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Need a loan? (Monday, 6/30/03)
The fact that you might want to ask India is an indication of how times have changed. Rajesh Mahaptara reports from New Delhi that India has joined the pool of lenders of the International Monetary Fund.

The 12-step plan (Monday, 6/30/03)
No, this hasn't anything to do with Alcoholics Anonymous. Instead, it has to do with landing a job. Eric Schellhorn reports that many employers have been adding hurdles, and the successful completion of your first interview may be only the beginning.

Employers pass it on (Monday, 6/30/03)
As the cost of employee health care rises for employers, they've been finding a variety of ways to keep their costs under control, including reducing or eliminating benefits. Whatever the procedure, it usually means that employees are more and more on their own.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: 2002 Urban Mobility Report (Monday, 6/30/03)
If you're still talking about "rush hour" and emphasizing the singular, you may be stuck in a time-warp. The 2002 Urban Mobility Report from Texas A&M University says it hasn't been only an hour since Richard Nixon was president.

Prez poised with pen (Sunday, 6/29/03)
President Bush wants a Medicare bill for his signature as soon as possible. Congress seems to share his sense of urgency, but it remains to be seen whether the two houses will cooperate with each other. Both the Senate and the House have passed sweeping Medicare legislation, but the two versions contains major differences that have to be ironed out before a bill can be send to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue for the President to sign into law.

Why is he in such a hurry? Older Americans are politically-active, and they vote in large numbers. Considering that a presidential election is coming up in less than a year and a half, the President would like to have Medicare taken off the table and deprive the Democrats of a campaign issue that older people care about.

Incidentally, according to the Chicago Tribune's Jill Zuckman, both the Senate and House versions of the Medicare bill would provide major assistance for rural health care.

New reform package in Japan (Sunday, 6/29/03)
The Japanese Cabinet approved a new economic reform package for the year, but it has its skeptics. Here's more from Jun Saito of Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun.

Now, what? (Sunday, 6/29/03)
No new talks are scheduled between union leaders and Goodyear, but the union has decided not to call a strike. Meanwhile, a strike that already has been going on in the former east Germany has been called off by IG Metall

Income tax changes in Germany (Sunday, 6/29/03)
The German Chancellor has announced that his cabinet has approved major income tax cuts intended to boost the world's third-largest economy. Next-door, the French economy grew a little during the first quarter of this year, but is expected to stand still or contract during the second quarter, according to the International Herald Tribune, continental Europe's leading English-language newspaper, published in Paris.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Institute of Development Studies Research on Globalisation (Sunday, 6/29/03)
The Institute of Development Studies in Bristol, England has been studying the benefits of globalisation and their distribution.

Consumer spending increases a little (Saturday, 6/28/03)
The numbers aren't greatly impressive, but, at least, consumer spending increased in May, rather than decreasing. The Commerce Department's measure was up 0.1 percent over the previous month. Here's more from Jeannine Aversa in Washington.

Talks break off at Goodyear (Saturday, 6/28/03)
The United Steelworkers of America has rejected Goodyear's latest offer and talks have broken off with no new ones schedule. Twenty-thousand workers are affected.

The grim jobs situation slams American families (Saturday, 6/28/03)
Layoffs are changing many plans and putting great strain on many families. Here's more from Stephanie Armour of USA Today.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Family Life and Work Experience before 1918 (Saturday, 6/28/03)
Family Life and Work Experience before 1918 is an oral history project from the ESRC Qualitative Data Archival Resource Centre of University of Essex in the United Kingdom.

Big changes coming to Medicare? (Friday, 6/27/03)
The President wants to have a Medicare bill to sign by the end of the summer, and that's looking more likely now that both the House and Senate have approved legislation that would add some sort of prescription medication benefit to Medicare, among other things. Compromise talks will be underway. The rapidly rising cost of health care for working Americans and their employees also continues to be a problem. Here's more from Darrin Schlegel.

Enron to be sued over retirement losses (Friday, 6/27/03)
The Labor Department intends to sue Enron over the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars of employee retirement savings, according to the Wall Street Journal. Eric Berger of the Houston Chronicle reports that Enron employees are pleased with the news.

The White House wants to change overtime eligibility criteria (Friday, 6/27/03)
According to the Economic Policy Institute, as many as 22 million Americans would be affected if the President's plan for changing eligibility requirements for overtime pay. Many would lose their overtime pay, while many others would become eligible. Gwendolyn Freed of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that many labor leaders don't like the idea.

Encouraging news for Japan (Friday, 6/27/03)
Finally, Japan's economy may be ready to move ahead. Industrial output increased last month by the greatest amount in a year.

More evidence of a rebound to come? (Friday, 6/27/03)
Jeannine Aversa reports from Washington on what appears to be increasing stability in the labor market, as first-time jobless claims decline three weeks in a row. Personal incomes increased last month as well.

