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The Fed is talking today, and guess what they're probably talking about (Wednesday, 1/31/01)
Experts are predicting that another interest rate cut will come very soon, and that it will be sizable. Here's more from USA Today. Also, the President may be discovering that presidents can't necessarily say what's on their minds without influencing things in undesired or unpredictable ways. Bush says he won't have anything to say about what the Fed may or may not do from now on.

O'Neill the sales manager (Wednesday, 1/31/01)
The Treasury Secretary has the job of convincing a lot of key people that the Bush II administration's proposed tax cut is a good idea. Resistance to some sort of tax cut seems to have diminished considerably in Congress, but there are many members who think that the magnitude of Bush's proposal is unnecessary and undesirable. Many believe that the Republicans are using a slowing economy as a motivator for bringing about further structural changes, meaning less government and more private sector activity. The President's plan for increasing tax deductions for those who contribute to religious organizations involved in social service may be part of this strategy.

Protesters hit the streets in France (Wednesday, 1/31/01)
Thousands of public sector workers, including professionals, demonstrate for higher wages in Paris.

Jeff decides it's time to get profitable (Wednesday, 1/31/01)
Jeff Bezos has said that he intended to build a small, profitable company, and he ended up building a very large and unprofitable one. Still, while many analysts and others have worried about Amazon.com's future, he has continued to make reassuring noises about how profitability need not be the big e-tailer's top objective at this stage of its development. Not to worry. Things are under control, and he knows what he's doing. Well, despite everybody else's handwringing, he still hasn't been proven wrong, and, each day, Amazon.com is right where you're learned to expect it to be. However, yesterday marked a major change of direction for the company. Amazon.com has announced that it will cut 15 percent of its workforce as part of an effort to become profitable by the end of this year, presumably in order to avoid becoming one of the highly publicized dot-com casualties. In case you're still thinking that this is a small garage-shop operation, 15 percent of Amazon's workforce amounts to 1,300 jobs. Meanwhile, Fred Barbash of the Washington Post tells about a new study that examines what makes some Internet companies succeed and others fail.

Okay, let's check the lineup (Wednesday, 1/31/01)
Round up the usual suspects, and let's take a look at them. Robert Kutner asks who's most likely to be guilty of murdering the great American economic boom. But, not so fast. Allan Sloan says that coming back from dreamland doesn't mean we're entering a nightmare. Things probably weren't as good as we thought before, and they're probably not as bad as we're thinking now. Reality, folks, reality, and, as the Washington Post reports, many former Internet company employees are getting a chance to test it. Still, Jeannine Aversa reports that new Commerce Department figures show the slowest rate of growth in five years during the last quarter of 2000, while consumer confidence is at its lowest point in four years. At the same time, the Congressional Budget Office is estimating that the surplus is likely to be bigger than we thought, but, given the economy's apparent change of direction, couldn't the surplus mostly evaporate instead?

Bush's prescription drug plan (Wednesday, 1/31/01)
The President has a plan, but he's also indicating some negotiating flexibility, according to Robert Pear of the New York Times.

Declining resistance (Wednesday, 1/31/01)
Peter Grier of the Christian Science Monitor says that there is less reluctance to laying people off now, and it is a sign of what is happening in the American economy. Newsweek writers Daniel McGinn and Keith Naughton can help you assess how secure your own job is, given the American economy's changing climate.

Does Europe have what it takes? (Wednesday, 1/31/01)
Will Europe's leaders be able to continue with the reforms needed to promote continuing economic growth. Business Week examines that question. Also from Business Week this time, here's a list of the top business books, if you want to know what your competition may be reading.

Gateway to lay off thousands (Wednesday, 1/31/01)
Gateway has been one of the personal computer's success stories in recent years, but the company is feeling the need to get smaller. About 3,000 workers will be let go. All the news isn't about job cuts, though. Here's a nice story from Fort Worth about the creation of 3,435 jobs. Also, if you'd like to become a police officer, there may be plenty of opportunities. Many police departments are having great difficulty reaching their recruitment goals, according to Julie Finnin Day of the Christian Science Monitor.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Centre for the Economics of Education and Training (Wednesday, 1/31/01)
What are the economic consequences of learning? Since 1992, the Centre for the Economics of Education and Training at Australia's Monash University has been studying those very issues.

Chao confirmed (Tuesday, 1/30/01)
The United States Senate has made it official: Elaine Chao is the new U.S. Secretary of Labor. Confirmation occurred yesterday.

More unkind cuts (Tuesday, 1/30/01)
AT&T's Broadband division is a cable TV provider. Analysts have been predicting that as many as 2,000 jobs would go from the division, but AT&T says it will be hundreds, not thousands. With the slowing economy, including the tech sector, there is slackening demand for fiber-optics components in the U.S., so JDS Uniphase of Canada is laying off 700 contract workers. Go.com is going too, and its parent Disney will let 400 jobs go with it, and Xerox Corporation isn't done cutting jobs. They've announced that an additional 4,000 jobs will be eliminated. There are rumors that job cuts may be coming at Amazon.com, but no announcements have been made. Today's Washington Post discusses the increasing rate at which layoffs are occurring across the American economy.

Bush may go along with Congress on increasing aid for agriculture (Tuesday, 1/30/01)
Farmers are still in a big squeeze because of low grain prices. Charles Abbott reports from Washington that the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee expects support from the President for increased aid.

Japan's unemployment rate still high (Tuesday, 1/30/01)
Japan's jobless rate remains near record levels, according to the latest numbers.

Good time to be laid off, or not? (Tuesday, 1/30/01)
Nationally-syndicated columnist Jane Bryant Quinn thinks things could be a lot worse, because new jobs are still being created at a fairly rapid rate, even with the downturn. Nicole Harris of the Wall Street Journal writes today that people laid off from dot-come companies are having a harder time now, though. Meanwhile, Vicki Lee Parker of Raleigh's News & Observer says that, according to recruiters, new hires rarely make as much as they expect to.

Some secondary effects of the slowdown (Tuesday, 1/30/01)
During an economic downturn, the opposite of a "multiplier effect" takes hold. When a business slumps, it tends to cut back on its business with other businesses. Many companies are spending less on advertising now, and this impacts media that depend on advertising. Moreover, as Sally Beatty writes in today's Wall Street Journal, ratings for many to TV's business shows have also dipped somewhat. Maybe people don't want to hear more bad news.

Religion and economics (Tuesday, 1/30/01)
Naomi Kopple reports from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on a debate among major religious leaders. Meanwhile, in the United States, the Bush II administration, which wouldn't mind if, one way or another, public money managed to support church-related schools, is trying to let religious organizations use federal money to support social programs. Also, President Bush would like to see generous tax cuts for people who contribute to those organizations directly. Expect a lot of controversy involving who are so such of their beliefs, for reasons that might mystify most scholars, that they won't mind imposing them on everybody else if they can, on the one hand, and people who believe that 1500 years of European history should provide ample reason for maintaining a strict separation of church and state, on the other. Also, at the Davos forum, George Soros has been chatting with some of the protesters.

A hundred thousand employees of American Airlines share profits (Tuesday, 1/30/01)
Three-hundred million dollars in profit-sharing will be distributed among more than 100,000 people who work for American Airlines, according to Dan Reed of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

She may be leading a cultural revolution at the LAPD (Tuesday, 1/30/01)
Los Angeles' huge and often troubled police department may be undergoing a change of attitude in its work culture, and the first woman to head the police officers' union seems to be a major reason.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: ipo.com (Tuesday, 1/30/01)
Now that some companies are even trying to get rid of the "stigma" of a dot-com URL, the bloom has certainly faded from Internet startups, and the overall economy is slumping, it means that initial public offerings are dead, right? Nope, not at all. There are still IPOs, and ipo.com wants to tell you about them. What will their stock be worth? Your guess is as good as ours. Your guess may be as good as theirs too, but, then again, they say they've done their home work.

BIG cuts at Chrysler (Monday, 1/29/01)
DaimlerChrysler will cut 26,000 jobs in its U.S. division over the next three years, which amounts to 20% of Chrysler's workforce.

Cheney says he was right (Monday, 1/29/01)
In early December, the Vice President said that the U.S. economy was near to going into recession, and he claims that subsequent developments have vindicated him. Critics wonder to what extent a high official is able to provide descriptions or predictions without influencing events. That is, how much of the economic downturn in the United States has been a result of what Cheney and Bush were saying? Remember how little President Carter's remarks about a "national malaise" helped improve America's morale? Then, a man named Reagan came along and started making cheery speeches which helped American begin feeling more optimistic, which helped make some good things begin to happen.

Many tech workers think organized labor hasn't adjusted to the needs of the new economy (Monday, 1/29/01)
Katherine Pfleger tells why unions are having difficulty recruiting workers in high-technology companies.

