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Greenspan thinks a dividend tax cut might be a good idea, but... (Wednesday, 4/30/03)
...He's still worried about growing budget deficits. Now that the war in Iraq is over, he's optimistic that the American economy is in for more impressive growth, but says it's likely to happen gradually.

Forget all that stuff about when you've seen one Republican, you've seen them all (Wednesday, 4/30/03)
Decades ago, Will Rogers may have been the first one to make a joke out of the odd-mixtured, disorganized coalition that makes up the Democratic party. Truth is, the Republican Party is a fairly heterogeneous coalition too. As Mark Shields said recently on the PBS Newshour, with respect to social issues, some Republicans believe that the stop sign amounts to too much government intrusion into the lives of individuals, while others believe that the Victoria's Secrets catalog should be criminalized.

Although we don't believe that he's so naive, President Bush may have assumed that it would be easy to get his legislation through Congress with both houses under the control of the Republicans. If so, he can assume again. Mary Dalrymple writes from Washington about the cap the Senate has put on the President's tax-cut plan, plus all the devilishness that's being found in the details.

Deal at Dial (Wednesday, 4/30/03)
Dial Soap has decided to clean things up a bit by agreeing to pay $10 million to settle a sexual harassment case.

Ratification at United (Wednesday, 4/30/03)
United Airlines mechanics and baggage handlers have ratified new labor contracts that may help the company survive. Flight attendants provided their approval yesterday.

Workers still stranded off Nigeria (Wednesday, 4/30/03)
Three-hundred-seventy workers on offshore oil rigs are still stranded because of the actions of strikers. Here's more from Nelson Antosh.

Obscure indicators (Wednesday, 4/30/03)
There are more indications that the economy may be ready to pick up steam, and some of them are non-obvious and not well-known.

Corporate do-gooders really can do well (Wednesday, 4/30/03)
Gretchen Morgenson suggests that the common "screw you" attitude among many top executives is puzzling, not only given the shortness of option-rich life and why they want all that money in the first place, but because it's really bad for business. She offers evidence from the results of a new study conducted by GovernanceMetrics International.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Experience Works (Wednesday, 4/30/03)
Experience Works used to be called "Green Thumb," and was established in 1965. It's a nonprofit organization providing training and services for older workers. It says that it reaches 125,000 people throughout the U.S. each year.

Another measure confirms increased consumer confidence (Tuesday, 4/29/03)
The Conference Board's consumer confidence measure shows that April has been a good month. Consumer attitudes have been lifted by the shortness of the war in Iraq, according to analysts. This is welcome news, because it may mean that greater consumer spending lies ahead, and that accounts for about two-thirds of the U.S. economy.

Big cuts at Ericsson (Tuesday, 4/29/03)
Sweden's big telecommunications equipment manufacturer lost $518 million during this year's first quarter. It was the eighth consecutive quarterly loss, and it means more big job cuts.

Death on the job (Tuesday, 4/29/03)
A report from the UN's International Labor Organization says that 2 million people lose their lives each year to job-related illnesses and accidents.

Hard choices (Tuesday, 4/29/03)
With their budgets in such bad shape, states are looking for ways to cut costs, and according to Robin Toner and Robert Pear, this is likely to mean loss of health coverage for a lot of poor people.

The high cost of serving (Tuesday, 4/29/03)
When reservists are called to active duty, they have a legal right to get their jobs back once they return to civilian life. But, under what conditions, and for how long? Jennifer Bott writes that, not only do many National Guard and reservists take a big pay cut while on active duty, many could find their jobs disappearing as well, given current economic conditions.

Clinton hits White House economic policies (Tuesday, 4/29/03)
United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton told a gathering of Connecticut Democrats last night that the Bush administration's economic policies are the worst since Herbert Hoover.

Cuts: jobs, pay, and perks (Tuesday, 4/29/03)
It isn't simply that the nation's airlines have been cutting jobs and working to get wage concessions from their employees. Micheline Maynard reports that many formerly standard perks have been disappearing too.

Overtime expenses increase in Minnesota (Tuesday, 4/29/03)
The cost of overtime for state workers was more than $56 million last year in Minnesota.

Arizona employers try to intervene in domestic violence (Tuesday, 4/29/03)
There are indications that Arizona has a higher rate of domestic abuse than the nation as a whole. Christine Romero tells what many employers are trying to do to help their own employees.

Inexpensive rewards (Tuesday, 4/29/03)
Rhonda Abrams has some suggestions for some innovative but inexpensive ways employers can reward employees, and also benefit themselves.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: ABC Directory of UK Business & Management Courses (Tuesday, 4/29/03)
The ABC Directory of UK Business & Management Courses is a joint project of the Association of Business Schools and Biz/ed, and offers information on courses available for both undergraduates and postgraduates throughout the United Kingdom.

Pretty good month, pretty bad year (Monday, 4/28/03)
Personal incomes were up during March, and so was consumer spending. However, the Internal Revenue Service reports that taxable income declined by more than 5 percent in 2002, compared to the year before.

Is China's rapidly-expanding economy slamming on the brakes? (Monday, 4/28/03)
It's been estimated that it may take years for Hong Kong's economy to recover from the effects of SARS-related anxiety. It's beginning to look like the economic consequences for the country as a whole may be similar. For sometime now, China has had the world's fastest-growing economy. But, will that continue? Here's more from Keith Bradsher in Guangzhou, one of China's new-market-economy showplaces.

University president to lead effort to restore Iraqi economy (Monday, 4/28/03)
The President of Michigan State University will head a team charged with leading the rebuilding of Iraq's economy. Peter McPherson is taking 130 days off from his MSU job, which may represent a fairly optimistic view of how long the task in Iraq will take. Meanwhile, Howard LaFranchi of the Christian Science Monitor says that the Administration hopes to use success in Iraq as an instrument for remaking the region. Whether it can lead to a separation of mosque and state, let alone democratic government throughout the Mideast, is something that many people question. The Administration hopes for an economic transformation that, at the very least, can provide opportunities that will be more attractive to young people than dedicating their lives to the destruction of the modern world, particularly the United States.

Strike ends at Lockheed (Monday, 4/28/03)
Lockheed's machinists have returned to work after being off their jobs for two weeks. Lockheed is a major government contractor, so it has been doing well. Meanwhile, in the commercial airline sector, things continue to be fairly grim, and it's taking a toll on "airline towns," which are beginning to look like towns in the old "rust belt."

Power shift in Japan? (Monday, 4/28/03)
Critics are saying that the shift in the direction of merit-based pay is giving employers too much power, while others feel that the Japanese economy needs for more people to bite the bullet and link pay more closely to performance. Here's more from Hiroyuki Kikuya in Tokyo. Across the Pacific, many people would like to see executive pay linked more closely to performance, and Albert Crenshaw of the Washington Post tells how people who should have a say can have a say.

Worker wins suit against modeling agency over second-hand smoke (Monday, 4/28/03)
Victoria Gallegos says she was fired because she complained about second-hand smoke in her workplace, and a jury in New York has agreed. Meanwhile, the EEOC is bringing a sexual harassment suit against Dial Soap on behalf of dozens of women employees. It's the largest such suit since the one brought against Mitsubishi five years ago that was settled for $34 million. Meanwhile, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on the aging of the workforce, and why age-related lawsuits are likely to become more common. In fact, many of tomorrow's older workers may be older than today's. Kathy Carlson writes about the changing meaning of "retirement" for many people, and the various reasons why more people are likely to keep on keeping on.

Rough test (Monday, 4/28/03)
It will be the test beyond the finals. Dave Donelson reports on the tough job market that awaits this year's crop of graduates. With this in mind, Stacy Teicher reports that students at UT are getting special training in the art of networking. Also, Sara Miller tells how some people who graduated in the '90s when jobs were plentiful feel that they may have burned their bridges. Not only have jobs become scarce, now they have to compete with many graduates younger and possibly fresher in their subject matter than themselves.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Advancing Women (Monday, 4/28/03)
There are hundreds of jobs sites on the Internet where you can post your resume with the hope that it will be seen by an employer who has been looking for you but may not know it yet. AdvancingWomen.net is one that specializes in women in the financial services industry.

Health care costs displace taxes on many worry lists (Sunday, 4/27/03)
For a generation, at least, small businesses have complained about how taxes make it hard for them to stay in business. About half of American workers are employed by the country's 5.8 million small companies, and USA Today reports on the growing consensus that health care costs have become their top complaint.

Giving up (Sunday, 4/27/03)
The unemployment rate reflects only those who are actively seeking employment but not finding it. It doesn't count those who have given up and left the labor force, so, during periods of prolonged distress in the job market, the official jobless rate is likely to underestimate the overall problem. Here's more from Monica Davey and David Leonhardt about being jobless and hopeless in the United States.

The winner may demand a recount (Sunday, 4/27/03)
After a hellish economic period, a fundamentally wealthy nation that, not so many decades ago, enjoyed a higher average standard of living than the United States, is trying to elect a new president. However, don't expect the final result right away.

Another example of recession and restructuring (Sunday, 4/27/03)
The well-known business cycle seems to be more like a spiral than a pendulum. When recessions end, things don't really return to the state they were in before the economic downturn. Under adversity, people learn how to do things differently, and new habits develop which can persist on into the next economic expansion. Barbara De Lollis reports that the travel industry will need more than an economic recovery to return to business as usual. In fact, the travel business is likely to have to restructure fundamentally in order to adjust to new realities. The business customers on whom the airline industry has depended so long have found, among other things, that it's quicker, easier, and cheaper to move business information than to move people.