Mothers Work apparently doesn't like to see mothers-to-be work (Friday, 6/27/03)
A major seller of maternity clothing fired a worker after she became pregnant, she says, and she's suing.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education (Friday, 6/27/03)
Among other things, the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education works to ensure that post-secondary education will remain accessible for the largest number of Americans. It is nonprofit and was founded in 1998.

Will latest interest-rate reduction boost the economy? (Thursday, 6/26/03)
Don't expect too much, advise many economists. Here's more from Mike Meyers of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Incidentally, first-quarter GDP growth was more feeble than expected, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

News flash: the rich get richer (Thursday, 6/26/03)
The 400 richest Americans have more than doubled their share of the national income in eight years while experiencing a reduction in their tax burden, according to newly-released IRS data. Meanwhile, Lewis Braham of Business Week suggests an affirmative action plan based, not on race, but on poverty.

The continuing progress of women in the American economy (Thursday, 6/26/03)
While the great majority of corporate management positions continue to be held by men, women continue to progress, according to a new survey from Catalyst. Currently, about 16 percent of officer positions in the 500 largest U.S. corporations are held by women, compared to 9 percent in 1995. Also, Larry Werner of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that businesses owned by women are growing at nearly twice the rate of privately-owned businesses overall.

Faith-based hiring criteria (Thursday, 6/26/03)
Over the past several decades, American society has moved increasingly in the direction of reducing employment discrimination based on attributes such as religious and sexual preference. President Bush would like religious charities to be exempt from these requirements. Here's more from today's Washington Post.

GM leads its industry into discount territory because of its huge pension shortfall (Thursday, 6/26/03)
General Motors is pushing sales through the use of zero-percent financing and other discounts as part of its effort to get its pension funding problem under control. It's competitors have little alternative but to follow.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Thursday, 6/26/03)
The Federal Statistical Office of Germany employs nearly 3,000 people and collects data on nearly every aspect of German life, including economics.

Time to exhale: it's a quarter point (Wednesday, 6/25/03)
Apparently in an effort to influence corporate decision-makers as well as the stock market, the Federal Reserve has been encouraging nearly everybody to expect another interest rate cut this week. Most of the suspense has been over whether rates would be reduced by a quarter-point or a half-point. It's final: it's a quarter point. Here's more from Jeannine Aversa in Washington.

Is he slipping? (Wednesday, 6/25/03)
According to the polls, Americans tend to approve of President Bush as Commander in Chief, but are less certain about his stewardship of the American economy. Will Lester tells about new poll results showing that voter support for his re-election may be diminishing as the country's economic sluggishness continues, particularly with respect to its jobs picture.

According to the old political bromide, Americans tend to vote their pocketbooks, which seems to be what undid the President's father in his quest for re-election following a quick, successful war and even higher public approval ratings. George Herbert Walker Bush seems to have been a victim of the "Churchill effect." Like the first President Bush, an even more popular British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was turned out of office almost immediately after playing a key role in the winning of World War II. In both cases, though, the war was over and the threat was past, so voters could safely turn their attention to other concerns.

However, in Bush Jr.'s case, the terrorist threat persists, which might mean that the President could benefit from the "don't change horses in the middle of the stream" sentiment that re-elected President Lincoln in 1864 while the Civil War was still going on.

On the other hand, several weeks after the President declared the war against Saddam to have reached a successful conclusion, coalition forces are experiencing a combat fatality at the rate of about one per day, meaning that it wouldn't take too many more weeks before post-war fatalities would exceed fatalities during the war itself. Depending on what happens during the months ahead, the President could go from being seen as a successful Commander in Chief to a politician who is presiding over a mess partly of his own making. His bumbling, not-ready-for-primetime pre-9/11 image could come back. This, combined with the loss of two million jobs during this tenure so far, plus a persistent weakness in the economy, could mean that the President's re-election is far from assured.

The Democratic nomination could be worth quite a lot this time, if one of the candidates could start gaining a little traction. Hillary Clinton almost surely could have the nomination for next year's election, but the risk of losing to a generally popular wartime president seems too great for her taste. Instead, she seems to prefer a 2008 candidacy. However, if a Democrat were to defeat President Bush in 2004, there would be a Democratic incumbent in 2008, making Senator Clinton's prospects much dimmer then. So, would Senator Clinton benefit from the re-election of George W. Bush? Is it only coincidental that her book was released at this particular time, essentially pushing the Democratic aspirants off the front page, deflecting public attention from them, and making it harder for any single one to gain prominence only a few months before the first primary?

Bad news for Lenin (Wednesday, 6/25/03)
Despite all his efforts, Russia is in the process of becoming a genuine capitalistic democracy. James Brooke is in Moscow and reports on Russia's three good economic years and what may lie ahead as a consequence.