Close quarters and creativity (Monday, 1/29/01)
Researchers at the University of Michigan find that packing people together in a workspace seems to increase creativity and productivity. When large numbers of people stopped hunting and gathering and invented cities, it meant that they would spend a lot of time together interacting. This helped set off a tremendous period of creativity that launched recorded history, and nothing has been the same since. Still, at what point does stress and interpersonal conflict begin to override the benefits of close "togetherness" on the job?

Keyless keyboard can help persons with movement limitations (Monday, 1/29/01)
Steven Ford of the Orlando Sentinel says that people with repetitive-stress injuries and other motor limitations may feel like celebrating the arrival of this new ergonomic input device.

Speaking in a deliberately unclear fashion (Monday, 1/29/01)
When Alan Greenspan speaks, the consequences can be immediate and widespread. He is able to moderate reactions by using language that can be subject to multiple interpretations, so that reactions may tend to cancel each other out a bit. Barbara Hagenbaugh writes about how the Federal Reserve Chairman can cause a lot of head scratching among economists and others.

Slump may help small companies a bit (Monday, 1/29/01)
Joyce Rosenberg says that an economic slowdown should make it a bit easier for small business to find workers, but the effects can be exaggerated. They'll still have to work at it.

Slowdown in the tech sector hasn't hit its lawyers much yet (Monday, 1/29/01)
According to the old gag, if there's one lawyer in town, he may starve. If there are two, both may get rich. Harder times for clients doesn't necessarily mean harder times for lawyers. Anne Colden tells about how lawyers who specialize in technology are doing.

Better deal for part-timers? (Monday, 1/29/01)
Japan continues its struggle to adjust to the needs of the new economy, which, among other things, tends to reward labor flexibility. There can be benefits for employers of relying more on part-time or temporary workers. Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun looks at the chances for greater equity for part-timers.

Bush wants to coordinate federal and church-based social service efforts (Monday, 1/29/01)
The Administration is establishing a federal office that is likely to annoy people who advocate strict separation of church and state.

Too much work (Monday, 1/29/01)
Many teens are working too many hours, and it is interfering with what educators believe to be their most important job--getting an education. Here's more from Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times.

Who would benefit most from the Bush plan for eliminating estate taxes (Monday, 1/29/01)
Some are saying that America's rich would benefit more than current estimates suggest, according to David Cay Johnston, and it would be at the expense of government treasuries.

Divorce carefully (Monday, 1/29/01)
If you're in the process of a divorce, it's probably not the best time to think clearly about the legal and financial consequences, but you'd better make a special effort to do so, say the experts.

Can you believe your boss' promises? (Monday, 1/29/01)
Pay more attention to what people do than to what they say, suggests Daneen Skube of the Seattle Times in your answer to a correspondent.

What turnover REALLY costs (Monday, 1/29/01)
If you have a revolving door at your place of business, it may help explain why your profits are so meager. Leslie Gross Klaff says that employers often underestimate the cost of high turnover.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: How much is that worth today? (Monday, 1/29/01)
How much is that worth today? allows you to compare the purchasing power of currency in the U.S. or the American colonies from 1720 to the present.

Anti-globalization protests spread in Switzerland (Sunday, 1/28/01)
Demonstrators first gathered in Davos at the World Economic Forum, but protests have spread to other Swiss cities. Here's more from Adrian Croft. Inside the conference halls, much talk has been about the economic slowdown in the United States and what it is likely to mean for the global economy

Talks stall, strikes intensify in Israel (Sunday, 1/28/01)
Haim Bior of Ha'aretz brings you up to date on the contest between the Israeli government and the Histadrut Labor Federation, which represents public sector workers in Israel.

How's that again? (Sunday, 1/28/01)
How many jobs were added by private sector employers during the last decade, according to the U.S. Department of Labor? It depends on which numbers you look at, and two different totals appear in the same report.

You may be on your own, Boomer (Sunday, 1/28/01)
Experts discuss the decline of traditional pension plans that you can't outlive.

Deaf ears at Ford Motor Company? (Sunday, 1/28/01)
Reed Abelson of the New York Times tells about women at Ford who complained about harassment and abuse, but apparently weren't heard.

More than lights may be dimming in California (Sunday, 1/28/01)
Here's D. J. Waldie's look at reality testing in America's biggest, most prosperous state economy. The world economy has been driven by the U.S. economy, and the U.S. economy has been driven by California's economy, and, in large part, by what has been happening in the valley extending from San Francisco to San Jose. What now? Well, according to Kenneth Gilpin, California is still where it's always been, and, for the moment, at least, still has the sixth-largest economy in the world. It's taken some hits in the past, but has continued its influence, so stay tuned.

Government's role in the new economy (Sunday, 1/28/01)
In a knowledge-based economy, government can be expected to play a new and central role, according to this article from Government Technology.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Nieman Foundation Seminar with John Kenneth Galbraith (Sunday, 1/28/01)
Here are excerpts from a 1998 Nieman Foundation seminar led by Harvard Emeritus Professor of Economics, John Kenneth Galbraith. He warns about stock market speculation and shares some anecdotes.

Judge orders Union Pacific engineers back to work (Saturday, 1/27/01)
The strike of locomotive engineers at Union Pacific didn't last long before a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, affecting rail traffic in 23 states.

Big job cuts at WorldCom (Saturday, 1/27/01)
WorldCom employs 77,000 people, but not for much longer. They've announced that they plan to cut 10 to 15 percent of their workforce. Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard will be making cuts too, but fewer of them. Still, more than 1,700 positions are likely to go at HP.

Does George now have a friend in Al? (Saturday, 1/27/01)
Not Gore, but Greenspan. And, not George Sr., who once indicated that he was "disappointed" in the Federal Reserve Chairman, but George Jr. who is now the President of the United States. Caren Bohan thinks that George may think that Alan is singing off the same page. Still, most who know Greenspan well don't believe that his qualified endorsement of a tax cut means that the Fed Head is willing to sacrifice his long-defended independence. The New York Times Richard Stevenson also examines this issue, wondering whether Greenspan has suddenly become a partisan.

IMF expects global economy to grow at slower rate than previously thought (Saturday, 1/27/01)
The International Monetary Fund originally thought that the world economy would grow by about 4.2 percent this year, but may cut back those estimates to about 3.5 percent. Meanwhile, at the economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, economic experts from around the world expresss confidence in the world economy, despite an apparently sharp downturn in the United States.

Big increase in child labor law violations (Saturday, 1/27/01)
Complaints shot upward by 90 percent last year. Mike Hughlett of the St. Paul Pioneer Press says that a tight labor market last year seemed to be at least partly responsible for the increased employment of young people, and many have ended up doing dangerous work.

Former welfare recipients do well in the workforce (Saturday, 1/27/01)
A new study from the Public Policy Institute of California finds that large numbers of people formerly on welfare are now performing well in good jobs, but they are concerned with the extent to which it all depends on an economic boom. What happens to these people if there is a genuine recession? John Wildermuth of the San Francisco Chronicle has the story.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: SmartMoney (Saturday, 1/27/01)
Here's tax help from SmartMoney magazine.

Economy may already have gone into a stall; will it begin losing altitude next? (Friday, 1/26/01)
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says that the American economy probably has stopped growing. President Bush was pleased to hear him say earlier that he now favors a tax cut, even though it was only a qualified endorsement of Bush's proposal. Greenspan has not indicated that he would support a tax cut plan of the magnitude that the President wants. Nonetheless, as the Washington Post reports, even a qualified endorsement from the Fed Head strengthens Bush's position.

Mexico's President Fox speaks at Davos economic forum (Friday, 1/26/01)
Top economic leaders from over the globe are meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The new Mexican president is likely to get a lot of attention for many reasons, not the least of which is that his election may mark a major change of direction in Mexican history. President Fox intends for Mexico to be a very different country at the end of the 21st century than at its beginning. In fact, he expects major change in a relatively few years.

For those who are used to thinking of Mexico as a politically corrupt third-world country characterized by massive poverty and large numbers of people who want to leave, Fox projects a very different image. He is a highly sophisticated, multilingual, self-made individual who has been an experienced and successful top executive with a major global corporation.

Incidentally, Switzerland, where the economic forum is opening, has been in the news in the United States during the past few days largely because of former President Clinton's pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich, which may have proven that crime can pay after all, if you have friends in the right places. Rich used to be an American citizen but now lives in Switzerland. Before his pardon, he could have been convicted of crimes in the U.S. that might have netted him 300 years in prison. Now, though, it appears that he can return to the U.S. with impunity, unless U.S. authorities can find crimes with which he can be charged that were not covered by the presidential pardon. Rich may be well-advised to wait awhile in order to see.

Carey indicted (Friday, 1/26/01)
Former Teamsters President Ron Carey has been indicted on perjury charges. Carey led a successful strike against UPS several years ago. The charges stem from an investigation into his fund-raising tactics during his 1996 re-election campaign. He was succeeded in the Teamsters presidency by James Hoffa, Jr.

Among other things, Sara Lee will have less help in her kitchen (Friday, 1/26/01)
Each day brings more news of layoffs, as the American economy continues to cool, although the layoffs so far do not appear to be sufficient to influence the overall national unemployment rate particularly. Among the latest, Sara Lee will cut 7,000 jobs, while AT&T Broadband, which is AT&T's cable television division, expects to cut 2,000 jobs.