Silicon's haves and have-nots (Sunday, 4/27/03)
The late '90s tech boom is long busted, but hi-tech will remain a key factor on into the next life and probably the one after that. Duncan Martell reports that a widening rich-poor gap can be found among American technology companies, as well as among nations, ethnic groups, and individuals worldwide.

Earned, but not taken (Sunday, 4/27/03)
During his thirty years on the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson made frequent use of guest hosts. However, during the 12 years since Jay Leno took over, he hasn't taken a night off and allowed someone else to host the show...until now. However, it will be only for a single night, and it will be a fellow NBC person who already has a job-- Katie Couric. Lots of other people aren't taking time off either, and the Washington Post explains why.

Summer care (Sunday, 4/27/03)
Covering the child care bases during the summer can be particularly daunting for working parents. Melinda Ligos says there are ways to make it better.

I'll NEVER get old, I'll NEVER get old, I'll NEVER get old (Sunday, 4/27/03)
Many economic experts are worried about many members of the huge baby-boomer generation which is now beginning to enter the "near-elderly" demographic category without sufficient preparation for an affordable retirement. But, as Greg Schneider reports, that doesn't seem to be uppermost in the minds of some who are trying to go back to the 60's before reaching a point of wishing they could go back to THEIR 60's.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Understanding Poverty (Sunday, 4/27/03)
The World Bank focuses on dimensions, measures, trends, and goals on its Understanding Poverty site.

March unemployment near record in Japan (Saturday, 4/26/03)
Last month, Japan's unemployment rate reached 5.4 percent, just 0.1 percent short of the country's highest post-war jobless rate, set sometime ago.

Excessive burden for the working poor? (Saturday, 4/26/03)
The Internal Revenue Service says it wants to cut down on errors by requiring more extensive proof of eligibility for tax credits from more than 4 million working poor. Critics imply that the savings might come from simply discouraging a lot of people from claiming what really should be due them. Here's more from Mary Dalrymple in Washington.

Not yet an avalanche, but... (Saturday, 4/26/03)
David Leonhardt reports that average pay at all income levels has been falling for the first time since the 1980s. This, combined with a scarcity of jobs, plus strained state budgets and cut-backs on government-supported services, suggests that the overall American standard of living might be in decline. Does it all represent a permanent change, or is it just a temporary blip? Is an overall "leveling" going on in a world with increasingly permeable boundaries of all kinds?

Albright elected to NYSE board (Saturday, 4/26/03)
First, Al Gore joined the board at Apple Computer Corporation, and, as one might expect in Silicon Valley, he received some stock options. Now, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is the latest major Clinton administration figure to join a big-time board. In the former Secretary's case, it's the board of the New York Stock Exchange.

Incidentally, speaking of Apple and its board, stockholders have voted to recommend that the company expense its options, something that the board hasn't wanted to do.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Canadian Agriculture Library (Saturday, 4/26/03)
Canada is a very big country with a relatively small population, but it has a large agricultural sector. The Canadian Agriculture Library is the country's principal source of information on agriculture and food.

Is the American economy in recession? (Friday, 4/25/03)
No, because the conventional definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of GDP shrinkage, and we haven't even had one yet. In fact, there was growth, albeit ever so little growth, during 2003's first quarter.

However, in America, our right to say or believe stupid things is protected by the Constitution. If enough voters say they think turtles should be required to wear tuxedos, because not doing so causes cancer, some politician somewhere will be telling us how much he's always been in favor of the idea.

As a consequence, now that more than half of Americans say they BELIEVE that the U.S. economy is in recession, even though that isn't true, politicians know that they had better pay attention.

The first President Bush was very popular immediately following the first Gulf War, but, by the time the next election rolled around, he found that voters weren't willing to give him many points for that. The second President Bush has learned from his father and knows that by election day 2004, the victory in Iraq may seem like ancient history to most Americans, particularly if the economy hasn't improved significantly by that time.

In fact, given the American economy's sickly condition plus the fact that there's still plenty of opportunity for things to blow sky-high in the Middle East, the President is in an uncomfortable position in which the regime change in Iraq probably can't help his re-election chances much. Instead, it's likely to be either a matter of indifference to voters or a major negative, depending on what happens from now on. Similarly, if there are no more major terrorist attacks before November 2004, the Administration isn't likely to get much credit. If there IS another major attack, they'll certainly get plenty of blame. At the moment, at least, polls are showing that Americans expect the economy to influence their votes in 2004 more than anything else.

To the brink, back from the brink, to the brink, back from the brink... (Friday, 4/25/03)
American Airlines has been experiencing more than the usual amount of turbulence lately. First, the company chairman told the major unions that they need major wage concessions in order to avoid bankruptcy. Some unions agreed. First, the flight attendants turned down the deal, then voted again and accepted it.

But, then, it became apparent that Chairman Carty had been, well, somewhat disingenuous during negotiations, so the unions decided it might be time to withdraw their approval of the concession package. Carty's resignation didn't seem to be too much to ask in exchange for wage cuts, but the flight attendants held out a bit longer than the others before agreeing to go along. Still, American's employees apparently feel that they've been between a rock and a really hard rock, because morale is terrible, according to USA Today's Marilyn Adams and Dan Reed.

So, as of this moment, it appears that American Airlines has dodged the bankruptcy bullet, at least for now. However, you might want to check back in an hour or so, because it's hard to say how things will stand then. Here's more from the New York Times on former Chairman Carty's abrupt loss of altitude.

Proof of life? (Friday, 4/25/03)
While a majority of Americans feel that the U.S. economy is in fairly grim shape, consumers appear to be getting a bit more optimistic, and that may mean more spending. The University of Michigan's measure of consumer sentiment has been showing improvement this month.

Longer work periods and longer rests (Friday, 4/25/03)
According to new regulations affecting America's truckers, drivers will be allowed to keep on truckin' for as many as 11 consecutive hours, but their breaks between shifts have to be two hours longer. Here's more from Leslie Miller in Washington.

Women's work in Hollywood (Friday, 4/25/03)
Action films have made up a relatively stable genre for many years, and they often require things that actors either can't do or that insurers won't allow. For a long time, most of the action sequences have been performed by stuntmen, but, as Sara Terry reports, given changing audience tastes, there's been a lot of stunt work for women lately too.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Institute for the Study of International Migration (Friday, 4/25/03)
This is a period during which large numbers of people are moving around the world for many reasons. Here's Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of International Migration.

D-day for American Airlines (Thursday, 4/24/03)
This may be showdown day for the nation's largest airline. Chairman Donald Carty met into the night with labor leaders, and the company's board is deciding what to do about the company and also what to do about Carty. Here's more from Renee Lee in Fort Worth on the renewed chances of insolvency arising from anger and distrust on the part of the airline's workers.

Income growth slows (Thursday, 4/24/03)
Personal incomes in the United States grew at their lowest rate in 30 years during 2002. Here are more details from Susan Peterson of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Greenspan says he's willing, and he'll probably be able (Thursday, 4/24/03)
Far less than the Chairman's health has managed to rattle the stock market in the past, so as Alan Greenspan was being prepped for prostate surgery, the President and Fed officials scrambled to encourage calm. Officials at the Federal Reserve were quick to emphasize that Greenspan does not have cancer, and, with fourteen months remaining of the Chairman's fourth term, President Bush said he would like to see him have a fifth. Greenspan, who also was one of President Clinton's favorite Republicans, says he appreciates President Bush's confidence, and, even though he would be nearly 80 at the start of a fifth term, he's willing to serve.

But, then, aging isn't what it used to be for a lot of people. A growing number of persons at 90 or more, such as Art Linkletter, are about like many persons in their 70s used to be. Mike Wallace and Andy Rooney of CBS' "60 Minutes" are about 83 (each), Regis Philbin, Dan Rather, and Barbara Walters are all about 72, and Louis Rukeyser is 70. Even Little Richard is past 70 and still rockin'. Moreover, it isn't just a few famous people who are remaining in their jobs far longer than most people used to. Is it any wonder that many younger people are wondering if there will ever be room for them to move up, particularly now that many of the 76 million "baby boomers" are approaching their 60s and may intend to hang on for decades more? It's becoming easier for many Americans to understand how 55-year-old Prince Charles feels now that his mother has been on the British throne for more than 50 years and is showing no sign that she intends to retire anytime soon.

Time to go back to work, Garner tells Iraqis (Thursday, 4/24/03)
As some services are being restored in Baghdad, people are seeing the glimmerings of a return to daily normality. Retired U.S. general Jay Garner is the chief administrator in what nearly everybody hopes will be a relatively brief transition period to an elected Iraqi government. He says it's very important that people return to work now, although, as we've reported earlier, some persons who have tried to do that have found a pile of rubble at the office.

The young face a cranky job market (Thursday, 4/24/03)
The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Susan Feyder tells about the job-seeking problems of this year's graduating class, while Leigh Strope says teens are having similar problems in their search for summer employment this year.

Earth's most dramatic contrast? (Thursday, 4/24/03)
The Korean peninsula is about as large as Mississippi and Indiana combined, but contains two countries with a total of nearly 70 million people, equivalent to about one-quarter of the total American population.

Above the 38th parallel is North Korea, perhaps the most regimented society on earth, certainly with one of the world's most catastrophic economies and most irrational, belligerent governments.