Another country that went through a totalitarian stage but began building its democracy and market economy many years ago, although still within the memory of many persons, is Germany. Its economy is the third-largest in the world, but it has been struggling recently. Still, there are growing signs of better times ahead.

Hiring against stereotypes (Wednesday, 6/25/03)
Dale Dauten says so much work is boring because it's supposed to be, or, at least, because of the tendency to hire people who could do the job in their sleep. Not everybody hires that way, though. Here are some examples.

Another benefit of longer lives (Wednesday, 6/25/03)
The Wall Street Journal's Christopher Oster says that life insurance companies are revising their mortality tables, and that will mean major premium savings for some people.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Minority Business Development Agency (Wednesday, 6/25/03)
The Minority Business Development Agency is an agency of the federal government. Since 1969, it has encouraged and assisted in the creation and development of minority-owned businesses in the United States.

Many employers are pleased with yesterday's Supreme Court ruling (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
In a new economy in which high-skill "knowledge workers" increasingly predominate, if you want a more diverse workforce, you're going to need a diverse pool of applicants with college degrees. Stephanie Armour and Del Jones have more on the relief being expressed by many employers following yesterday's ruling on the University of Michigan affirmative action case.

China's post-SARS recovery (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
There was concern about whether the SARS scare in China, particularly in Hong Kong and Beijing, would be enough to derail was has been the world's fastest-growing economy. David Lynch reports from Hong Kong that the Chinese economy is beginning to soar again, and, in fact, could be a bit too hot in some sectors.

Back to the future (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
All indications are that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again this week to their lowest point since the hula hoop craze was at its peak: 1958.

Tax-cut acceleration in Germany (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
Germany's economics minister expects tax cuts intended for 2005 to be moved up in order to boost economic growth.

More white-collar jobs are likely to leave the United States (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
In his BNWW article, SUNY Professor William Raynor was among the first to call attention to the exportation of American white-collar jobs and what this trend may mean for the American economy. Now, Mark Gruenberg reports from Washington that the trend is likely to accelerate.

Swiss airline becomes a lot smaller (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
Last year, Swissair and Crossair became Swiss International Air Lines, and things have not been easy since. In fact, the Swiss International has announced that it will cut about a third of its workforce, which means thousands of jobs.

Australian exodus (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
Anthony Dennis writes in the Sydney Morning Herald about the increasing number of people who are attempting to leave Sydney. Australia's largest city--and one of the world's most beautiful--is a victim of its own success, he says.

Alcohol and the blue-collar work culture (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Gwendolyn Freed tells about the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's program to reduce DWI's among blue-collar workers. Overall, here's a summary of what the volatile mixture of alcohol and gasoline (and testosterone?) costs business.

Raises will be smaller this year (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
Those who are losing their jobs or who have been unemployed for weeks or months may not see it as a major problem, but, if you feel your job is secure, you may be able to enjoy the luxury of worrying about the size of your raise. According to Conference Board research, salaries are likely to increase this year at this lowest rate in a decacde.

Overcoming the Dilbert factor (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
If you sound like everybody else, you may end up in the chorus, but you won't become the star. Similarly, career expert Steve Smith says your resume shouldn't make you look like nearly everybody else, because most of them do.

Consumer confidence holds steady (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the American economy, so a willingness to spend at the retail level has broad implications. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell back a bit in June following two months of advances.

Making your blood boil? (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
Well, maybe not quite--but researchers in the United Kingdom find that your blood pressure is likely to be elevated if you perceive your boss as unfair.

Update on the Internet (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
USA Today offers a summary of statistics showing the extent to which the Internet has been impacting on many aspects of American life.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: A Layoff Survival Kit for Union Leaders (Tuesday, 6/24/03)
The Working for America Institute offers advice and resources for union leaders who are trying to assist workers during a time of layoffs. Here's A Layoff Survival Kit for Union Leaders.

High Court okays use of race in college admissions, but... (Monday, 6/23/03)
...With limits. Here's more on this important Supreme Court decision from today's New York Times. Interestingly, the U.S. military as well as many corporations have been urging the Court to preserve affirmative action because of their own need for large numbers of minority college grads.

Back to the '50s? (Monday, 6/23/03)
Martin Crutsinger reports from Washington on what appears to be the upcoming interest rate cut. It hasn't happened yet, and nobody outside the Fed seems to know how large the cut will be, but the Federal Reserves "leakers" have been making sure that it's "as much of a secret as a steam calliope," as George Will likes to say. However, whatever the percentage, it appears that interest rates will be at their lowest levels since the Eisenhower administration by the end of the week, and not all economists are pleased. Alan Greenspan has indicated that this cut isn't the last thing the Fed can do to head off deflation, but is it? Here's what the Christian Science Monitor's Ron Scherer has to say.

Workers' comp premiums head for the stratosphere (Monday, 6/23/03)
The cost of workers' compensation insurance is among the things that have been increasing the cost of doing business during a rough time for the private sector. Here's more from Joseph Treaster in Sacramento.