But, that was last year; this is this year (Friday, 1/26/01)
Overall, the year 2000 was part of the longest economic expansion in American history, and the good numbers are still piling up. The Kansas City Star's Diane Stafford tells about Labor Department statistics showing that wages and benefits increased last year by the greatest average amount since 1991, which is when the current (?) economic expansion began.

Just in case you're assuming that anybody who runs a corporation must be smart (Friday, 1/26/01)
A national poll a few years ago found that 1 of 6 or 7 American adults were unable to locate the United States on a world map, while another poll found that, 450 years after Copernicus, about 50% of American respondents said either that they believed that the sun revolves around the earth, or that they really didn't know. Quite a lot of people in business apparently haven't heard about the last 50 years or so of organizational research either. L. M. Sixel tells about a performance evaluation program at one company that seems designed to destroy morale and work motivation, while increasing turnover.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Bigwigs.net (Friday, 1/26/01)
If you're a high-income executive, or would like to be, Bigwigs.net may be the job site for you. You can post your resume for nothing and also search for suitable job openings. The site specializes in positions that pay $100,000 yearly or more.

Greenspan changes his mind about tax cut (Thursday, 1/25/01)
The new president suddenly has an ally in the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Things are different in the hearing room this time (Thursday, 1/25/01)
Elaine Chao seems on her way to easy confirmation as the next Secretary of Labor. She faced a friendly reception at her confirmation hearing yesterday. She told Senators that the economy is changing, so the Department of Labor must change.

World Economic Forum opens in Switzerland (Thursday, 1/25/01)
Global economic leaders have gathered in Davos, Switzerland, and, as Elizabeth Olson reports, protests are expected. President Clinton spoke at the meeting last year, but no senior members of the Bush II administration are in attendance this time.

Lucent still counting and cutting (Thursday, 1/25/01)
Lucent Technologies now intends to cut 16,000 jobs, according to Andrew Backover of USA Today.

Careful, don't go to work. Come to think of it, maybe you shouldn't stay at home either (Thursday, 1/25/01)
People who do a lot of work around the house are particularly subject to injury, including repetitive stress injuries, even if they don't spend a lot of time work on a computer. Other researchers find a solid statistical correlation between jobs and the likelihood of such ailments as lower-back pain.

Backers of bankruptcy reform will resubmit the same bill as before (Thursday, 1/25/01)
Some major retailers would like to see revisions, but it appears that President Bush may have an opportunity to sign or veto the same bill vetoed by President Clinton last year.

Listening is an active skill, not a matter of being a passive receptacle (Thursday, 1/25/01)
Columnist Diane Stafford says that many business meetings don't go well because a lot of people aren't really listening. The current edition of Harvard's Management Communication Letter has some advice for people who still seem to think that listening and hearing are the same thing.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: EmploymentSpot (Thursday, 1/25/01)
EmploymentSpot is a major portal that can help you locate most information of interest relating to employment issues, including many other sites.

First merge, now purge (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
History's biggest media merger has produced a company that is trying to make itself smaller. AOL Time Warner cut 2,000 jobs yesterday, and thousands more may be coming, in addition to the 400 cuts at CNN. Cuts are occurring elsewhere, as well, and not only in the media or tech sectors. For instance, Lucent Technologies will cut 10,000 of its 100,000 jobs, and Gateway, which manufactures personal computers, is slicing 140 people from its California payroll, which is part of a 10 percent reduction that has been planned for sometime. ExciteAtHome is among the latest Internet companies to cut jobs because of a slowing in the online advertising sector. In what might be regarded as a lower-tech industry, given that it was invented in the 19th century, rail company Norfolk Southern will trim 1,000 to 2,000 jobs over the next year.

The world will need another half-billion jobs (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
A new report from the International Labor Organization, an agency of the United Nations, forecasts that the world will need 500 million new jobs over the next ten years in order to cut unemployment and also employ new workers who will be entering the labor market.

Demonstrators protest new immigration law in Spain (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
Undocumented workers have been entering Europe through Spain, but a new immigrant law is intended to slam that door shut. The new law took effect yesterday, and, as Jess Smee reports from Madrid, people concerned with the threat of deportation have been among those protesting.

Talks will continue in Israel, despite disruptions (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
Haim Bior of Ha'aretz reports on the public sector workers strike in Israel.

Change of roles (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
Emiko Inagaki of Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun tells about a man who used to cut workers who now tries to help them find jobs.

Is Russia's past also its future? (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
Russia has a long history, but very little of it has been democratic. Those are hoping that it will now become a viable democracy may be disappointed to watch the gradual disappearance of Russia's post-Soviet free press, and might also be alarmed at President Putin's decision to shut down most of Russia's political parties. What's next? Will regular elections soon seem inconvenient too? Moreover, it all brings up the continuing question about the extent to which freedom is indivisible. Is it possible to have economic freedom without political freedom? Many experts on both think not.

Some pensioners may get a raise (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
The Daily Star reports from Damascus that President Assad may broaden last year's public sector wage increase to retired officials.

Confirmation expected for Labor Secretary-designate (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
Elaine Chao will face tough questions today, but no one in the Congress seems to be saying that she will fall short of confirmation as the new Secretary of Labor. In the small world department, Secretary-designate Chao is the wife of Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

IBM settles suit alleging birth defects as a consequence of toxic fumes exposure (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
Various solvents and other potentially toxic materials are used in the manufacture of computer chips, and IBM has settled a suit that claimed birth defects were produced because of exposure to toxic fumes in a New York state manufacturing plant. Additional suits are pending.

Career advice for techies (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
Christy Mulligan writes in the Computer user about some speed bumps on IT career paths and how young professionals can avoid them.

Something you may not have thought about for a long time--finding a job (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
With more and more layoffs throughout more and more sectors of the American economy, an increasing number of people are having to brush up on their job-seeking skills. Kenneth Bredemeier of the Washington Post responds to some correspondents' questions about the process.

A generous supporter of higher education (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
United Technologies is generous in its support for the continuing education of its employees, but, as Natasha Gural writes, it's not the only employer who sees merit in helping workers to improve themselves.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Find a Career for You (Wednesday, 1/24/01)
Find a Career for You is an interesting site that provides practical information about 180 career possibilities which can help you determine what fits you best.

Japanese economic planner resigns (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
It's been expected for several days, and it's finally happened. Fukushiro Nukaga has resigned his position in response to bribery allegations. Here's more from Gary Schaefer who reports from Tokyo.

As expected, Index declined in December (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
The Index of Leading Economic Indicators, which has a generally good record of forecasting economic activity several months ahead, declined for the third month in a row in December.

Europe holds up well (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
Europe is confident that it will be able to withstand the effects of an American economic slowdown, and, so far, European economies are showing considerable resiliency.

Australian statistician feels that unemployment is underestimated (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
Melbourne's The Age reports that Australian Bureau of Statistics chief Dennis Trewin would like to see some changes made in the way unemployment is measured in Australia. The current method underestimates true unemployment levels, he says.

What the American tech sector wants from the new President (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
As hi-tech goes, so will go the American economy as a whole from now on, or, at least, to a large extent. Tech is slumping at the moment, and so is the larger economy. The new Bush administration no doubt notices, and key government officials will be listening to what tech company leaders have to say. Here's a bit of what they would like from the new Administration, as reported in the International Herald Tribune.

Another push for making bankruptcy harder (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
Marcy Gordon reports that key Congressional Republicans feel that they may have a better chance of getting changes in the federal bankruptcy law now that there is a Republican administration. Senator Phil Gramm intends to submit a new bill. If it becomes law, it will make it harder to walk away from debts.

Talks begin again at United (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
It seems that each new day brings additional news of labor conflict in the American airline industry. Dave Carpenter reports from Chicago that United Airlines and its mechanics have resumed negotiations.

Space program (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
To many, office design seems stuck in a time warp. Neal Learner of the Christian Science Monitor tells what some are trying to do to make work spaces more consistent with the needs of the new economy.

Children seem to be benefiting from welfare-to-work (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
When single mothers work, it does not appear to result in harm to their children, according to new research. In fact, school performance tends to improve. Here's more from Robert pear of the New York Times.

Shortage of substitute teachers (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
It's almost a tradition for some students to try to make life miserable for substitute teachers, and, in many regions, the pay is pretty bad besides. Everything considered, many persons with teaching credentials may not be greatly enthusiastic about being a sub when there are other attractive employment opportunities, including available full-time teaching positions in many regions where shortages of full-time teachers are also beginning to worsen. Today's Wall Street Journal examines how schools are coping with sub scarcity.

Take a number (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
A large number of people who used to work in the Clinton administration are now eligible for unemployment benefits. Is Bill Clinton himself standing in line today? On the line asking for "reason for loss of employment," he would say something like "Constitutional provision," perhaps.

