z* e (Z®X)* is equal to the set HB(x*) ® (z*}. Using this result, we show that if X is an W-ideal in Y and Z is a reflexive Banach space,
then Jf(Z, X) is an W-ideal in Jf(Z, Y) whenever JT(Z, X) is an ideal in Jf(Z, Y).We also show that X ( Z , X) is an ideal (respectively, an A/-ideal) in Jf(Z, Y) for all Banach spaces Z whenever X is an ideal (respectively, an M-ideal) in Y and X* has the compact approximation property with conjugate operators.2000 Mathematics subject classification: primary 46B20,46B28, 47L05.