It's easier to paint a target on a big paycheck (Monday, 6/23/03)
If you make more than your co-workers, you may be more likely to receive the pink slip, according this report from Stephanie Armour of USA Today.

Americans are still giving, despite everything (Monday, 6/23/03)
Overall, Americans contributed about $241 billion to charities in 2002, which was down only a half-percent from the year before. Also, as Mark O'Keefe reports, corporate giving may be ready to accelerate again too.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: U.S. National Debt Clock (Monday, 6/23/03)
The U.S. National Debt Clock enables you to watch the United States dig a deep hole deeper.

Bond dealers expect rate cut (Sunday, 6/22/03)
Victoria Thieberger reports on the results of a new survey of major Wall Street bond dealers. The consensus seems to be that interest rates will be cut again within a few days, but there is little agreement as to how steep the cuts will be. Charles Stein of the Boston Globe tells why the Fed is still nervous about deflation.

Bank strike ends in South Korea (Sunday, 6/22/03)
Workers at South Korea's oldest bank end their five-day strike after reaching tentative agreement on wage increases and job security.

The murky business of pension fund accounting (Sunday, 6/22/03)
Mary Williams Walsh why its important to understand what companies have been doing to try to fund their pension plans, and how many are not fully funded.

Behavioral economics makes some progress (Sunday, 6/22/03)
Traditional economic theory assumes things that everybody knows frequently aren't true: that people always behave rationally and in their economic best interest. So, if it's obvious that these things often aren't true, why does economic theory assume them to be true?

Because theories have to rest on assumptions of some sort, and these always have resulted in better average descriptive and predictive outcomes than any others available. Individual variation tends to "average out" in the long-run. And, while psychological processes certainly influence economic behavior, there's no net gain from taking them into account if doing so adds no precision to the economic models.

However, we're beginning to see some glimmers of change. Victoria Thieberger discusses some of the latest developments in behavioral economics.

Elementary financial education (Sunday, 6/22/03)
There is reason to hope that the next generation of young people will reach adulthood knowing more about the practicalities of personal finance. Susan Garland tells about the various attempts to provide basic financial education for children.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Capitalism FAQ (Sunday, 6/22/03)
The Center for the Advancement of Capitalism invites hard questions and provides answers on its Capitalism FAQ page.

Cut the cut? (Saturday, 6/21/03)
It's been looking increasingly likely that Fed Head Greenspan will cut interest rates again, despite their already being at their lowest levels since late in the Eisenhower administration. Andrew Ward of "Hiz Honor's news" (Bloomberg) tells why another cut may be one cut too many.

Foreclosures at all-time high (Saturday, 6/21/03)
With mortgage rates at their lowest in a generation or more, people have been rushing to buy houses or refinance old mortgages. However, large numbers of Americans also have gotten in over their heads. Here's more from Jeannine Aversa in Washington about the record high rate at which foreclosures occurred during the first quarter of this year.

GM to close its pension gap (Saturday, 6/21/03)
General Motors' pension plan falls $19 billion short, so the big automaker intends to raise $13 billion by selling bonds in order to reduce the deficit. Here's more form Danny Hakim and Jonathan Fuerbringer in Detroit.

World Economic Forum goes low (Saturday, 6/21/03)
From the cool mountains of Switzerland to the hot Dead Sea. Alan Cowell reports from Suweima, Jordan that the World Economic Forum has chosen the lowest place on earth to meet this time.

Layoffs at Boeing (Saturday, 6/21/03)
Eight-hundred-sixty people who worked for Boeing yesterday no longer do today. Most of the layoffs involved people in the company's Commercial Airplanes Division.

Think of it! A business of your own (Saturday, 6/21/03)
According to the old gag, if you're self-employed, the boss almost kills you, but, at least, s/he has your best interests at heart. Not only that, the risks are great; success seems to be the exception, not the rule. Still, the lure is seductive, particularly during a time when jobs are scarce, more and more people are being laid off, and job security is becoming a distant memory. St. Paul, Minnesota's University of St. Thomas offers a nine-week program for would-be entrepreneurs to help them be realistic and increased their odds of success. Here's the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Larry Werner with information about the University's FastTrac program.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Mortgage-calc.com (Saturday, 6/21/03)
Despite its name, Mortgage-calc.com doesn't limit itself to mortgage calculators. The site contains many for a variety of purposes.

More suggestion of good times ahead (Friday, 6/20/03)
The Conference Board's Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose in May, but more is needed to inspire business to invest and spend, which is what it will take to trigger vigorous economic growth, according to Meg Richards in New York.

Japan's industrial sector weakens in April (Friday, 6/20/03)
Japan's economy continues to struggle after a decade of uninspiring performance. The all-industries index was up in March, but fell again in April.