Construction workers in short supply in Albuquerque (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
Some big construction projects have been soaking up nearly all available construction workers in the New Mexico city. Here's more from John Flores of the Albuquerque Journal.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Work & Family Connection (Tuesday, 1/23/01)
Work & Family Connection is intended for managers and work-life professionals. Some information is free, while special reports must be purchased.

Tsunami from California? (Monday, 1/22/01)
The Detroit Free Press' Alejandro Bodipo-Memba examines the implications of California's power problems for the overall American economy, which is beginning to look weaker and weaker, even without special help. Columnist Jerry Heaster says the Conference Board's new Index of Leading Economic Indicators, scheduled for release today, is expected to provide a fairly joyless picture for the months ahead. If a recession comes, you are most likely to find it permanently impacting your personal situation if you are a male and over forty, and particularly if you are a blue-collar worker, according to new Princeton University research. People in these demographic categories are most likely to lose their jobs and least likely to be able to find new ones at familiar income levels.

The same sort of thing hit a great many educated, middle-aged mostly male middle managers in the early '90s, when "downsizing" was resulting in the virtual elimination of corporate middle-management echelons. Many of these men found that they had to content themselves with much lower income, at least for a while. Then, the boom came, and, with it, labor shortages, so some former middle-managers were able to find attractive employment again, but it was a difficult time for all.

Incidentally, as Julie Edgar reports, the American workforce has been getting older and many people who could retire are choosing to stay on the job longer than during earlier years. Still, employers tend not to want to hire older people when they have a choice.

BIG cuts may be coming to DaimlerChrysler operations in the U.S. (Monday, 1/22/01)
You remember Chrysler. It was the company that probably would have gone out of business years ago without government help. More recently, it was sold to a German company, and it's been having troubles again. This time, Dieter Zetsche runs things, and he is expected to announce extensive restructuring in February that could result in the loss of 20,000 U.S. jobs.

"Guest worker" program under discussion in D. C. (Monday, 1/22/01)
Mexico's new president has called it what it is--an example of corruption. It's the American contradiction over illegal immigrants from Mexico. On the one hand, they ARE illegal, but, on the other hand, the American economy needs them and tacitly encourages them to come to work in the U.S., where their illegal status is often exploited by their American employers who also aren't paying required taxes. Senator Phil Gramm and others want to change things with a proposed "guest-worker" plan.

Hollywood writer talks begin Monday (Monday, 1/22/01)
No matter how little the finished film resembles the original script, it all begins with a script, and the people who write the scripts aren't entirely happy at the moment. A strike of Hollywood writers could come in the summer. Their current contract expires on May 1, and talks will begin Monday. Among other things, a strike of Hollywood writers could make it very difficult for the TV networks to put their fall schedules on the air. If that happens, look for more so-called "reality programs," which don't depend on writers, and which may have little to do with genuine reality. In other labor news, the public sector workers' labor federation in Israel isn't walking out...yet...but slowdowns are beginning.

Japan's economy continues to resist taking off (Monday, 1/22/01)
Japan's once "miraculous" economy has been sluggish for the past decade, and, while there has been sputtering growth now and then, there still haven't been solid signs of a genuine recovery from the worst recession since the Second World War. Once again, growth seems to have stopped, according to new data from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Meanwhile, Economics Minister Nukaga remains in office, despite expectations that he would resign because of bribery allegations.

Banking for South Africa's working poor (Monday, 1/22/01)
Ravi Nessman reports from Bellville, South Africa on PEP Bank's aggressive move to make banking services available to the nation's vast multitude of working poor.

Change of work climate in South Korea (Monday, 1/22/01)
Old cultural patterns begin to dissolve as South Korea's economy adjusts itself to the requirements of a new era. Among other things, traditional regimentation is less functional, Sang-Hun Choe reports from Seoul, and the younger generation seems more individualistic than its elders. This has been happening in the American workplace for sometime, and now verbal taboos are breaking down too. The erosion of workplace politeness can mean a relaxed atmosphere, but, as we've been reporting, it can also mean less humane work settings in which increasingly aggressive language can play a part.

Attention focuses on Korean-owned sweatshirt factory in Mexico (Monday, 1/22/01)
Physical abuse has been reported at the South Korean-owned factory, and Nike is proposing that the charges be investigated. Meanwhile, while it might not occur to many people that the world's largest totalitarian country would be the place to go in order to learn about modern business, North Korea's Kim Jong Il isn't your typical student of free market economics. He heads what may still be the world's most regimented society, which also has a catastrophic economy, and he's been visiting China in order to learn what he can.

Financial services industry still needs techies (Monday, 1/22/01)
Employment opportunities for computer programmers remain strong in America's financial sector. Here's more from Margaret Schmitz Rizzo in the Kansas City Star.

Lessons in how to fail (Monday, 1/22/01)
The Washington Post's Fred Barbash tells about Clayton Christenen's influential book, When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, as well as some things that Professor Christensen is telling business leaders in person.

Recruiters focus on spouses (Monday, 1/22/01)
Helping to meet the needs of "trailing spouses" can help in the recruiting of people you want to hire, according to Cynthia Flash of the Seattle Times.

New report on solving the caregiver crisis (Monday, 1/22/01)
It may represent a national attitude that the vulnerable elderly as well as others who are dependent are among society's "throwaways" whom Americans don't like to think about. Gary Rotstein of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on the national shortage of caregivers and a new report from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging telling what is needed to attract and hold the right kinds of people who are needed in helping roles.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Financial Education for College Students (Monday, 1/22/01)
Citibank may be able to help students learn how to be wiser and more proficient in financial management. Here's a financial education site for college students which includes free educational materials.

Bush rolls up his sleeves (Sunday, 1/21/01)
Whether there's a recession coming or not, the Bush II administration is prepared to do everything necessary to prevent it or keep it from lingering, according to this opinion piece in the Seattle Times.

A cold winter may cool the economy further (Sunday, 1/21/01)
Daniel Sternoff tells about the economic impact of a colder-than-usual winter in the United States. Among those particularly concerned about a more severe economic downturn are many American farmers, who have been trying to cope with a depression in U.S. agriculture during much of the record expansion. If things have been bad for farmers during the boom, how will they be during a recession?

Viewing the slowdown from highway speed (Sunday, 1/21/01)
Charlie LeDuff reports on the slowing American economy from the perspective of the people who spend their work lives on the big U.S. highways.

California continues to entertain the world (Sunday, 1/21/01)
It's not just that the entertainment industry is centered in the big American state. California and Californians are hard to ignore for other reasons as well. Since at least from the time of the gold rush, it has been a magnet attracting Americans with non-traditional, non-conformist attitudes, giving rise to quite a lot of goofiness in religious, political, and other aspects of life. The state has also attracted and produced a lot of risk-takers, which helps explain the high concentration of creativity and entrepreneurism, but also why some Californians insist on building expensive homes where they are highly likely to crumble because of one natural disaster or another. When Johnny Carson was asked on the telephone how things were going out there, he remarked, "Much better...the mud slides are putting out the fires." Now, if you haven't been paying attention, you might not have noticed the tremendous shift of that has occurred in California during the past six months. Michelle Locke reports from San Francisco on why some Californians are feeling that things are falling apart...for the moment.

Telling Canada's good news (Sunday, 1/21/01)
The Toronto Star's David Crane, who is a Star columnist in more ways than one, says that Canada should blow its own horn about its economy and the interesting opportunities it offers to serious investors and business people from the U.S. and elsewhere. The Canadian Finance Minister has been in New York telling Canada's story.

More on office rage (Sunday, 1/21/01)
Daniel Costello of the Wall Street Journal examines the American office, which seems to be an increasingly angry place. Jim Barlow of the Houston Chronicle tells why and how something can be done to make the American workplace a safer and friendlier place.

Worker insecurity builds in the dom-com universe (Sunday, 1/21/01)
One of the principal attributes of the new economy is its volatility. Old equilibria have disappeared, but new ones don't easily take their place. Things change, and, before you can get used to the changes, they change again, and again. For instance, people working for Internet companies during the recent boom felt that they were riding a wave that might build forever, and, then, it crashed into the shore. Verne Kopytoff of the San Francisco Chronicle tells about the insecure work life of dot-com employees now, who might get laid off, find another job, and get laid off again, as Internet companies crash or, at least, cut back and cut deep. Is this the way it's going to be from now on? Unlikely. Stay tuned, and pay close attention or you'll miss the next trend and the one after that.

Thousands of Maytag workers finally exhale as a former CEO is brought out of retirement (Sunday, 1/21/01)
A lot of appliances have been produced over the years at the Maytag plant in Newton, Iowa, but, for a time, it appeared that 3,400 jobs might be lost in this small Midwestern city. Now that Leonard Hadley has returned to run the place, workers seem to feel that they can rest easier. Here's more from Emily Gersema whose story appears in the Houston Chronicle.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: RSI Support Group (Sunday, 1/21/01)
It appears that repetitive stress injuries have become more common as a greater proportion of the workforce must make the same movements hundreds of thousands of times during a brief period, something for which the human body is not well-designed and which homo sapiens sapiens have not had to do during their 40,000-year-plus history until the past few years. Here's the RSI Support Group from Los Angeles.