Below the DMZ is South Korea, modern, increasingly democratic, prosperous, and with one of the largest industrial economies on the planet. And, oh yes, South Korea also leads the world as a center of hi-tech innovation, including wireless and broadband. Here's more from Moon Ihlwan in Seoul and writing for Business Week.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Teenage Life Online (Thursday, 4/24/03)
Philadelphia's Pew Foundation has been studying the impact of the Internet on American life. Here's one of their reports: Teenage Life Online: The Rise of the Instant-Message Generation and the Internet's Impact on Friendships and Family Relationships.

Credibility gap at American and its radiating effects (Wednesday, 4/23/03)
Airline industry analysts are saying that Donald Carty may have damaged his credibility to such an extent that he will be unable to breath new life into American Airlines, whether or not the company avoids bankruptcy. However, many people are wondering about the quality of judgment among company board members too. Union leaders are getting together to discuss procedures for new elections on those wage-concession packages that are under reconsideration. However, the airline's pilots have decided not to vote again.

Meanwhile, the fiasco at American Airlines is expected to have broad effects throughout the industry. For instance, Julie Forster reports that experts expect negotations at Northwest Airlines to be more difficult now. Northwest is also asking for wage concessions. In anticipation, perhaps, Northwest has announced that managers' pay will be cut by 5 to 15 percent.

Unions take aim at the President's tax cut plan (Wednesday, 4/23/03)
President Bush has been trying to sell the idea of big tax cuts as a way of stimulating the American economy. Several labor unions are conducting an opposition campaign in 30 American cities.

Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has been unenthusiastic about the Bush tax plan too, but the President says he would like him to remain at his post for another term. Tom Raum reports from Washington on why Bush's endorsement of the Chairman could work to the President's political advantage.

SARS fears may toss China's economy into negative growth territory (Wednesday, 4/23/03)
At least one influential investment banker expects that the booming Chinese economy may shrink this quarter because of growing anxiety about the SARS virus.

Capitalism WHERE? (Wednesday, 4/23/03)
It's certainly not official, but it's happening anyway. Jenalia Moreno writes from Havana about how free markets are beginning to operate in Communist Cuba. Will the transition be all but a done deal once the increasingly elderly Castro leaves the scene?

What economic recovery will require (Wednesday, 4/23/03)
No, not the American economy. The Christian Science Monitor's David Francis writes about Iraq's economy and its top priorities. Incidentally, who's been taking care of American children when Mom or Dad have been at war? Marilyn Gardner reports that grandparents and other family members have been pressed into service at home.

Strike averted in New York City (Wednesday, 4/23/03)
Building workers have reached tentative agreement on a new contract. The deal was made about 1 AM this morning, five hours short of a scheduled walkout.

U.S. housing market is no longer booming, experts say (Wednesday, 4/23/03)
The once-white-hot housing marked has been cooling. Here's more from Thomas Fogarty of USA Today.

Hard times for charities (Wednesday, 4/23/03)
Many nonprofits are being squeezed between increasing demand for their services at the same time that their funding has been cut back. Here's more from Jacqueline Salmon of the Washington Post about what's happening in the general D. C. region.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: UK online (Wednesday, 4/23/03)
UK online offers people in the United Kingdom and elsewhere ready access to government information and services.

Greenspan faces surgery today (Tuesday, 4/22/03)
Seventy-seven-year-old Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was scheduled to undergo surgery today to treat an enlarged prostate. Here's more from today's Washington Post. Wall Street analysts often parse the Chairman's every word, and Greenspan himself frequently speaks in deliberately vague and nearly unintelligible ways so as not to precipitate stampedes in the market. With this in mind, the Federal Reserve was quick to announce that Greenspan does not have prostate cancer, and President Bush has announced that he would like Greenspan to serve another full term as Chairman.

Leading, not leaping indicators (Tuesday, 4/22/03)
The Conference Board's famed and well-regarded Leading Economic Indicators suggest that no more than slow growth lies directly ahead for the American economy. Here's more from Rebecca Gomez in New York.

Only themselves to blame? (Tuesday, 4/22/03)
American Airlines management said that they needed major wage concessions from their unions in order to avoid having to declare bankruptcy. The unions went along--until they learned that there was something they hadn't been told. Now, a second major union has decided to vote again, and it all means that the big airline may be heading for bankruptcy court after all--assuming that what management said about that was on the level. Incidentally, the management fiasco that has kept the bankruptcy possibility alive has slammed American Airlines stock pretty hard, according to David Koenig in Fort Worth.

A court injunction prevents rail strikes in Germany (Tuesday, 4/22/03)
German train engineers have been planning a new round of limited strikes, but a court has stepped in to issue an injunction.

Another Iraqi invasion? (Tuesday, 4/22/03)
Next time, it may be sales representatives. Hans Greimel reports that many businesses in the U.S. and elsewhere are looking forward to a new Iraq that could turn out to be an important market for nearly anything people have to sell. First things first, however.

Why politicians and others are paying attention to older people (Tuesday, 4/22/03)
By and large, older Americans have money, they work together through political action organizations such as AARP, and they have free time for advocacy. Here's more from Jeffrey MacDonald of the Christian Science Monitor.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to decide a case involving alleged age discrimination--FAVORING older people.

Belying the stereotypes (Tuesday, 4/22/03)
At least since the "begging the question" fallacy was first identified during Classical times, it has been common human practice to assess or interpret each new event, situation, or person in terms of current attitudes or beliefs. Reality almost always is far more complex than even our best and most complete ideas about it, and people who depend on caricatures and stereotypes surely reveal more about themselves than about the objects of their thinking. Along these lines, some people are prepared to expect and believe the most outrageous things about government and government workers, whether or not there's even a kernel of truth involved. Stacy Teicher tells about some of the reasons people go into government work despite all they are likely to have to put up with.

An advantage of being single (Tuesday, 4/22/03)
According to Scott Burns, you'll benefit more from a homeowner deduction if you're single.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Fastest-Growing Companies (Tuesday, 4/22/03)
Here's Fortune magazine's latest list of 100 fastest-growing companies. The magazine's editors realize that you have good reason to wonder how much of the growth that companies report is real and how much is fiction, so check the magazine's description of its methodology.

Sales manager Bush (Monday, 4/21/03)
Being perceived as a "reckless cowboy" can be both an advantage and disadvantage for President Bush overseas. However, despite appearances, insider information suggests that the White House, including the President himself, is very methodical, and that, despite his efforts to project great confidence to the public, Mr. Bush appeared to understand the risks of invading Iraq as well as the risks of not invading. His administration was faced with a rotten choice, he felt, but he wasn't absolutely certain that he wasn't setting off an immediate conflagration by giving the U.S. military the green light.

However, whatever the extent to which the really tough part lies ahead, some of the immediate uncertainty seems to have been removed, and the President feels able to shift his concentration toward domestic issues to a greater extent. The American economy will take some time to get significantly better, under even the most favorable circumstances, and the President is quite aware that he must face the voters in only a bit more than a year and a half. He continues to maintain that a big tax cut is what the American economy needs to get it moving again, even though many Democrats and some members of his own party disagree.

Nonetheless, the number of persons who still believe that he is weak, indecisive, unfocused, or lacking in toughness certainly has diminished in recent months. He doesn't abandon goals easily. Jennifer Loven writes from Crawford, Texas that the President is set to make another major effort to persuade members of Congress as well as members of the public to whom Senators and Representatives must pay attention. He hasn't given up on his plans for a really BIG tax cut.

The world's fastest-growing economy takes a hit from SARS (Monday, 4/21/03)
China's economy has been growing at a breathtaking rate in recent years, which helps explain why many officials there were reluctant to tell the outside world, including people with whom China does business, about the extent to which the SARS virus has been spreading in the world's largest country. Bad PR isn't good either, of course, so the mayor of Beijing has lost his job, whether or not he's the official most responsible for minimizing the extent of the problem. Overall, as Scott Hillis reports, fear of SARS seems to be tapping the economic brakes a bit in China. Meanwhile, Keith Bradsher reports on the broadening economic consequences in other parts of the world.

Recession and structural change (Monday, 4/21/03)
The idea of a "business cycle" suggests that the "economic pendulum" tends to return to its original position after swinging in an unfavorable direction for a while. However, that's not necessarily the case. People can learn a lot from adversity, including new ways of getting along with less. For instance, many blue-collar jobs disappeared permanently during an earlier recession, and the same kind of thing happened to white-collar jobs, including much of the old middle-management echelon, in a later recession. During the most recent downturn, many businesses apparently learned how to do without quite a lot of business travel too, according to Barbara De Lollis of USA Today. It's one of the reasons that the airlines are experiencing so much pain, and it may have to become a different industry as a consequence, willing to let the "good old days" go.

Doing unto others before they do unto you (Monday, 4/21/03)
Aren't stockholders supposed to be the owners--translation: ultimate bosses--of corporations? If so, it's probably reasonable to expect that they should be able to spend as much of their own money as they like on management, if they believe that it's in their self-interest to do so. However, it's difficult to understand why they would want to pay huge amounts to top managers who don't seem to be performing, and might even be presiding over the destruction of the company itself. Despite everything, many CEOs of publicly-traded companies, including many that haven't been doing well, have enjoyed an INCREASE in remuneration recently. What's going on?

Kirstin Downey reports that American Airlines executives aren't the only ones in their industry to arrange for their own secure retirement, even if the company they're supposed to be running goes down the tube. Here's what's been happening at Delta Air Lines and other places, and what an increasing number of people, some, like Senator John McCain, who are very influential, feel about it.