Time to rethink the unemployment rate? (Friday, 6/20/03)
Mark Gongloff of CNN/Money tells why "full employment" should mean something different in the new economy; i.e., why the economy can handle a lower rate of unemployment without setting off inflation, and why the current rate should be considered worse now than it may have been during previous years.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Nation Master (Friday, 6/20/03)
Many people, when interested in statistics for the world's countries, consult the World Factbook from the CIA, and that's still a good source. However, Nation Master allows quick comparisons of your choice through the use of graphs based on hundreds of data sets.

First-time jobless claims decline for second week in a row (Thursday, 6/19/03)
The number of unemployment claims remains high, but the fact that they have declined for two consecutive weeks reinforces the view that the second half of the year may see significant improvement in the U.S. economy. Here's more from Washington on the latest data from the United States Department of Labor.

Breakthroughs for organized labor? (Thursday, 6/19/03)
Labor unions have been trying to organize Wal-Mart, the nation's largest corporation, for years, but, until now, without success. However, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that the company must recognize Local 540 of the United Food and Commercial Workers at their Jacksonville, Texas store. Union leaders feel that the finger may have been removed from the dike.

Meanwhile, union officials at General Electric feel that they've achieved nearly everything they been dreaming of now that tentataive agreement has been reached on a new four-year contract. Among the principal issues has been the cost of health care and who will pay. Here's more about that from Stephanie Armour of USA Today.

The flood crests...again (Thursday, 6/19/03)
The Arizona Republic's Jack Kurtz reports on the great increase in immigration from Mexico, and the reasons for it.

Cancel those plans for the CEO-assistance charity (Thursday, 6/19/03)
Despite everything, the take-home pay of big-time CEOs was up almost 17 percent last year, according to research conducted by the Corporate Library.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Legacy of NAFTA (Thursday, 6/19/03)
The Arizona Republic offers a status report on the effects of NAFTA so far.

Things are looking better...for the economy and for the President (Wednesday, 6/18/03)
Cynics or Democrats (which, given the way things have been going for Dems lately, may be roughly the same) might suspect that President Bush has been able to have it both ways, or maybe all ways. He's zipping around the country collecting large numbers of individual campaign contributions from Republican supporters who are easily able to contribute the $2,000 allowed by the new campaign finance law because of the money they'll save on the tax-cut legislation that the President signed recently. The President saves them money, so they're happy to give a little of it to him in order to support his re-election effort.

Moreover, even though many experts doubt that the tax-cuts will stimulate the economy very much, indications are that there will be a significant upturn during the second half of the year anyway, and the President will be able to attribute the improved economic news to his tax cut, because most voters aren't economists.

It is said that both the Democrats and the Republicans wanted Dwight Eisenhower as their candidate in 1952 following his meteoric rise from Lt. Colonel to Supreme Allied Commander in only 15 months, plus the subsequent victory over the Nazis. It is also said that he decided to run as a Republican largely because he was afraid that the two-party system was in jeopardy, given Democratic dominance for so many years. Times certainly have changed. At the moment, the United States is closer to being a single-party system again than it's been for many years.

Part of the reason is the brilliance of political strategist Karl Rove, who has been a student of those periodic "quantum shifts" in American politics, such as the elections of 1896 and 1932. Another part of the reason is, as the President jokes, people tend to "misunderestimate" him, which is as he likes it.

But, there's plenty of credit to go around, and the Democrats themselves should share in it, given their adeptness at forming circular firing squads. If Bill Clinton's personal problems didn't make it easy enough for the Democrats' opponents to convince many voters that "liberal" means "libertine," the fact that Jerry Springer has been getting a lot of publicity lately because of his possibly candidacy for the United States Senate should close the sale. During the past several years, many Democrats couldn't do the Republicans more good if they went to work for them.

At any rate, the Washington Post Charles Duhigg tells about three new reports suggesting that May was the month during which the economic yo-yo reached its bottom and began building momentum for a return trip. Among the more welcome pieces of news has to do with the long-beleaguered manufacturing sector. Among other things, this means that deflation has become less likely, as Barbara Hagenbaugh reports from Washington. However, Ron Scherer discusses the psychology of inflation and deflation, and how changed expectations can play a significant role in determining what actually happens.

Canada taps its brakes (Wednesday, 6/18/03)
The Canadian economy is slowing. Here's more from Mark Mullins of the Toronto Globe and Mail.

The future of women in Iraq (Wednesday, 6/18/03)
From its beginning, the United States was regarded as history's great democratic experiment, but the slaves weren't freed until 1865 and women didn't get the vote until 1920. Even if Iraq becomes a democratic society with a free press and free markets, what will it mean for Iraqi women? Sharon Waxman is in Baghdad and has been talking to a lot of them about their future.

Update on TWA workers (Wednesday, 6/18/03)
Dan Reed reports that many former TWA workers feel that their expectations haven't been fulfilled after American Airlines' acquisition of their bankrupt company two years ago.