More bad news in Japan (Saturday, 1/20/01)
After a long, frustrating period of trying to bring about a recovery from Japan's worst economic recession since the devastation of the Second World War, during which corporate bankruptcies have been on the rise, among other things, the Japanese government faces another setback with the likely resignation of its top economic planner, who is being accused of bribery.

OPEC actions expected to harm world economy, according to the IEA (Saturday, 1/20/01)
The International Energy Agency's new survey indicates that OPEC's effort to hold oil prices constant during a period of diminishing global economic activity is likely to be an obstacle to growth in what has already become a vulnerable world economy. Still, other experts expect any downturn in the U.S. to be short-lived, and are also optimistic about the global economy's prospects. California, where a lot of influential American trends seem to begin, is already experiencing economic consequences of energy problems for some of its own reasons. Laura Holson reports from Los Angeles that the layoffs are underway.

Possible violence feared in Switzerland (Saturday, 1/20/01)
Americans have been told that it might be advisable for them to avoid travel to Davos, Switzerland during the last days of January because of the possibility of violent demonstrations at the World Economic Forum.

Airline blames its mechanics for loss of momentum (Saturday, 1/20/01)
Northwest Airlines hasn't been flying on time as often as they would like, and they say that their mechanics have been the reason. The company claims that mechanics have been engaging in deliberate slowdowns, but the mechanics' union's response is angry denial. In other airline labor news, American's flight attendants' union will count strike-authorization ballots next month, according to union leaders.

Layoffs at Chrysler (Saturday, 1/20/01)
Two-hundred-fifty workers will be cut from an assembly plant in Detroit, and many observers think there are far more to come. Here's more from Jeffrey McCracken of the Detroit Free Press.

Job growth slows in Silicon Valley (Saturday, 1/20/01)
America's famous hi-tech corridor between San Francisco and San Jose has a more diverse economy than is often supposed, which means it doesn't respond as readily to a slump in the hi-tech sector as you might expect. Nonetheless, job growth in the region has been slowing. The Valley's employment lawyers seem to be busy, at least answering their phones, given the layoffs from many Internet companies and the people who have been asking if they can sue. However, many are finding that they really don't have a case, according to Kathleen Pender's report from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Experimental prescription drug program for retired mine workers (Saturday, 1/20/01)
Christopher Newton reports that the federal government is going ahead with a prescription drug program as part of Medicare, but it's experimental and applies only to retired members of a mine workers union. The experiment will be regarded as a success if it answers the question of whether such a program can produce overall savings by reducing the need for costly treatments and hospitalization.

Study says Hollywood exports a lot of jobs (Saturday, 1/20/01)
The Clinton administration's Commerce Secretary is critical of Hollywood's practice of accepting incentives offered by other countries and shooting many films outside the United States, which seems to be what many other American industries have been doing for years.

Heavens, yerhonor! (Saturday, 1/20/01)
In actions that may have been inspired by the old phrase, "throw the book at 'em," French judges have tossed some of their law books into the street as part of a protest for better working conditions.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Inaugural History (Saturday, 1/20/01)
George W. Bush becomes the 43rd American president today. Here's a history of presidential inaugurations from the PBS Newshour television program staff.

Americans don't expect Bush to fumble on the economy (Friday, 1/19/01)
Despite widespread fears that a recession is on its way, a new poll shows that a majority of Americans expect that the U.S. economy will be in relatively good hands during the Bush II administration. To our knowledge, George W. will be he first American president with a Harvard MBA, or any MBA, for that matter. Some critics have found that it serves their partisan interest to claim that the President-elect lacks the intelligence to head the world's most powerful country. We have no doubts about his intelligence, but we feel that there is reason to be concerned about his apparently narrow interests and limited curiosity over most of his life. This may leave him with limited perspective and vision, combined with his fairly brief and limited political experience. Also, he seems to interpret the presidency as a CEO position, and he may have a tendency to surround himself with people who are experienced, competent managers, but whose overall vision and perspective may be about as limited as his own. Despite limited and superficial similarities, a nation is not a corporation.

Union membership hits record low (Friday, 1/19/01)
According to today's Wall Street Journal, only 13.5% of the private sector workforce belonged to a union last year, which is the lowest during the modern history of the American labor movement. Speaking of unions, the largest one at Boeing is protesting a possible company decision to outsource to Japan production of part of the 747X airplane. Bill Kossen of the Seattle Times reports that the union intends to fight to keep those jobs at Boeing in Seattle. Finally, the former head of the United Auto Workers, Leonard Woodcock has died at 89.

Fight over new ergonomics rules continues (Friday, 1/19/01)
The National Academy of Sciences report to Congress has been released, but the storm over new ergonomics rules hasn't died down, and some are expecting a rollback or modification of the rules, once the Bush administration is installed.

Summary of Internet job cuts (Friday, 1/19/01)
AltaVista, a web site familiar to most regular users of the Internet, employs 800 people, but will soon be employing only 600. Commercial web site advertising revenues have fallen off considerably, and that has put many major site into a crunch. The Sydney Morning Herald summarizes some of the dot-com cuts. Seth Sutel has some details on the 150 jobs to be cut at NBC's Internet operation. Meanwhile, Cisco Systems expects a shortage of Internet workers within a few years and is intending to do something about it in advance. The Wall Street Journal reports that Cisco intends to set up training centers to train 100,000 workers in India over the next five years. Not all of the current cuts are at Internet companies, however. Net2000 Communications is cutting 10 percent of its workforce, and Rayovac is closing a Wisconsin plant and cutting jobs.

Big gender gap persists in the UK (Friday, 1/19/01)
The Times of London reports that a new government study finds that British women, on average, earn less than half of what men earn.

Suing over stock options (Friday, 1/19/01)
An increasing number of people aren't benefiting as they had hoped from stock options that helped attract them into their employment situations, and some are filing lawsuits.

Tech workers shortage reconsidered (Friday, 1/19/01)
Elaine Ellis Stone of the Computer User says that the technical workers shortage we've heard so much about may not be quite what we've led to believe. She takes a close look at the numbers to see what reality might lie underneath. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Shelia O'Flanagan reports for the Irish Times on the tech worker cuts that are beginning to appear in the strong Irish economy. You can continue to be confident about the growing shortage of nurses in some parts of the U.S. The shortage has begun to reach desperation levels in Denver, according to Marsha Austin of the Denver Post.

Still the world's mentor? (Friday, 1/19/01)
Within memory, some people were still calling Communism the "wave of the future," but that seems about as obsolete now as news of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. For a while, much of the world was trying to figure out how to repeat the German and Japanese "miracles," and, in fact, only a few years ago, many top American leaders were going to Japan in an effort to "see how they do it." The historic American boom has presented an American economy that has been the envy of the world during the past decade, but there is growing ambivalence on the part of many countries wanting to achieve their own economic success.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: WorldSkip (Friday, 1/19/01)
There are considerably more countries in the world than there used to be. For instance, what was once one country called the Soviet Union is now 15 countries. If you're a business person, recreational traveler, or just curious, WorldSkip has information for you about each of the world's 220 countries.

OPEC cuts production (Thursday, 1/18/01)
Daniel Rubin reports for Knight Ridder that many countries will be feeling an additional strain because of the big oil cartel's actions. Meanwhile, Washington Post economics writer Robert Samuelson responds to outgoing Treasury Secretary Summers' remarks about how the global economy can't fly on only one engine. Also, unless lightning strikes at the last minute somehow, it appears that Paul O'Neill will be Secretary Summers' successor, but Jeff Madrick of the New York Times thinks he may be getting something approaching a "free pass" in the confirmation hearings. The Senators should be asking tougher questions, he thinks. O'Neill seems to have the most bipartisan support of any Bush's nominees, with the exception of the next Secretary of State.

Bad month in manufacturing (Thursday, 1/18/01)
Factories in the United States had the lowest output in December since the last recession approximately ten years ago. Dana Flavelle offers some perspective from north of the border, and says in the Toronto Star that the big dip in industrial production could mean that the American Federal Reserve will cut interest rates some more.

Jobless benefit claims decline (Thursday, 1/18/01)
First-time jobless claims dipped to their lowest level in three months, according to last week's data from the Labor Department.

Will the California economy suffer from the state's energy problems? (Thursday, 1/18/01)
Two new polls indicate that many Californians think so, but many also believe that the energy supply problems are a consequence of deliberate actions on the part of energy companies. Nationally, even though other regions of the country haven't been hit with a California-style energy crunch yet, American seem to be expecting that the good times are nearly over, for now, and Dirk Johnson reports from Wisconsin for today's New York Times.

How much credit is due to Clinton for the economic boom? (Thursday, 1/18/01)
It's a matter of opinion, and you may be able to guess how the Clinton administration and the Bush administration-to-be people feel about the issue. Here's more from Glenn Somerville reporting from Washington.