Is a janitors' strike coming to the District of Columbia? (Monday, 4/21/03)
The current contract runs out at the end of this month, and negotiations aren't going very well. Four-thousand janitors could be affected. Here's more from the Washington Post's Neil Irwin.

Cohabitation gender gap (Monday, 4/21/03)
Diversity of all types has been on the increase in American society. For instance, there are quite a number of different kinds of families and household arrangements now compared to earlier years. Moreover, in an increasingly heterogeneous society, there is less consensus about the essential defining elements of "marriage" as well as the extent to which who pairs off with whom is the business of anyone other than the two people involved. More people are choosing not to let either religious or legal authorities into it, and there is a sense in which the common law marriage has been making a comeback. However, written contracts define and clarify things in many human relationships, business as well as personal. There are risks associated with not "getting it in writing," and, as Kristen Gerencher reports, the personal and economic risks appear to be greater for women than for men.

Discrimination complaints in 2002 (Monday, 4/21/03)
There were more than 25,000 housing discrimination complaints during 2002, according to the National Fair Housing Alliance. Here's more specific information about them.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: National Fair Housing Alliance (Monday, 4/21/03)
The National Fair Housing Alliance is dedicated to the elimination of housing discrimination in the United States.

Democrats call for more jobs, rather than more tax cuts (Sunday, 4/20/03)
Some leading Democrats believe that President Bush's tax-cut plan is intended more for stimulating 2004 campaign contributions than stimulating the American economy. Will it really help to give wealthy people more money to invest when the economy already has excess capacity, they ask? Instead, put people back to work and demand for products and services will increase. It's a "chicken and egg" kind of argument. Brian Witte tells what Congressman Elijah Cummings had to say in the Democrats' weekly radio address.

No business as usual in Iraq for a while (Sunday, 4/20/03)
Most Iraqis would like daily life to return to whatever level of normality they were able to enjoy under Saddam's brutal dictatorship, while building a more humane society in which people won't have to pretend that a Mafia-like thug is some sort of demigod. However, the lid had been tied down so tight for so long that there was a social explosion that trashed nearly everything once the lid was removed. Ian Fisher reports from Baghdad that thousands of public employees returned to their offices to find a huge mess.

The SARS exclusion (Sunday, 4/20/03)
Insurance companies don't like risks they can't quantify, and nobody yet knows what we're up against with the SARS virus. Theresa Agovino reports that many insurance carriers are excluding SARS from their coverage of conventions, trade shows, and other places where large numbers of people congregate. SARS-related fear seems to be spreading faster than the virus itself, and the economic implications are considerable. It may take Hong Kong's economy years to recover, for example, and Kristi Heim reports that SARS concerns are tossing gravel into the global economy's gears as well.

Goodyear contract to be extended while talks continue (Sunday, 4/20/03)
The contract between the Steelworkers and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has expired, but both sides have agreed to pretend it hasn't for a while, as they continue negotiations.

Would you rather have more time or more money? (Sunday, 4/20/03)
Bill Hornaday of the Indianapolis Star writes about the bill in Congress that would allow employers to offer comp time as an alternative to presently mandated overtime pay.

To what extent is a corporation an individual under the law when it comes to free speech? (Sunday, 4/20/03)
The Supreme Court may carve out significant new precedent when it decides the case involving Nike. Here's more from Mary Deibel in Washington.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Human-Computer Interaction Lab (Sunday, 4/20/03)
At work, as well as most other areas of life, humans and computers are going to be working together from now on throughout much of the world. Humans can adapt to computers to some extent through learning, but there is more potential for designing computers with human capacities and limitations in mind in the first place. Here's the University of Maryland's Human-Computer Interaction Lab.

Not good enough? (Saturday, 4/19/03)
American Airlines executives say that have canceled the package of bonuses for themselves, but the flight attendants' union, which first voted against accepting the company's concession plan, then voted for it, has changed its mind again in light of what it regards as the company's not bargaining in good faith. Several days ago, Americans' executives were claiming that the company will have to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection without the concessions, so there may be another bankrupt airline soon. Such insensitivity to how their own behavior will look may tend to discredit the lingering rumor that major companies are run by smart people.

Meanwhile, Liz Fedor says that the job description of flight attendants has undergone considerable modification since 9-11.

Mideast economies have been doing well, despite the war (Saturday, 4/19/03)
Many of the economies in the Middle East will grow at impressive rates this year. Here's more from Anna Willard in Washington.

War can be good for business (Saturday, 4/19/03)
Most experts agree that the end of the war in Iraq won't magically cause the American economy to gain major momentum. However, David Hilzenrath that the war itself has been good for many small defense contractors.

Healthcare al a carte (Saturday, 4/19/03)
Increasingly, you're on your own. Many people are finding that fewer decisions are being made by employers or labor unions, which can mean more choices and freedom for you. It can also mean more complexity, confusion, and risk when people have to make decisions and feel that they really don't know what they're doing. More people have become free agents entirely, but even those with full-time jobs are having to take more responsibility for making more of their own decisions. It's been affecting retirement plan choices, and, as Julie Appleby reports, health care choices are about to become far more complicated as well.

Act two (Saturday, 4/19/03)
Many people are delaying retirement because they can't afford to simply go fishing. Others are choosing not to retire, even though they feel it's time for a major change. Martha McNeil Hamilton writes about people who are starting new careers late in life.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Regulations.gov (Saturday, 4/19/03)
Want to tell somebody what you think of federal regulations? Whoops--wait, watch your language. Don't bother telling us. You can tell your brother-in-law, if you want, but maybe you'd like to tell the feds themselves. You can do that on Regulations.gov.

Unions smell betrayal (Friday, 4/18/03)
American Airlines executives managed to convince its union members that big pay cuts were necessary in order to save the airline. However, after deals were accepted, executive perks were disclosed which have made union leaders, and perhaps members, very angry. For example, it has been disclosed that a pension trust was created last year to shield executive pensions from bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Air Canada already is operating under bankruptcy protection, which could allow it to end or change labor agreements. The CAW is asking for court intervention to prevent that from occurring.

Labor Secretary has a reminder for employers (Friday, 4/18/03)
Reservists called to active duty are legally entitled to get their jobs back without prejudice, and Secretary of labor Elaine Chao is telling employers not to forget it.

More manufacturing jobs evaporate (Friday, 4/18/03)
Pedro Nicolaci da Costa reports from New York on the increase in unemployment and what it means. One fear is that after laying off workers, companies will restructure and prepare to move many of the jobs overseas once demand for products increases. So, how many of the jobs lost to the U.S. economy during recent months are gone only temporarily? How many permanently?

The fuzzy boundaries of free-speech guarantees (Friday, 4/18/03)
The First Amendment is central to nearly all other American freedoms, but it mostly has to do with your relationship to the government. What if your boss doesn't like how you're expressing yourself? Here, things get murkier, as Claire Cooper of the Sacramento Bee reports.

McDonald's hit with discrimination suit (Friday, 4/18/03)
During a time when McDonald's and other fast food companies are faced with suits and threatened suits if they haven't been telling people that they might gain weight if they consume their products, it might be reasonable to expect that an employee who weighs more than 400 pounds might not be good for business. Still, discrimination is discrimination under the law, and business expediency doesn't invalidate the Americans with Disabilities Act or other statutes. In Connecticut, a New Haven man is suing McDonald's, claiming that he was not hired because of his weight.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: American Family Immigration History Center (Friday, 4/18/03)
The American Family Immigration History Center at Ellis Island contains the records of 22 million passengers and ship crew who passed through Ellis Island from 1892 through 1924.

Change of mind (Thursday, 4/17/03)
Flight attendants at American Airlines reversed themselves and approved a concession plan that will cost them $340 million per year, but may save their jobs. It's the last of several deals with their unions that the airline says it needs in order to avert bankruptcy.

Big jump in jobless claims (Thursday, 4/17/03)
First-time claims for unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally-adjusted 442,000 last week. Under the best of circumstances, small business people often need to swallow a couple of aspirin and take a deep breath before making the considerable commitment of hiring new employees. And, as Jim Hopkins reports from San Francisco, present circumstances are far from the best. There's still too much uncertainty and anxiety in the air.

However, with the war in Iraq largely over and North Korea acting somewhat less belligerent, there may be reason for optimism about the U.S. economy, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. It might be necessary to use scientific notation in order to count the things that could still go wrong, but, still, the overall geopolitical situation is looking somewhat better at the moment, and, if that's what's been holding back the U.S. economy, stand back!

Well, no, it's still going to have to lift some weights as it gains altitude. For instance, there are the state and local budget problems that Barbara Hagenbaugh of USA Today describes.

Gephardt has a plan for helping employers provide health coverage to employees (Thursday, 4/17/03)
He's not charismatic, but he has the experience, organization, money, and union support that could make him the principal candidate for President Bush to worry about in 2004, and it can help his nomination prospects to get himself on the front pages with the President as often as possible from now on. So, with President Bush talking about his tax cut proposal, Congressman Gephardt is talking about it too, except he would like to see the money used for other things, hoping that his union supporters will like the idea. Here's more from Nedra Pickler on Gephardt's ideas about paying for worker health coverage.

Latin America's largest economy gathers steam (Thursday, 4/17/03)
Alan Clendenning writes from Sao Paulo that events are making many people's worries seem poorly founded. The election of Brazil's first leftist president hasn't resulted in additional problems for a troubled economy. In fact, things are looking quite a lot better, he says.