Big job cuts at EDS (Wednesday, 6/18/03)
Electronic Data Systems, the company that Ross Perot founded but sold many years ago, intends to cut 2,700 jobs.

Abercrombie & Fitch sued (Wednesday, 6/18/03)
Nine plaintiffs have filed a discrimination suit against Abercrombie & Fitch, alleging racial and ethnic discrimination in employment practices, and are seeking class-action status.

Corporations want to cut the fat (Wednesday, 6/18/03)
In this case, it's not excess personnel. "Fat" is not a metaphor here; they're talking about real fat. There is a growing epidemic of obesity and weight-related health problems in the United States, and Milt Freudenheim reports that major employers have calculated that it's costing them billions of dollars per year.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: NeighborhoodScout (Wednesday, 6/18/03)
NeighborhoodScout claims to use a huge database that can help them match you to a new neighborhood if you're planning to move.

CPI suggests deflation is not a threat (Tuesday, 6/17/03)
Economists, government officials, and others have been anticipating the latest Consumer Price Index results with more anxiety than usual because the Wholesale Price Index has been slipping lately, leading many experts to wonder if the American economy might soon follow Japan and other countries around the world into a deflationary spiral. However, it appears that the experts can exhale. The Labor Department's CPI rose in May, meaning that there was a little inflation, not deflation.

Of course the CPI is a weighted average intending to indicate how prices in the economy as a whole are doing. At any particular time, some things may be inflating, while others may be deflating. For instance, in the health care and education sectors, inflation has been a major problem. In fact, Mark Clayton writes about Congressman Howard McKeon who has long been frustrated by the tendency of higher education costs to increase far more than the overall inflation rate. He wants to withhold federal aid from those institutions that raise tuition at a rate twice that of the rate of inflation over two consecutive years.

You think YOUR school has gotten dangerous? (Tuesday, 6/17/03)
Seth Stern and Rachel Van Dongen suggest that the most dangerous place in the world for teachers may be Colombia.

Natural gas supplies worry economists (Tuesday, 6/17/03)
The supply of natural gas in the United States is tighter than at any time in the past 25 years, which is resulting in layoffs across the industry. Overall, as Jim Cigelske reports, the U.S. job market is the weakest it's been in a decade. Many people are involuntary part-time workers. Here's more from Barbara Hagenbaugh of USA Today.

More stay-at-home mothers (Tuesday, 6/17/03)
A modern American trend seems to be reversing. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the number of full-time stay-at-home mothers has increased by 13 percent in less than ten years.

Does your boss know you're reading this? (Tuesday, 6/17/03)
Maybe so. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports on the increase in workplace monitoring and surveillance. Many workers are being watched nearly every minute of nearly every work day, according to the paper's report.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Tolerance.org (Tuesday, 6/17/03)
Those who oppose hate and bigotry and want their communities to value diversity are invited to start by visiting Tolerance.org from the Southern Poverty Law Center with the assistance of several corporate sponsors.

Hong Kong makes a deal with the mother country (Monday, 6/16/03)
Hong Kong was a British colony since the 19th century until it was returned to China in 1997. However, even though Hong Kong is now part of China again, it still has a special relationship not typical of other Chinese provinces. For one thing, Chinese citizens cannot move freely across Hong Kong's border with the mainland. The same has been true of goods, at least, until now. A new trade agreement will be signed at the end of June which, many people hope, will give Hong Kong's troubled economy, hit hard by the SARS scare, a boost.

Meanwhile, China intends to reduce the size of its military in order to increase its efficiency and better meet the country's needs. John Ruwitch reports from Beijing that a half-million military personnel will be cut during the next two years, which can be expected to aggravate China's already significant unemployment problem resulting from the shutdown of its huge, failed state-run industries.

Personal bankruptcy to pinch less in Japan (Monday, 6/16/03)
Bankrupt individuals will be allowed to keep more assets from now on, following a decision by Japan's Justice Ministry.

Finally...recovery may be in the stars (Monday, 6/16/03)
The past three years or so have been just one damn thing after another, but, as Martin Crutsinger reports from Washington, things may finally be lining up to make a genuine recovery happen, including vigorous job creation. For the time being, though, the number of unemployed is as great as it has been for a long time, Sue Kirchhoff of USA Today says the better educated not only tend to make more money than others; they tend to find new jobs faster after being displaced from the workforce.

Prescription drug benefit really seems to be coming (Monday, 6/16/03)
Alexandra Marks reports that odds are good that the House, Senate, and President are about to expand Medicare to offer some sort of help to older people who have been weighed down by the cost of medications. Medicaid already provides medications to the poor, but costs are causing a crunch. Richard Perez-Pena reports that nearly half the states are telling participating doctors to switch to less-expensive equivalents when possible.