Former Wal-Mart employee loses wrongful termination suit (Thursday, 1/18/01)
The worker had turned a photograph over to police because she suspected child abuse. She was fired for violating the company's customer privacy policies.

Managed care company cuts jobs (Thursday, 1/18/01)
Humana plans to eliminate 500 jobs, which is about 3 percent of its national workforce. Elsewhere, CNN announced yesterday that it will cut 400 jobs.

Culture clash (Thursday, 1/18/01)
What happens when companies with very different corporate cultures merge? Columnist Diane Stafford tells about some ways in which the workplace can be made kinder and more humane.

Many American teens have a lot to spend (Thursday, 1/18/01)
Many of the world's people would like to have the spending money of many American teenagers. It would enable them to live a lot better than they're living now. Susan Warner reports that the American teens spend $155 billion, and their number is growing rapidly.

What happens to Internet company workers who have jumped overboard, or were pushed (Thursday, 1/18/01)
Joan Fleischer Tamen and Doreen Hemlock report that the failure or imminent failure of many Internet companies is causing a lot of tech workers to scatter, but many are finding good jobs in "old economy" settings.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: AIDS Economics (Thursday, 1/18/01)
AIDS Economics comes to you from the World Bank and focuses on the economics of the worldwide AIDS pandemic.

O'Neill to be questioned today (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
Paul O'Neill is highly likely to become the next Secretary of the Treasury, but he will face some penetrating questions about the U.S. economy during confirmation hearings. Nonetheless, Mr. O'Neill is well-regarded by both Republicans and Democrats, so his nomination by the President-elect has not generated the heat that others, such as John Ashcroft's nomination for Attorney General, have stirred up.

Incidentally, while some are saying that Ashcroft's nomination shows where Mr. Bush really stands on issues such as abortion, civil rights, and so on, others suggest that it may be the President-elect's way of thanking the Republican Party's right wing for its support and also saying "Don't expect anything more from me." Even in the unlikely event even that Ashcroft is not confirmed, the President-elect might be able to consider his debt to the Republic right-wing fully discharged. The important thing to remember is that no one from either party can come anywhere near to winning the presidency without somehow gathering many disparate groups into a complex coalition. Both major parties contain a large number of people who don't have all that much in common other than their presidential voting records.

Why Greenspan worried about inflation (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
Even though many observers are feeling that the Fed raised interest rates at least one time too many last year, the latest Consumer Price Index data show why inflation has been seen as a possible threat. Consumer prices for the year 2000 overall were the highest since the last recession. Moreover, Art Pine of Bloomberg News says that inflation could still become a problem if the Fed cuts interest rates too much now. Hmmmm...remember "stagflation?"

The question now may be how long it will last, rather than whether it will happen (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
Business Week thinks that much expert opinion has shifted from the expectation of a soft landing for the American economy to a real downturn that could last either for a brief period or a long time. Perhaps it could go either way, but here's the case for a short-lived fumble. Former Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau's remark about how it is to sleep with an elephant that tosses and turns, even a friendly elephant, comes to mind now that Canadian experts are trying to plan for the impact that Canada is likely to feel from its huge southern neighbor's possible economic slump.

What Labor Department statistics may cover (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
"Cover" can mean either "include" or "conceal." At least one economist believes that employment may be weaker than Labor Department statistics are indicating because of the "plug factor."

Why an OPEC production cut may help (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
Ken Moritsugu reports that OPEC's plan to cut oil production may be what is needed to keep oil prices from collapsing during an economic slowdown but also keep them from rising to a point where they contribute to a genuine worldwide recession.

Urgent efforts to head off public-sector strike (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
Talks continued late into the night as Israeli government officials sought an injunction that could head off a strike of public-sector workers.

Hopping upward, as opposed to downward or sideways (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
An Academy of Management study finds that job hopping tends to benefit white males more than women or minorities.

Not willing to stop keeping corpses on life-support (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
In the opinion of the author of this Business Week article, the South Korean government has lost its nerve. Evidence is found in its unwillingness to bury dinosaurs like Ssangyong Cement Industrial Company. Elsewhere in South Korea, struggling Daewoo Motors will lay off 2,800 workers.

Househusbands seek mutual support (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
Becoming a stay-at-home husband takes some getting used to, and many find that men still actively egaged in the business arena seem to consider it a type of social death.

The new economy isn't dead; it isn't even sleeping (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
You can go ahead and believe nearly anything if you're willing to be sufficiently selective. For instance, the incessant crashing of Internet companies that can be heard all around can leave the wrong impression about what is happening to the new economy as a whole. Still, for those directly affected by some of the dot-com struggles and failures, it can require significant coping efforts as well as some expectation adjustments, according to Don Fitzwater of Computer User magazine.

Maybe CNN needs a major international crisis (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
Ted Turner had a good idea when he invented CNN, and the result influenced all of television news, including the invention of competitors that have been beating the Cable News Network at its own game in some areas. CNN viewership peaked during the Gulf War, and tends to be high when there is a major international story. During slow news periods, though, viewership can reach levels similar to those of some local stations in large markets. CNN has been in a slump recently. This fact, plus the finalization of the merger of its parent company with AOL, has caused company accountants to get out their sharp pencils. Major layoffs are in the works, as well as some changes at high-echelon levels.

ADA on the links (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
Warren Richey writes about what a golfer's wanting to ride in a golf cart has to do with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Fighting for your health benefits (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
Health coverage hassels have become quite common, and you may find some resistance to your obtaining the treatment you need. Don't give up, says Michelle Andrews. It is possible to fight and win.

Retiring to something, rather than from something (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
The odds of entrepreneurial success are greatly increased if people who start new businesses know what they're doing. Here's news from Japan about a program that is intended to help newly retired people start businesses that will succeed.

Take a day off (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
About 300,000 federal workers are being urged to stay home tomorrow as huge crowds are expected to gather in Washington, D. C.

The best time to be looking for a job (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
It's when you already have one, says Kenneth Bredemeier in today's Washington Post.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: BitLaw (Wednesday, 1/17/01)
BitLaw may give you access to nearly everything you'll ever want to know about technology-related law. The site contains 1,800 pages of information.

Bush to add economists to his National Security Council (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
President-elect Bush believes that economic changes around the world have important national security implications for the United States and wants to take these into account. For one thing, he will have his national security advisor and his chief economic advisor working very closely together.

Motorola to shut down Illinois plant (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
Before long, Motorola's manufacturing plant at Harvard, Illinois will be no more, and neither will 2,500 jobs. 3Com, another major hi-tech company, intends to try to save $200 million per year by cutting some of its 11,500 jobs, but they're not sure how many cuts will be necessary yet.

Digital divide may be narrowing a bit (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
Jim Barlow says that to be left out of the computer revolution means, increasingly, to be left on the sidelines of the new economy. Fortunately, there are signs that the gap between digital haves and digital have-nots may be getting a little less broad.

NO inflation in Israel last year (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
Israel set a national inflation record last year. It had the lowest inflation rate in all of the country's 52-year history. The rate for the year was zero, and, in fact, December saw a slight bit of deflation, which helped bring the yearly average down. Also in Israel, there are signs that a public-sector strike scheduled to begin tomorrow may be delayed as talks continue. Meanwhile, in another part of the world, a May 1 strike may be coming in Hollywood where the Writers Guild of America is threatening to walk out, and, in the process, throw a lot of gravel into the gears in that big fantasy factory town.

Update on workplace trends (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
In the past, we've learned that, once things change, they can be expected to stay changed for a while. However, because an old equilibrium has been disrupted does not mean a new one will necessarily take its place. The 21st century may be a period of constant change with few things "solidifying" for any significant time. The Wall Street Journal takes a look at how slowing growth is likely to affect trends that seemed to be established by an economic boom. The Journal's online edition requires a subscription fee following an initial free introductory period.

The Administration releases plan for eliminating sweatshops (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
Even though its seems harder to tell who has been elected president than used to be the case, one of the nicer things about the American Constitutional system is that there usually hasn't been much doubt about who IS president at a particular time. It's not quite like those periods when there have been several Popes arguing about who was in charge. Very soon, Bill Clinton will be one of America's former presidents, but, as of this moment, he controls all of the powers of the presidency, and he's taking advantage of things that only a president can do. Among his administration's last actions is a plan for helping to get rid of sweatshops and abusive child labor throughout the new global economy.

Special report on workplace stress (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
Today's edition of the Wall Street Journal focuses and workplace stress and the question of whether it will worsen. Several articles; all worth reading.

Maybe it's one reason seven killers were able to simply drive out of a Texas prison (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
Texas prison guards are poorly paid by national standards, and one might expect that the big state doesn't invest very heavily in their training either. Connie Mabin reports on how the big break has called new attention to efforts on the part of Texas correctional officers' efforts to obtain higher pay, which might result in attracting people to the work who might otherwise seek other kinds of employment.