The fastest-growing economy in the world steps on the gas even more (Thursday, 4/17/03)
China's official Gross Domestic Product has increased by 9.9 percent. Here's more from the Aisa Times.

Retreat so as not to surrender in a tough environment (Thursday, 4/17/03)
While company retreats aren't new, whether or not they include motivational speakers, and so on, many organizational theorists in recent years have regarded them as key mechanisms by which organizational cohesion can be maintained with everybody pulling in the same direction.

Traditionally, work organizations have been hierarchical with narrow spans of control and close supervision. However, as skill levels have increased in the new economy, rather than people who need to be told exactly what to do and how to do it, more and more of the "rank & file" are people with technical or professional expertise, and, in fact, may know more about their jobs than anyone else in the organization, including their bosses. Organizations have become "flatter" and people on the front lines more autonomous and self-sufficient.

The old paramilitary model doesn't apply to many corporations any longer, as more of them have come to resemble universities to a greater extent. Still, while universities tend not to have a single overriding objective, corporations still do: profitability. How can a company filled with sophisticated, independent-minded professionals avoid being like a herd of cats?

Many corporations have taken a cue from churches, which maintain their organizational structure and functioning without the ability to boss parishioners around. The key may be the promotion of shared values and a shared ideology. As a consequence, a huge market for "secular evangelists" has grown up in recent years; i.e., those guys who lead corporate rallies, pacing back and forth with microphone in hand, reminding of Jimmy Swaggart, in a way, at least with respect to form, although not content.

However, during a time of retrenchment, many businesses are wondering if company retreats are worth their cost. At the very least, considerable rethinking and refocusing is going on, according to Sasha Brown of the Christian Science Monitor.

Caffeine withdrawal (Thursday, 4/17/03)
Is more really more, or is it simply much less? What happens to overall productivity when you try to get more work time out of people by aiming a howitzer directly at employee morale? As a public service, administrators of 2,500 public employees in New York state have chosen to conduct this experiment by eliminating the coffee breaks to which people have become accustomed.

If you're reading this, you're probably not one of the evaders (Thursday, 4/17/03)
Philadelphia's Pew Foundation supports a wide variety of programs of many kinds. For instance, its Internet and American Life Project has been researching users and non-users, and finds plenty of both. There are nonusers who become users, as well as users who become nonusers. And, of course, there are the "Internet evaders." Here's more about all of them from the New York Times.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Russian Basic Science (Thursday, 4/17/03)
What happens when an authoritarian superpower becomes an underdeveloped country with a market-based economy and fledgling democratic institutions? Suddenly, it isn't able to pay some of the world's top scientists, some of whom were responsible for creating the first artificial satellite? Suddenly, all the computers are antiquated or broken down. What then?

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published a report in 2002 that assessed the state of science in what once was the leading part of the old Soviet Union. Here's Russian Basic Science After Ten Years of Transition and Foreign Support.

Flight attendants asked to reconsider (Wednesday, 4/16/03)
Flight attendants at nearly-bankrupt American Airlines narrowly defeated a plan for $340 million in wage concessions. Company officials are hoping that they will take another vote and accept it. Without the concessions, American Airlines will file for bankruptcy, they say. Meanwhile, Northwest Airlines says it is endangered as well, and will need to cut labor costs by $950 million in order to stay in the air and out of bankruptcy court.

Traditional taboos continue to come crashing down in Japan (Wednesday, 4/16/03)
There have been various times during the history of the United States when the Constitution has been bent in response to emergencies. An example was President Lincoln's suspension of habeus corpus during the Civil War, which his enemies at the time and many historians since have regarded as a fundamental, clear, and unconstitutional abuse of presidential power. The realistic hope has always been that national emergencies will be fairly short-lived and that the bent Constitution will snap back in place once the threat to security has subsided. However, when we hear officials say that the war against international terrorism might last thirty years, there is special reason for concern, because this could change the United States in some fundamental ways and make it a different kind of place, permanently.

Japan has experienced something like this during more than a decade of economic struggle. Major cultural changes have been occurring, and they may be permanent. For instance, the old "Japan, Incorporated" tradition of "employment for life" in which companies took care of their workers while the government took care of the companies is something you may see from now on only in the history books. Layoffs have been widespread in recent years, and unemployment has been high. Now, another taboo is cracking, according to Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun. Some pension benefits to retirees who are already receiving them are being cut, as companies struggle to slow the bleeding of red ink.

The Republicans' favorite labor union (Wednesday, 4/16/03)
The Teamsters have had a variety of relationships with the Republican Party and some Republican candidates over the years. Leigh Strope reports that what might first appear to be an "odd couple" have gotten together to form the Labor Environment Alliance. Among other things, the Teamsters have supported Administration efforts to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Factory output was down again, but housing starts were up (Wednesday, 4/16/03)
The American economy needs for business to start spending, but that's not likely to happen when there's already tremendous excess capacity. In fact, during the month of March, the use of American's industrial capacity was at its lowest level in 20 years. Now that the war is winding down, we'll see if war concerns have been the principal reason.

Meanwhile, housing starts were up in March, and, as Jeannine Aversa reports, inflation still doesn't seem to be a significant threat.

UK unemployment increases in March (Wednesday, 4/16/03)
Unemployment in Britain has increased two months in a row for the first time in more than a year. Here's more on the latest data from the Office for national Statistics from CNN in London.

For many, it's taking nearly a year to find a new job (Wednesday, 4/16/03)
The Twin Cities usually enjoys a somewhat better employment situation than the nation as a whole, even during a downturn. But, as Terry Fiedler of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, laid-off white collar workers are having to spend an average of 11 months in finding a new job.

Slow learners? (Wednesday, 4/16/03)
The Washington Post's Steven Pearlstein that many top corporate wheeler-dealers still don't get it. Despite everything, there's still much to be sore about when it comes to CEO pay .

A move to standardize regulation of massage therapists (Wednesday, 4/16/03)
There was a time when you would go to a "barber-surgeon" to get your hair cut off, or, for that matter, any other part of you. Over the years, the various roles for people who serve the public have taken on legal definition. For instance, what it takes to call yourself a "physician" is fairly standardized in all of the 50 states. More recently, "psychologist" has become legally professionalized, first through certification laws that restricted the use of the title, and now, almost universally, licensure laws which restrict the practice of psychology to people who have undergone extensive professional training and licensing. The Arizona Republic's Christine Romero reports on a similar movement in Arizona with respect to the practice of "massage therapy."

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Marketplace (Wednesday, 4/16/03)
Marketplace with David Brancaccio is owned by Minnesota Public Radio and is distributed throughout much of the world on stations affiliated with Public Radio International as well as other systems, including online through its website.

American Airlines' future still in doubt, despite agreements (Tuesday, 4/15/03)
The concessions that American Airlines says it needs in order to avoid bankruptcy have been accepted by the company's pilots and ground workers, but the decision of its flight attendants is still, well, up in the air.

How the President is spending tax day (Tuesday, 4/15/03)
As Americans mutter to themselves while signing the checks and putting their tax returns into the mail just short of the deadline, President Bush apparently thinks it's a good time to remind them that he would like to cut their taxes. Deb Riechmann reports from Washington on the White House effort to overcome Congressional and public resistance to the big Bush tax cut plan.

Why Mexico needs vigorous U.S. economic growth (Tuesday, 4/15/03)
Jenalia Moreno is in Mexico City where people are talking about the U.S. economy's prospects, because it's going to be very hard for Mexico to do well if the United States doesn't.

SARS causes economic congestion (Tuesday, 4/15/03)
An increasing number of companies are afraid to send representatives to do business in Asia, and that could slow international trade, as well as the global economy overall. Tourism has been suffering too. For instance, tens of thousands of people have been staying away from Singapore, meaning a 56 percent decline in tourism during the early part of this month.

Deadline for taxpayers as well as tax evaders (Tuesday, 4/15/03)
If you're simply a taxpayer, you can get an automatic extension, meaning that you may be able to have a more relaxing evening than otherwise. However, if you've been hiding money in offshore accounts, midnight tonight is a real deadline if you would like to avoid major trouble. Here's more from Albert Crenshaw of the Washington Post.

America's debt offers opportunity to many of its crooks (Tuesday, 4/15/03)
Americans owe far too much money, and many are drowning in debt. Seeking help may be a good idea for many, but Sandra Block of USA Today says that extreme caution is recommended, because credit-counseling scam artists are being attracted by the scent of whatever cash you still have left.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: America at Work, America at Leisure: Motion Pictures from 1894-1915 (Tuesday, 4/15/03)
How did Americans work and recreate a century ago? The Library of Congress' collection of very early motion pictures can provide some hints, and many of these films are available for viewing online. America at Work, America at Leisure is part of the great library's American Memory collection.

Strike at Lockheed Martin (Monday, 4/14/03)
Four-thousand workers at Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth-area aircraft manufacturing plant have walked off the job. They want higher wages and better medical coverage. Union leaders say that, unlike the commercial airline business, the company has been doing very well, because it manufactures fighter jets for the U.S. government.

The war has been quick, but economic reconstruction probably won't be (Monday, 4/14/03)
There's little doubt that most of the world is impressed with what may be the most hegemonic society in history's ability to project military power to a point 6,000 miles away, and, within only about three weeks, destroy a regime without, for the most part, destroying the country. However, impressiveness does not necessarily imply likeability.