Why the current budgetary hole may be harder to climb out of (Monday, 6/16/03)
The federal budget deficit is large and getting larger. Sue Kirchhoff says that it's going to be harder to balance the budget next time because of an aging population and the costs of Medicare and Social Security.

New agreements (Monday, 6/16/03)
Dave Collins reports from Hartford, Connecticut that General Electric has reached agreement on new contracts with two of its major unions, while workers have made a deal with Bell Helicopter too.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Largest U.S. Cities, 1790-1990 (Monday, 6/16/03)
Here are data from the U.S. Census Bureau on the population of the 100 largest cities in the United States as gathered in the 21 decennial censuses between 1790 and 1990. For instance, New York was largest city in the United States in 1790 as well as in 1990. However, its population in 1790 was less than the current population of little Minot, North Dakota today.

Hong Kong makes a deal with the mother country (Monday, 6/16/03)
Hong Kong was a British colony since the 19th century until it was returned to China in 1997. However, even though Hong Kong is now part of China again, it still has a special relationship not typical of other Chinese provinces. For one thing, Chinese citizens cannot move freely across Hong Kong's border with the mainland. The same has been true of goods, at least, until now. A new trade agreement will be signed at the end of June which, many people hope, will give Hong Kong's troubled economy, hit hard by the SARS scare, a boost.

Meanwhile, China intends to reduce the size of its military in order to increase its efficiency and better meet the country's needs. John Ruwitch reports from Beijing that a half-million military personnel will be cut during the next two years, which can be expected to aggravate China's already significant unemployment problem resulting from the shutdown of its huge, failed state-run industries.

Personal bankruptcy to pinch less in Japan (Monday, 6/16/03)
Bankrupt individuals will be allowed to keep more assets from now on, following a decision by Japan's Justice Ministry.

Finally...recovery may be in the stars (Monday, 6/16/03)
The past three years or so have been just one damn thing after another, but, as Martin Crutsinger reports from Washington, things may finally be lining up to make a genuine recovery happen, including vigorous job creation. For the time being, though, the number of unemployed is as great as it has been for a long time, Sue Kirchhoff of USA Today says the better educated not only tend to make more money than others; they tend to find new jobs faster after being displaced from the workforce.

Prescription drug benefit really seems to be coming (Monday, 6/16/03)
Alexandra Marks reports that odds are good that the House, Senate, and President are about to expand Medicare to offer some sort of help to older people who have been weighed down by the cost of medications. Medicaid already provides medications to the poor, but costs are causing a crunch. Richard Perez-Pena reports that nearly half the states are telling participating doctors to switch to less-expensive equivalents when possible.

Why the current budgetary hole may be harder to climb out of (Monday, 6/16/03)
The federal budget deficit is large and getting larger. Sue Kirchhoff says that it's going to be harder to balance the budget next time because of an aging population and the costs of Medicare and Social Security.

New agreements (Monday, 6/16/03)
Dave Collins reports from Hartford, Connecticut that General Electric has reached agreement on new contracts with two of its major unions, while workers have made a deal with Bell Helicopter too.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Largest U.S. Cities, 1790-1990 (Monday, 6/16/03)
Here are data from the U.S. Census Bureau on the population of the 100 largest cities in the United States as gathered in the 21 decennial censuses between 1790 and 1990. For instance, New York was largest city in the United States in 1790 as well as in 1990. However, its population in 1790 was less than the current population of little Minot, North Dakota today.

Labor deal at Qwest (Sunday, 6/15/03)
Qwest Communications is hoping that its new agreement with its unions will help it climb out of its financial morass. According to the deal, 27,000 employees will NOT receive raises.

In other labor news, Jenalia Moreno of the Houston Chronicle reports from Tlixco, Mexico on organizers' efforts to help workers in a South Korean-owned garment factory, knowing that success could mean failure if the owners simply move the plant to another country, meaning that the jobs would disappear altogether.

Peter Ford writes about a new coalition of apparel companies that intends to go after its own suppliers who may be maintaining sweatshops or exploiting child labor.

Greens agree to turning back some of Germany's welfare state (Sunday, 6/15/03)
Germany's Green Party is part of the governing coalition in Germany, headed by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who wants to cut back on the government's generous social welfare system in order to revitalize the German economy, still the third-largest in the world. Claudia Kemmer reports that the Greens have decided to help.

Interestingly, Germany's Otto Von Bismarck invented the welfare state in the 1870s, leading a worldwide departure from the traditional idea that government's role should be confined mostly to maintaining security; i.e., national defense and suppressing crime. Over the past century, even conservatives in democratic societies have come to assume that government has a legitimate role in caring for its citizens under some circumstances. For instance, it's unlikely that even the most conservative political candidates in the United States would advocate the abolition of unemployment benefits, Social Security, or Medicare, even though these were considered by many to be revolutionary, dangerous, quasi-socialist ideas at the beginning.