Is he or she likely to be the better manager? (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
New research suggests that it is more likely to be the woman. Here's more from Mark Sappenfield and Julie Finnin Day of the Christian Science Monitor. Jilian Nincer has more today about woman in the work world, and the importance of building a brand identify if you're going into business for yourself.

How "voluntary benefits" can be attractive to workers, even when employers don't help may for them (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
Diane Stafford says that many employers that can't afford to pay the high cost of benefits in order to attract the workers may still be able to use benefits as incentives, even when the workers pay the full cost themselves. It all has to do with the employer's ability to buy in larger quantity and, so, get better prices.

Therapy for companies (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
The world is well-supplied with dysfunctional individuals and families, and the helping professions have developed a wide array of techniques for helping them to get better. Nearly anyone who has worked also knows that there seem to be a lot of dysfunctional work organizations too. Can they be helped? Haim Bior discusses the advantages of having a company psychologist.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Bankrate (Tuesday, 1/16/01)
Maybe April 15th hasn't appeared on your personal horizon yet, but tax time will show up fast. Bankrate offers some tax-saving tips.

A cooling breeze begins to sweep through Silicon Valley (Monday, 1/15/01)
The great American hi-tech corridor between San Francisco and San Jose has experienced spectacular job growth during recent years, but John Markoff of the New York Times says that an annual report from Silicon Valley Network will show that job growth is slowing somewhat.

Maybe it takes more confidence that things are really different (Monday, 1/15/01)
Mexico is undergoing a bloodless revolution, and there are numerous reasons to expect things to keep getting better, although though the country faces a long road ahead, even if there aren't any detours. But, as Traci Carl reports from Mexico City, Mexican investors make up only one-half of 1 percent of the total population, so a lot of people are missing out on the country's growing fortunes. Over many years, some Mexicans have attempted to escape poverty and political oppression by going north to the United States. Raul Hernandex reports on the situation of California's migrant workers and finds little change over the past 30 years.

South Africa prepares to hang on (Monday, 1/15/01)
Large vessels can produce big waves that can swamp smaller boats. Similarly, what happens to the American economy can greatly influence smaller economies all around the world. Ethel Hazelhurst writes in South Africa's Financial Mail about what SA can do to protect itself against the radiating effects of an American recession which may or may not come soon.

Missing terms in the economic equation (Monday, 1/15/01)
Economist Nancy Folbre has been thinking about why conventional market theory hasn't been able to account for the persistently low pay in the caring occupations. It seems to have something to do with economics' fairly naive view of human motivation as well as a concept of "value" that is too limited.

Medicine approaches gender parity (Monday, 1/15/01)
Gone are the stereotypical old days when only men could be doctors and only women could be nurses. Not only are there a lot of male nurses now, but nearly 50 percent of current medical students across the United States are women, and, at the University of Minnesota, women make up 53 percent of the this year's class. In part, it may reflect a growing status of women in the new economy. On the other hand, it's useful to remember that a majority of physicians in the old Soviet Union were woman, but not because it was an egalitarian society. The principal reason seemed to be that medicine was not a high status profession in the old Soviet Union, as it has been in the United States for several decades.

In fact, with the growing dominance of HMOs, U.S. physicians have been losing status recently too, and this may help account for the profession's greater acceptance of women. Also, during most of the years since the Great Depression, physicians as a group have contrasted with most other occupations with respect to their high-level technical skills. In the new economy, however, quite a number of occupations require technical expertise more-or-less equivalent to that found among most physicians. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, woman are still struggling to find acceptance in political leadership, according to this opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald, and back in the U.S. again, the Supreme Court is being asked to remove gender bias from American immigration law.

Hazardous substances in the workplace (Monday, 1/15/01)
Farm chemicals may be responsible for the high incidence of Parkinson's disease among Iowa farmers, according to the Des Moines Register. Also, Greg Gordon reports that hundreds of former employees of W. R. Grace & Company are being notified that they may have been exposed to asbestos, a known carcinogen.

Clinton leaves office in a different country from the one in which he assumed the presidency (Monday, 1/15/01)
Randolph Schmid compares America then and now. During the eight years of the Clinton administration, the number of Americans has increased significantly and Americans have become more diverse. In addition, here are some other differences.

The different meanings of "boom" (Monday, 1/15/01)
Given all the dot-com business failures and unfulfilled promises that have been featured so much in the news lately, it's easy to assume that "Internet boom" means that the whole thing has blown up and is shattering. Not so, according to Andrew Glass of the Cox News Service. Here's a prettier picture of the Internet economy taken by the University of Texas, which studies these things semi-annually.

Should you believe the forecasters? If not, what are you going to believe? (Monday, 1/15/01)
The problem with the leading experts is that they notoriously disagree with each other, and, even when they do agree, there is still the question about whether their guesses about the future will have anything whatever to do with reality. How credible you consider current expert forecasts to be probably should be influenced by how well the experts have done in the past. Take a deep breath and read this story from today's Washington Post. But, how well do the journalists do? Here are some differing interpretations of where the U.S. economy is and where it's going from the Detroit Free Press and the Houston Chronicle. The choice is yours. No matter what you would like to believe, you'll probably be able to find economists and journalists who are willing to tell you what you want to hear. Then, of course, you can simply ask your brother-in-law what he thinks. And what's his record?

Don't start spending that inheritance yet (Monday, 1/15/01)
Columnist Susan Tompor says that the boomer generation may not inherit all it expects from its more frugal seniors.

If you can't say something nice, say it on the Internet, but don't count on anonymity (Monday, 1/15/01)
The Denver Post's Anne Colden tells about the dozens of "cyber-smear" lawsuits that corporations have brought against people who may have thought they were speaking off the record, in a sense.

Meaning of bias suits debated (Monday, 1/15/01)
Stephanie Armour of USA Today says that many experts are arguing over the implications of some big settlements of discrimination suits and whether they help or hurt overall diversity efforts.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Braintrack (Monday, 1/15/01)
Braintrack comes from Switzerland and claims to be the "world's most complete education index," with references to more than 5,000 higher education institutions across many countries. We don't know how complete it is, but it may be more so that it may first appear. For instance, it doesn't list North Dakota among the states, but, if you do a search on Jamestown College, which is located in Jamestown, North Dakota, you will find it.

Finance ministers meet in Kobe (Sunday, 1/14/01)
The American economy is clearly slowing, and leaders all over the world are paying attention. Finance ministers from European and Asian countries are concerned that slowing growth in the U.S., plus a recovery that's never really taken off in Japan, are putting the global economy at some risk. Here's more on that story from Scott Stoddard as well as Alan Wheatley, both reporting from Kobe, Japan. Still, according to today's Washington Post, increasing European unification has made economies across the Atlantic less dependent on the U.S. and perhaps less vulnerable to an American slump than might have been the case earlier. But, wait--why are all those wires sticking out of Alan Greenspan's brain? Are they connected to, well...everything? David Ignatius writes in today's Washington Post about the "Greenspan effect" in Asia.

Fire department or arsonist? (Sunday, 1/14/01)
If you're expecting the Federal Reserve to fix things now that the hot American economy is getting less hot, are you depending on the same folks who caused the problem in the first place? Pierre Belec believes that this is the case. He doesn't believe that the American boom is dying of natural old age. Instead, it is stumbling from six assaults in about a year, he says. Come to think of it, to say that the Fed is an arsonist and, so, is responsible for making the economy less hot is a perfectly regrettable metaphor.

Progress report from Poland (Sunday, 1/14/01)
Not so many years ago, Poland was a Communist client state dominated by the Soviet colossus with which it shared a border. Following the end of the Cold War, there was a lot to privatize in the former highly-centralized Communist economy, and that process is still going on. Peter Green reports from Oznan, Poland on the planned privatization of Poland's vodka industry, and why there is concern, even though the export market for Polish vodka has been improving at a vigorous rate.

Why the home worker market is a tough market (Sunday, 1/14/01)
It isn't easy for suppliers to sell to people who work out of their homes, and Isadore Barmash tells why. Meanwhile, Deepa Babington says that the two major retailers that have given up recently may not be the last in a slowing economy. One thing that might give some a competitive edge is more and better training in order to improve customer service, but, according to Victor Godinez of the Dallas Morning News, training is expensive, even when it may be worth the cost, and a new report suggests that too few employers are willing to make the investment, particularly during a period of cost-cutting.

"Recession" vs. "growth recession" (Sunday, 1/14/01)
An unabridged dictionary is likely to point out that it is a dictionary of "usage," which means that the people who have assembled all those words haven't decided what they mean. Instead, in effect, they follow people around and see how the words are being used. So, who defines what a "recession" is? The people who use the word, mostly, and meanings can vary. Nicholas Kulish of the Wall Street Journal says that economists find that variable meanings may be handy in the new economy, and none is set in stone. In trying to understand the new economy, which, in some ways is both similar and dissimilar to the old, it isn't just the meaning of concepts that may concern you. You may also wonder about economic statistics, and which of the various ones are going to be most helpful to you as you attempt to understand what is going on. As some wise person pointed out many years ago, the purpose of mathematics is insight, not numbers.