Nearly 60 years ago, the U.S. built two atomic bombs, thinking that it needed a spare in case the first one didn't work. When the first one worked fine, that left another that American politicians didn't want to let go to waste. The use of the two bombs, plus the unremitting conventional bombing of Tokyo and other regions, resulted, not only in the destruction of another brutal regime, but also much of Japan. The destruction of the Nazis as an important political force in the world was similarly imprecise and resulted in tremendous loss of civilian life.

Nonetheless, the world was impressed with how successfully both Japan and Germany were rebuilt into two of the world's strongest democracies as well as the world's second and third-largest economies, respectively. It should be noted, however, that U.S. troops are still stationed in both Japan and Germany, as well as in South Korea 50 years after the truce that ended the overt combat of the Korean War. If American troops aren't out of Iraq fairly soon, much of the world, which fears and distrusts the United States already, isn't going to like it, but, don't expect that it will necessarily happen.

Can Iraq become a democracy? In fact, without Saddam's terror, can it even remain a single country, given that it was cobbled together for the convenience of the West in the first place? If its present borders can be maintained, prospects for its becoming a prosperous country seem much better, given the fact that it has the world's second-largest proven oil reserves in a global economy that still runs on oil. It's not going to be a quick fix, though, and Paul Geitner writes from Cairo on some of the reasons why.

World Bank officials prepare to go to Iraq (Monday, 4/14/03)
Harry Dunphy reports from Washington that representatives of the World Bank will be heading toward Iraq as soon as its safe in order to assess the country's needs so that it can help in the very expensive business of reconstruction that is to come. Meanwhile, the Bank's leaders are saying that global poverty could be reduced by half within a few years if trade barriers are lowered more. Hundreds of protesters demonstrating at the weekend meetings in Washington seemed to disagree. However, as Josef Herbert reports, there were fewer demonstrators than has been the case at earlier meetings.

Without the war, will biz become more spendy? (Monday, 4/14/03)
For a while, corporate America's unwillingness to spend much money was attributed to the uncertainty of the geopolitical situation, particularly the prospect of war in Iraq. Now that the war's winding down and most of the uncertainty has been removed, will that mean more business spending? Don't count on it. Here's more from Justin Pope in Boston.

Aging tech (Monday, 4/14/03)
Perhaps everything really does have a life-cycle, and, like the boomers in their personal lives, tech's assumption of eternal youth may be misguided. Oracle's head, Larry Ellison, is beginning to think so. Here's more from the Wall Street Journal's Mylene Mangalindan.

Incidentally, speaking of the 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964, some are beginning to have difficulty maintaining the fiction that they're part of the "younger generation" now that retirement is around the corner, if they can afford it. Peter Svensson suggests that many self-obsessed, intemperate "boomers" may easilyoutlive their money.

Shock and awe over a hospital administrator's earnings (Monday, 4/14/03)
Apparently, it isn't just that CEOs at major corporations who are paid enough to take your breath away. The Washington Post reports on the controversy over what the head of a major nonprofit in the D.C. area has been making.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: EarthTrends (Monday, 4/14/03)
EarthTrends is an environmental information portal sponsored by the World Bank, the Rasmussen Foundation, and other organizations. Among other things, it tracks social and economic trends.

G7 minds meet on Iraq (Sunday, 4/13/03)
Finance ministers from the seven richest industrial nations are meeting this weekend. U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow reports that the officials agree that Iraq will need help with its debt and also that there will be important roles for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Their officials say that they're prepared to help once a UN resolution provides a mandate. Iraq is potentially one of the most wealthy nations in the world, and its people, many of whom have been impoverished for years, may become prosperous once its riches are not being used to build dozens of opulent palaces or hundreds of miles of underground tunnels for its gangster regime. Meanwhile, the Congress has sent legislation to the President that will provide $80 billion to begin paying for the cost of the war itself.

SARS hits travel industry hard (Sunday, 4/13/03)
Tourism is down, particularly in Asia, and business travel is down too, both because of the SARS virus. Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways has lost so many passengers and is losing so much money, it may ground its planes soon.

Don't count on a peace dividend (Sunday, 4/13/03)
Even though the worst fears of economists and business officials about the war's economic impact have not been realized, this won't necessarily mean a bounce once the war's officially at an end, according to Steve Lohr. For one thing, it's likely that the war's effects already have been factored in throughout most of the economy, moderating the economic consequences of the war itself, as well as its relative brevity.

Executive retirement under scrutiny (Sunday, 4/13/03)
Much was written during the corporate scandals of months past about the increasing gap between rank-and-file pay during recent years, on the one hand, and CEO pay on the other. A similar gap has existed between the two groups when it comes to retirement, and with worker pensions weakening, this gap is getting more attention from nearly everybody.

Still, most executives are not CEOs. Many managers and other former highly-paid professionals have been laid off, as enormous numbers of all kinds of jobs have evaporated from the U.S. economy. Terry Fiedler of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Jonathan Mahler of the New York Times tell about how some have found at least temporary positions in various retail settings.

Employers allow workers more TV on the job because of the war (Sunday, 4/13/03)
Margery Beck reports that workplace rules have been relaxed in many settings in order to allow employees with family members in the Iraqi region to keep in touch via television.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Exploding Dictionary (Sunday, 4/13/03)
The Exploding Dictionary is the product of extensive cross-referencing of publicly available dictionaries, and includes Technojargon, a recent adjunct. Word enthusiasts will find it entertaining and many people will find it useful.

G7 ministers gather in Washington (Saturday, 4/12/03)
Finance ministers from the world's richest industrial nations are meeting this weekend in Washington, D. C. Renewed international tensions over how the Iraqi reconstruction should be conducted may distract from the question of global economic renewal, according to Mark Egan and Glenn Somerville.

What happened to the re-employment accounts? (Saturday, 4/12/03)
In January, there was much talk from the White House about a program whereby unemployed Americans would be given as much as $3,000 to help with job search expenses. In addition to helping individuals, it was claimed that it would provide needed stimulus to the U.S. economy. However, Leigh Strope reports from Washington that whole thing was missing from the federal budget approved by Congress on Friday.

Consumers more optimistic than investors (Saturday, 4/12/03)
March was a good month for consumer spending, even though there were some weak spots. So far, though investors remain fairly cautious. Here's more from the Houston Chronicle. However, Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun thinks that the end of the war in Iraq may simply deprive Japan of a convenient scapegoat. Its economic problems remain because the real underlying reasons for them remain.

Steelworkers threaten strike (Saturday, 4/12/03)
A federal bankruptcy judge is considering a request to void bankrupt National Steel's labor contracts. If that happens, 8,000 workers say they will strike.

New generation gap (Saturday, 4/12/03)
Controversy over "cash balance" pensions seems to be dividing younger and older workers, according to the Arizona Republic's Russ Wiles. Christine Dugas of USA Today reports that many people who had intended to retire are putting it off now because of diminished resources arising, in part, from three years of stock market losses.

Special tax information for you if you're in uniform (Saturday, 4/12/03)
Here's important tax information for people serving in the U.S. Armed Forces from the Internal Revenue Service.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Hall of Black Achievement Gallery (Saturday, 4/12/03)
Bridgewater State College maintains the Hall of Black Achievement as a repository of the achievements and contributions of people of color.

United makes a deal with its mechanics (Friday, 4/11/03)
A tentative agreement has been reached between United Airlines and the union representing its mechanics, which means that initial agreements now have been reached with all the company's unions. Rough times still lie ahead, though, according to Dave Carpenter in Chicago, given what is a difficult environment, even for the strongest airlines.

The American economy has shown that it is not fragile, Greenspan says (Friday, 4/11/03)
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan thinks that the U.S. economy has demonstrated considerable resilience, given all that the country has been through during the past couple of years, and should get through the war in Iraq without major difficulty too.

New grads to face a cranky job market (Friday, 4/11/03)
Houston Chronicle columnist L. M. Sixel tells about the vastly different situation faced by new grads seeking employment this spring, compared to a few years ago. A lot of jobs have been lost during the time since President Bush took office, but how many? It depends on which statistics you look at, and the differences make a difference.

Why AmeriCorps froze enrollment last year (Friday, 4/11/03)
Investigators reported to a Senate subcommittee yesterday that poor management had a lot to do with it. For example, more volunteers were approved than the number of education grants that were available.

Who should pay for required safety gear? (Friday, 4/11/03)
A new federal regulation is requiring some workers to use protective equipment, and, according to a petition presented to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, some employers are deducting the cost of the equipment from worker pay. The workers think that their employers should pay for it.

Many would rather than think about it (Friday, 4/11/03)
The Employee Benefits Research Institute has conducted a major survey in order to learn more about how well Americans are preparing for retirement. It appears that many not only haven't been preparing and, as a consequence, won't have the resources to support their retirement once the time comes, many haven't been thinking about it at all. For instance, 84 percent of those surveyed indicated that they don't even know when they will be eligible for Social Security benefits.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Last-Minute Tax Guidance (Friday, 4/11/03)
If you intend to file your taxes on time, it's probably a good idea not to wait any longer. Here's some advice and guidance from USA Today.

Air travel's woes claim the Concorde (Thursday, 4/10/03)
Fewer people have been flying at all lately, and fewer still have been prepared to pay $7,000 to fly across the Atlantic at more than twice the speed of sound. The Concorde will be permanently grounded by both the French and British before the end of the year. Moreover, a commercial services for passengers flying at such speeds seems to be an idea that came forty years ago but has now gone, because, as Kevin Done reports in the Financial Times, there probably won't be a successor, at least for the foreseeable future.

There has been talk in recent years of a plane resembling a space ship that would spend part of its time in low earth orbit, flying from New York to Singapore, say, by the time your uneaten airline meal reaches cabin temperature, or almost. However, those dreams seem to be put on hold for the moment.

Meanwhile, more conventional airlines continue to have problems with customer demand, and costs, and profits. Norway's Aftenposten reports that Scandinavian Airlines intends to send 4,000 workers home.

More unkind cuts in the tech sector (Thursday, 4/10/03)
The world's largest manufacturer of wireless telephones, Nokia, will cut 1,800 jobs, the great majority of them in Finland.

Bush works on broadened free-trade in the Americas (Thursday, 4/10/03)
There seems to be little doubt that the Administration can walk and chew gum at the same time. With the war in Iraq winding down, but with anarchy and the need for humanitarian aid on the increase, President Bush has been shifting at least part of his attention more toward economic issues not involving post-Saddam Iraq. Jennifer Loven reports from Washington on White House efforts to close the deal on a free-trade agreement with five Central American countries.

Entreprendurism in Japan (Thursday, 4/10/03)
More and more salaried workers are starting their own businesses on the side, according Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun.

Supremes take the Nike case (Thursday, 4/10/03)
Did Nike commit consumer fraud when it made false statements about working conditions in its overseas factories? The Supreme Court has decided to decide what may or may not be a free-speech case.

Help you can do without (Thursday, 4/10/03)
If you feel that you're drowning in debt, it's not time to pay somebody to help push your head under water. Marcy Gordon writes about a new report from the Consumer Federation of America and the National Consumer Law Center that paints a grim picture of some "credit counseling" agencies.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Business and War (Thursday, 4/10/03)
Business and War is the Washington Post's special report on the business and economic implications of the war in Iraq.

Another deal at United (Wednesday, 4/9/03)
A tentative agreement has been reached between United Airlines and its machinists' union, although ratification still is required by 23,000 employees. Union leaders say that they have agreed to new contracts in order to help insure the survival of the airline. At American Airlines, unions want to reopen negotiations over concessions, but the company has refused. Meanwhile, even though it's not what the White House wants, Congress seems to be about to approve a $3 billion aid package for the airlines, as well as additional help for laid-off airline workers.

SARS becomes bigger economic problem (Wednesday, 4/9/03)
As medical scientists scramble to learn more about the SARS virus and possibly develop a vaccine, fear about it is having broadening economic consequences. For instance, Australia's Qantas Airways is cutting 1,000 jobs and company officials are saying that the virus now threatens its business more than the war in Iraq. In Hong Kong, where many of the deaths have occurred, is being affected economically as well. Small businesses are being particularly hurt.

Japan's economy holds steady in sputtering mode (Wednesday, 4/9/03)
While the war in Iraq and the SARS virus have not been helpful, Japan's central bank doesn't believe that the fundamental condition of the Japanese economy has changed over the past six months. Expect more of the same for the time-being, say Bank of Japan economists.

Is Moore's Law finally running out of steam, and is it a good thing? (Wednesday, 4/9/03)
In the mid-1960s, Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel Corporation, first formulated what came to be known as "Moore's Law," which, in its later form, says that the number of transistors that could be put on a silicon chip would continue to double about every eighteen months, and this has held fairly true for nearly 40 years. In fact, the hi-tech sector has taken it for granted and based its economic plans on it for years. Recently, some people have become alarmed about the future of hi-tech now that Moore's Law seems to be nearing its limit. However, according to John Markoff in Palo Alto, California, others say it's a good thing.

Incidentally, Moore's Law refers to traditional chip designs and materials. More, smaller, faster may have a LOT further to go once nanotechnology kicks in. Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman, the father of nanotechnology, said many years ago that "We can't expect old designs to work in new circumstances." At the time, he was commenting on largely unsuccessful efforts to make conventional programs run on parallel processing computers. He remarked that, while it was true that it had not been possible to break the sound barrier with conventionally-designed aircraft, that didn't mean that the sound barrier could not be broken.

Who said Uncle Sam never gave you anything? (Wednesday, 4/9/03)
If April 15 is causing you heart palpitations, a soothing four-month extension is yours for the asking. The Street's Beverly Goodman says he can apply for an additional two-month extension too, but it won't be automatic like the first one. However, you should be aware that the extension simply applies to when you have to send in your tax return. There's no extension on paying the IRS money you may owe them. If that's late, interest and penalties will apply. If you already know how much you owe them, why not simply send in the return? Actually, some people don't know for sure, but make a general guess and try to send in a bit more rather than a bit less than what is likely to be due. If it's too much, the IRS will refund it, but they don't PAY interest.

Okay, business travelers, time to sing that old standard: "Al-gor-ithm, Al-gor-ithm, who could ask for anything more" (Wednesday, 4/9/03)
A University of Washington professor has developed a complex computer program he says will help you predict when air fares will be lowest. Here's more about price fluctuations he says aren't random at all, even though they are complicated.

Biz students compete in preparation for the "real world" (Wednesday, 4/9/03)
John Curran writes from Atlantic City, New Jersey on the NCAA of MBAs.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Best Graduate Schools (Wednesday, 4/9/03)
Here's the latest listing of America's best graduate schools, according to U.S. News magazine, at least according to the mag's criteria.

Watershed Monday? (Tuesday, 4/8/03)
Yesterday may have been the day that the American stock market started reacting more to underlying economic conditions than to the war in Iraq. Here's more from Mike Blahnik of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Moreover, the economy itself, rather than enjoying a post-war bounce, may continue to deteriorate and slip back into recession, according to fears among many experts. The Federal Reserve is developing an emergency plan that would include even lower interest rates and billions of additional dollars for the banks.

SARS hits Guangdong province factories (Tuesday, 4/8/03)
Approximately 1,500 Japanese-owned factories operate in China's Guangdong province where there is fear of a spreading SARS epidemic.

Shortage may not mean good job prospects (Tuesday, 4/8/03)
If schools were to continue to insist on having librarians with master's degrees, it certainly would be a good time for M.L.S candidates. There is a growing shortage of school librarians throughout the country. However, at the same time, budget problems are causing the elimination of many positions or the filling of them with lesser-qualified, less expensive people. Mark Clayton of the Christian Science Monitor reports on the mixed jobs picture for professional librarians.

Mickey finally to get more help (Tuesday, 4/8/03)
Disney World has had a hiring freeze in effect since February, but plans to lift it and bring on an additional 2,000 workers for the summer. However, the news isn't so good in the Big City. New York plans to lay off 3,400 workers, according to Timothy Williams.

War dividend for tech sector (Tuesday, 4/8/03)
Joseph Menn of the Los Angeles Times reports on how high-technology companies are benefitting from the military build-up.

Bill would end race-based premiums (Tuesday, 4/8/03)
How high your insurance premiums are may depend on the color of your skin. Shannon Buggs reports on a bill that would eliminate the practice in Texas.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Family Budget Calculator (Tuesday, 4/8/03)
The Family Budget Calculator helps you determine what various kinds of families need to make ends meet in 400 American communities. Data were based on the buying power of 1999 dollars, so its best to plug the result into an inflation calculator to see how much you would need in 2003 in order to have roughly the same buying power.

Crowded holding pattern (Monday, 4/7/03)
Barbara Rose reports on the large number of previously well-paid professionals who are trying to hold their own until the job market improves. Many are trying to keep their heads above water by working low-pay, part-time jobs while continuing to search for jobs that can make use of their qualifications. Still other people have given up on the job search for now, according to USA Today's Barbara Hagenbaugh. One of the oddities about this phenomenon is that it's possible for the unemployment rate to improve as a consequence of people giving up. People are counted as "unemployed" only if they are actively seeking work. When they quit looking, they're not "unemployed" any more. Instead, they're "not in the labor force."

The war's impact on careers (Monday, 4/7/03)
Workers who have been called to active duty are directly affected, of course, but, as Bruce Horovitz reports, many other people are affected indirectly. Here's more about the ways in which war disrupts careers or causes them to be put on hold.

Are things likely to improve in Europe? Depends on whom you ask (Monday, 4/7/03)
The European Union will release its latest forecast next Tuesday, and indications are that recovery is expected next year. On the other hand, a major media forecaster has gotten more discouraged because of the war in Iraq. Here's more from Claire Cozens of the UK's Guardian.

Guess who may be looking at your financials (Monday, 4/7/03)
India has a lot of educated people who know a lot about accounting, and one or more of them may be working on your tax return right now.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Economic Times (Monday, 4/7/03)
India has the world's second-largest population, with demographers forecasting that it is likely to surpass China later this century and become number one. India also is the world's largest democracy. Just about anything one can say about India must involve the use of very large numbers. For instance, while there are an enormous number of impoverished people, the country's educated, affluent, middle-class makes up a larger consumer market than the populations of Germany and France combined. India has a vigorous and globally-important information technology sector, as well as a huge film-making industry. There is much additional business activity in India as well, and The Economic Times reports on it.

No boom expected after the explosions stop in Iraq (Sunday, 4/6/03)
The end of the war isn't likely to cause a big economic bounce. The war has been only one among many factors influencing an increasingly fragile economy that is in danger of slipping into recession, according to analysts. In fact, as Peter Morton reports, many experts expect that, if the war isn't enough to finally put the brakes on growth, as meager as it has been lately, the SARS virus might do it. There's no vaccine for the virus, as yet, but a number of the world's financial officials will be meeting this week to see if they can work out some way to insulate the global economy from some of its threats.