Columnists' readers respond to "honesty is the best policy" issue (Sunday, 1/14/01)
Tara Parker-Pope and Kyle Pope report on reader responses to their earlier column about whether workers should give themselves an unauthorized day off now and then. However, nationally-syndicated Chicago Tribune columnist Carol Kleiman tells about one top executive who tries to maintain a workplace climate that enables his employees to be more honest.

The declining protections offered by seniority (Sunday, 1/14/01)
"Last hired, first fired" during an economic downturn? Don't count on it, according to Kelly Greene of the Wall Street Journal. Despite age-discrimination prohibitions, your graying hair and loss of skin tone may make you a target when the layoffs come. On the other hand, if you are seen as a brilliant, one-of-a-kind worker, there may continue to be a strong market for your services, even if you're in your second century on the planet.

Technology is done driving the U.S. economy, right? (Sunday, 1/14/01)
Wrong, according to Jim Barlow of the Houston Chronicle. It's not about tech stocks or dot-coms, he says. It's about how technology is influencing the entire economy by making greater efficiencies possible.

Civilization hangs by a thread...even in the workplace (Sunday, 1/14/01)
The American white-collar work world is filled with people who have been to college. If the role of higher education is to genuinely educate and civilize people, not just give them marketable work skills, is American higher ed doing its job? Glen Fest's Fort Worth Star Telegram story suggests that there may be room for improvement. Many American workplaces have gotten abusive to an extent that you might not believe. As tension levels rise, the incidence of blowups seems to be increasing too.

Also, it's important to recognize one of the key findings of 20th century behavioral research. Almost always, an individual's behavior is a result of a complex interaction of personal and situational factors. Put screwed up individuals in a normal, healthy environment, and you're more likely to get screwed up behavior. Put normal healthy individuals in a screwed up environment, and you're more likely to get screwed up behavior.

Also, it appears that one of the sources of stress in the American workplace is that too many people are working too many hours at the expense of the rest of their lives. Past a point, pushing people harder, further becomes counterproductive as much for the employer as for the worker. Is it possible to work fewer hours and not put your career at a competitive disadvantage? Some people think so, because those extra hours aren't likely to be very effective ones anyway. Melinda Ligos of the New York Times tells about people who have found that less really can be more.

If you're an executive, your boss may want to make you a loan you won't want to refuse (Sunday, 1/14/01)
Loans on very favorable terms are among the perks being offered to eagerly sought after management talent, Here's more from Daniel Gross of the New York Times.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: AsiaSource: Business and Economics (Sunday, 1/14/01)
Here's information and perspective on economic life over a vast and increasingly important part of the world from the Asia Society.

Old media cut jobs too (Saturday, 1/13/01)
It isn't just the online companies that are eliminating jobs. NBC and CNN have announced major cuts. The latter cuts have been expected as a result of the merger between AOL and Time-Warner, which also owns CNN. However, a softening of ad revenues is affecting many of the major television operations and they feel they need to reduce costs.

IMF doesn't see US economy's condition as a threat to Asia (Saturday, 1/13/01)
International Monetary Fund experts are among those who expect the American economy to grow at a slower rate during 2001 than during the previous year, but the slump shouldn't be enough to threaten Asia's economic recovery, they say.

Attracting workers in the hot Irish economy (Saturday, 1/13/01)
Six-hundred companies are now using a "choose your own perks" plan, according to the Irish Times.

GM workers okay changes that will enable production of later models (Saturday, 1/13/01)
Workers at a General Motors assembly plant in Ohio have agreed to work rules changes that the company feels it needs in order to produce cars for the model year 2005 and beyond. Meanwhile, at GM headquarters in Detroit, company officials say no laws were broken when they settled a 1997 strike, although the Detroit Free Press is reporting that indictments may be sought in the case.

Honeywell cuts jobs in Arizona (Saturday, 1/13/01)
Two-hundred-twenty-five aerospace workers will be laid off at Honeywell's operations in Arizona, according to Riccaro Davis of the Arizona Republic. Honeywell is the state's largest employer.

Elderly saxophone player has not lost his clout (Saturday, 1/13/01)
The Chicago Tribune's Andrew Leckey writes that Alan Greenspan will continue to be a major economoic force during the Bush II administration. In case anyone thinks that he was getting too predictable, the Washington Post reports that he surprised a lot of people, probably the President-elect and even many of his colleagues, with the quick new year interest rate reduction.

Pregnant worker alleges discrimination (Saturday, 1/13/01)
She says she was terminated while on maternity leave, and the irony is that she was a manger with a maternity-wear retailing chain. She has filed a $52 million discrimination suit.

More analysis of the Linda Chavez fiasco (Saturday, 1/13/01)
Columnist Colbert King says that Linda Chavez has herself to blame for derailing her nomination for the Labor Secretary job. Dana Parsons of the Los Angeles Times also has some thoughts about Chavez in relation to a variety of issues, including immigrant labor.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: JobHuntersBible (Saturday, 1/13/01)
Richard Bolles, famous for his best-selling career book, What Color is Your Parachute?, is your tour guide on the JobHuntersBible site, a good starting point if you need advice or resources to assist your career development.

New Labor Secretary nominee (Friday, 1/12/01)
President-elect Bush has nominated Elaine Chao for United States Secretary of Labor, and many observers expect that there will be little difficulty getting her confirmed. She seems less likely to poke a stick in the eye of organized labor than the last nominee, and, in fact, has had relatively good relations with labor leaders in the past, even though there will be concerns because of who will be president. For example, Greg Gordon reports that union leaders are worried about workplace safety regulation. In case she needs advice, Diane Stafford says that outgoing Secretary Elexis Herman is happy to share her views.

It's official: Steve Case is Bugs Bunny's boss (Friday, 1/12/01)
The Federal Communications Commission has approved the big merger between AOL and Time-Warner, but, like so many other things in America at the moment, the vote was almost evenly split. Of course, leaders of the companies involved don't care.

Technically, no recession in the dot-com-munity either (Friday, 1/12/01)
With all the Internet startup failures, it might appear that the Internet economy has been shrinking. Not so. In fact, a study commissioned by Cisco, which manufactures a lot of the electronic "plumbing" that makes the global network work, finds the Internet economy grew by more than 50 percent last year, a rate far greater the that of the overall American economy. Additional spectacular growth almost surely lies ahead, and, according to another new study, more people in the Asia-Pacific region will be using the web in five years than in the U.S.

Anyway, if you want to get a sense of how the American economy is doing, it seems better not to pay too much attention to the dot-com sector, whether its inflating or deflating. Laurent Belsie says you'll learn more by checking to see what is happening on the traditional old-economy factory floor. To say that the U.S. is now part of an "information economy" is not to say that America has quit manufacturing things. It's just that the manufacturing sector has gotten a lot more efficient and employs relatively fewer people for producing all those things that it produces. And what is this presumably great thing called "Ginger?" Your guess is as good as any around here. Eric Auchard has some of the details about what may or may not turn out to be a "revolutionary" invention. Trash that takes itself out, maybe? Now, THAT would advance humanity.

Another tech company with troubles (Friday, 1/12/01)
Gateway is not a "virtual company." They produce real products in the real world, and they've been profitable and have enjoyed impressive growth during much of their company history. Things have gotten a bit rocky lately, though, and the big PC manufacturer will try to re-establish financial equilibrium but cutting 2,400 employees.

Bush might like his tax cut to take effect before he does (Friday, 1/12/01)
The President-elect says that he probably wouldn't be opposed to making his proposed tax cut retroactive to the first of this year. It may or may not surprise you that the next President's view of the economy contrasts rather greatly with the current President's assessment.

Discrimination suit against Delta Airlines (Friday, 1/12/01)
A lawyer who was involved in the big suit against Coca-Cola is also involved in the suit against Delta. In other airline news, flight attendants at American have authorized a strike vote.

More and more people seem to agree that there shouldn't be a statute of limitations on the greatest crime ever perpetrated in the Americas (Friday, 1/12/01)
With deals to compensate the former slaves of wartime Germany and Japan, support for reparations for American slaves seems to be growing, according to Patrik Jonsson of the Christian Science Monitor. However, many persons who don't believe anyone should be forced to work for nothing are opposed to reparations at this rather late date, and, instead, support some alternative which could serve the needs of Americans now living. Stay tuned.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Fed in Print (Friday, 1/12/01)
Fed in Print offers an index to all of the Federal Reserve's economic research documents and comes from the Fed in San Francisco.

The dimming of the California economy? (Thursday, 1/11/01)
Given the way things have been going, it won't only be the lights in California that will be getting dimmer. Hal Varian examines the big state's power crisis and how the balance between supply and demand has gotten out of whack. Solution? Either produce more, more, more, in the process ignoring the collateral consequences of resource use that could increase geometrically, or reduce demand. But, does reducing demand mean rolling back economic growth and living standards? Not necessarily. All indications are that a tremendous amount of energy is wasted, not only in C