A little acceleration, but... (Sunday, 4/6/03)
We reported yesterday about how increased security measures on the U.S.-Mexican border have slammed the Mexican trucking industry hard. The American trucking industry hasn't been doing well either, but for different reasons. A slight comeback has been brewing, but, as Susan Kelly writes, the way and other factors threaten to tap the brakes before things really get rolling again.

Turkey qualifies for IMF loan (Sunday, 4/6/03)
Turkey's would have plenty to think about, even if a war had not brewed up across its southern border, but, finally, there is some good news: the big check's in the mail. Turkey has met International Monetary Fund criteria for a $700 million loan. Leyla Boulton has more from Ankara for the Financial Times.

201(k)s? (Sunday, 4/6/03)
If the stock market peak of three years ago and the bust since has had you feeling a bit bi-polar about your retirement possibilities, Chris Farrell suggests it's easy to exaggerate both the good and the bad scenarios, and that's what a lot of people have been doing.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Who's making what (Sunday, 4/6/03)
Who's making what reports on salaries, growth projections, and job satisfaction from a sample of 150 occupations, as gathered by Business 2.0.

War pushes economics off the front page (Saturday, 4/5/03)
If a war were not underway, the lead story each day might have to do with America's deteriorating economy. Here's more from L. M. Sixel in Houston.

Another non-obvious economic effect of the war (Saturday, 4/5/03)
Mexico's trucking industry has been hit hard by increased security measures on the U.S.-Mexican border. Jenalia Moreno has more from Mexico City.

Agreements at United (Saturday, 4/5/03)
United Airlines has reached tentative agreements with unions representing its flight attendants and flight dispatchers. If ratified, the agreements will lead to new six-year contracts involving savings that the company says it needs to emerge from bankruptcy.

Corporate 401(k) cutbacks (Saturday, 4/5/03)
Adam Geller reports that an increasing number of American corporations are discontinuing their matching contributions to their workers' 401(k) accounts as part of their cost-cutting strategies.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: National Low Income Housing Coalition: Advocates' Guide (Saturday, 4/5/03)
The National Low Income Housing Coalition is member-supported and works toward ensuring that all Americans will have affordable housing. Here's the Coalition's advocates' guide.

March job cuts also larger than expected (Friday, 4/4/03)
American employers sliced 108,000 jobs in March, although the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.8 percent, despite expectations of an increase. Caren Bohan reports from Washington that many experts now expect that the Federal Reserve is not likely to lower interest rates again. However, as John Fraher reports from Frankfurt, the same cannot be said of the European Central Bank.

Where did he hide it? (Friday, 4/4/03)
Saddam Hussein probably should have elected to leave Iraq early so that he might have had some chance of enjoying the billions of dollars that he's apparently hidden away in various places around the world. Like most bullies, he may have seemed strong to helpless persons in his own society, but hasn't seemed ninety feet tall when faced with the awesome power of what may be the world's only superpower for the next hundred years. When the war's over, soon, coalition authorities not only will be searching all of Iraq's nooks and crannies for weapons of mass destruction before international terrorist organizations can get a hold of them, but they'll also be searching the world for the vast sums of money that Saddam and his sons have siphoned off from what should be a wealthy country with a prosperous population.

Incidentally, if the United States is now the most hegemonic society in all human history, and if it will be the only superpower on earth for a century, should the rest of the world be concerned? Yes, because under these conditions, America could become a very different kind of place. With its great wealth and the fact that it has less than 5 percent of the world's population, it has little choice but to maintain the world's most effective military. Whether it will be able to do this while also maintaining civilian control and strong Constitutional guarantees for individuals and minorities, as well as a commitment to the well-being of all the world's people remains to be seen. Does anyone really believe that the worldwide protests against the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq have been just about what to do about Iraq's dictatorial regime?

Concessions at American Airlines not a done deal (Friday, 4/4/03)
Members of three unions at American Airlines will vote on the $1.6 billion concession package that the airline says it needs to stay out of bankruptcy. However, as Dan Reed of USA Today writes, ratification isn't necessarily a slam-dunk.

Tech people worry about bio virus for a change (Friday, 4/4/03)
Technical people have been canceling out of shows in Asia because of concern about the SARS virus. Among those companies deciding not to send personnel to Beijing or Taipei this month is Intel Corporation.

Business lobbies Texas Legislature on physician choice issue (Friday, 4/4/03)
A bill in the Texas Legislature would enable insurance carriers to determine which doctors injured workers could see for treatment, which would restrict choices now available to workers. Here's more from L. J. Sixel of the Houston Chronicle.

Three R's and an M for "money" (Friday, 4/4/03)
Basic instruction should include basic financial concepts beginning early, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Better public education on financial matters could help individuals avoid bad choices that can be life-determining, and might also affect how the American economy functions.

HP shareholders want a say (Friday, 4/4/03)
Hewlett-Packard's shareholders have proposed that they be consulted on executive severance agreements. Following its merger with Compaq Computer Corporation, HP now is the world's largest manufacturer of both personal computers and printers.

Who could not be in favor a sure-thing investment? (Friday, 4/4/03)
Maryland politicians appear to be ready to disable the state's principal engine of economic growth, according to this Washington Post columnist. However, this doesn't make Maryland different from many other states during a time of horrific budget difficulties. Problem is, when investments in higher education are cut back, the time bombs aren't likely to go off until current office holders have moved on.

IMF sees possible bubbling in the U.S. (Friday, 4/4/03)
The American housing market has been booming, and many experts have been saying that it won't turn out to be like the real estate bubble in Japan some years ago or the tech bubble in the United States duing the '90s that helped foul up the American economy. However, according to Long Island's Newsday, the International Monetary Fund folks aren't so sure. Are U.S. housing values about to head downward? Stay tuned.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Counting on the Internet (Friday, 4/4/03)
Philadelphia's Pew Foundation sponsored this study of how Americans use the Internet, based on a sample of 2,000 persons. Among its findings: People who report using the Internet regularly are far more likely to say they that they expect to be able to find information about topics such as health care or commerce online, than those who don't use it, suggesting that many non-users don't know what they're missing. Here's John B. Horrigan and Lee Rainie's 17-page report, Counting on the Internet.

Jobless claims highest in a year (Thursday, 4/3/03)
First-time claims for jobless benefits were at their highest level during the last week of March than at any time since last April. Here's more from today's New York Times.

Supreme Court says HMO patients can have more options (Thursday, 4/3/03)
In a major decision yesterday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that states can force HMOs to let qualified outside physicians treat patients covered by their plans.

Toward equal opportunity service...and risk (Thursday, 4/3/03)
When women are taken away from their families or are maimed or killed in combat, that's awful. But, is it really MORE awful than when the same things happen to men? Despite the "testosterone poisoning" that sometimes leads to false male bravado, war really is hell, but sometimes necessary, and maybe just as hellish and just as necessary for women as for men. Ann Scott Tyson reports from somewhere on the road to Baghdad that fifteen percent of U.S. armed forces are women now.

Success of the war vs. success of the peace (Thursday, 4/3/03)
Alan Krueger has been thinking about the postwar Iraq that eventually will come, and whether it will be more like the "tragedy of Germany after World War I or the success of Germany after World War II." Speaking of Germany, its unemployment rate has declined a bit, to 11.1 percent in March. That's down from a four-year high during February.

The end of the war won't leave you with nothing to worry about (Thursday, 4/3/03)
Edmund Andrews writes about America's economic depression. Well, no, not an economic depression, but depression about the economy. For one thing, there's a growing sense that the U.S. economy's slump isn't simply a result of the war, so things won't necessarily magically improve once the war's over. And, while computer viruses have wreaked economic havoc over much of the world during previous months, now we have the real thing. Keith Bradsher tells about our SARS already is slamming some key industries, such as the airlines, and what it might do over the weeks ahead.

Hi-tech blow out (Thursday, 4/3/03)
Disgruntled workers have been venting their spleens for many generations, but, with the Internet, it's possibly to tell tens of thousands of people all at once. That's what a fired Intel engineer did, and the case has ended up in the California Supreme Court. One side says the case is about stifling free speech, while the other side says it's simply about who should have access to the company's internal email system. Here's more from Elinor Mills Abreu in San Francisco.

Junk reduction (Thursday, 4/3/03)
Spend less on what's really just garbage, and you'll need less income. Older people with reduced incomes may be able to lead the way toward increased frugality, decreased waste, and generally a more value-oriented society, according to syndicated columnist Scott Burns.

Here's a tip about tips (Thursday, 4/3/03)
Brahm Resnik suggests a way of sweeting your tips.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Aging Clinical Research Center (Thursday, 4/3/03)
Population growth has been leveling off in the industrial democracies, and even declining in some regions. Demographers estimate that global population is likely to increase to about 8 billion, before stabilizing later in the 21st century. One of the implications of slowed population growth is that a smaller proportion of many national populations is made up of young people now, which is to say that, on average, these populations are aging.

In the United States during the 1960s, there was considerable social upheaval, in part, because there were so many young people. Before long, similar upheaval may occur because there will be so many old people, and many of them will be the same people--the huge "baby-boomer" generation.

With so many older people, the prevalence of Alzheimer's Disease can be expected to increase commensurably. Large numbers of disabled old peop