Pension liabilities could hinder U.S. economy (Sunday, 6/15/03)
Simon Kennedy of Bloomberg News discusses the possible effects of companies' having to divert resources from hiring and investment to cover their pension obligations.

More, longer (Sunday, 6/15/03)
More Americans are unemployed and are remaining unemployed longer than for many years. Here's the Chicago Tribune report on data from the Economic Policy Institute.

Don't look for successful women boomers to retire anytime soon (Sunday, 6/15/03)
Women who struggled early and have made are reluctant to give it up, according to this report from Meg Richards on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many professional women expect to remain on the job into their seventh decade or longer.

The stresses of combining work with parent care (Sunday, 6/15/03)
Maggie Jackson reports that an increasing number of men, many nearing old age themselves, are having to balance career obligations with the care of their elderly parents. It's one of the consequences of many people living much longer than during previous years.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: History of Game Theory (Sunday, 6/15/03)
Paul Walker of New Zealand's University of Canterbury offers a chronology of game theory's development from ancient times to the present. Also, see Economic and Game Theory by UCLA's David Levine.

Czech referendum results (Saturday, 6/14/03)
More than three-quarters of the people who voted in the Czech Republic have indicated that they want their country to join the European Union.

In other multinational organizational news, trade ministers from more than a dozen countries indicate that they will want to see the creation of a huge free-trade zone across the Americas. Stalled world trade negotiations may be a barrier, though.

On second thought... (Saturday, 6/14/03)
When wholesale costs declined for a second consecutive month, many people were saying that it should not be interpreted to mean that deflation will be part of the American future. However, Jeannine Aversa writes from Washington that many experts aren't so sure. If you're tired of worrying about inflation for so many years, you can go ahead and worry about deflation now if you want to.

Decline of consumer sentiment drives stocks down...or not (Saturday, 6/14/03)
According to new data, American consumers have lost some of their confidence. Some are attributing the dip in stock prices to these new findings, but others are saying "Not to worry."

Economists scratch their heads (Saturday, 6/14/03)
Daniel Altman says that many economists are bewildered by the prescription drug plan approved by the Senate Finance Committee. Political expediency is one thing; economic sense is something else, they say.

Perhaps the very worst kind of child labor (Saturday, 6/14/03)
Admittedly, there is a lot of competition. But, does the idea of a seven-year-old carrying an AK-47 and being shot at turn your stomach more than any kind of child exploitation you can think of? Emily Wax writes from the Congo about child combat soldiers. The UN estimates that 60 percent of Hema fighters are children.

Refinancers not deterred by Freddie Mac mess (Saturday, 6/14/03)
Freddie Mac, the nation's second-largest home finance firm, has been going through a good deal of highly-publicized turbulence, but Aleksandrs Rozens reports from New York that people are still refinancing at a furious clip.

Texas-size dispute over severance (Saturday, 6/14/03)
Laid off Imperial Sugar Company workers are demanding severance, but the company says they're not eligible. Here's more from L. M. Sixel in Houston.

It's easy to predict the future... (Saturday, 6/14/03)
...Being right is the hard part. For instance, in 1949, Popular Mechanics magazine said that there might come a time when computers could weigh as little as 1.5 tons, and in 1977, Kenneth Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, is said to have remarked that there is no reason for any individual to have a computer in the home.

But, those clinkers were long ago, right? We're wiser now, right? Well, in the late 1990s, the market for computer experts was so hot that experts were saying it would be a decade, at the very least, before the huge gap between demand and supply would begin to narrow.

Many persons who were cheered by those predictions enrolled in computer science and related programs in order to prepare for the great surplus of tech jobs that would extend as far as any mere mortal could see, and many of them are greatly disappointed now. Mike Myers of the Minneapolis Star Tribune discusses the great scarcity of computer jobs. What lies in the future this time? The Washington Post reports that enrollment in university computer science programs has been picking up again, which may mean that a tech rebound is coming or that hope will triumph over reality once again.

Worry gap (Saturday, 6/14/03)
A new study from New Jersey's Prudential Financial finds that women tend to worry more about retirement than men, and may have more to worry about.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Condition of Education 2003 (Saturday, 6/14/03)
The Condition of Education 2003 is the latest report from the National Center for Education Statistics of the United States Department of Education.

House...and Senate...divided (Friday, 6/13/03)
Mary Dalrymple writes about efforts on the part of House and Senate Republicans to find common ground and compromise on the latest tax-cut bill intending to extend the child tax credit to low-income families.

Medicare issue heats up on Capitol Hill (Friday, 6/13/03)
The President wants a new Medicare bill SOON, and the fact that a presidential election is approaching, and also that older people tend to vote in large numbers, may have something to do with it. Suddenly, the inclusion of some sort of prescription drug benefit has become a high priority, but the President doesn't want it simply tacked on. Instead, he wants to see it become part of major Medicare overhaul. Laura Meckler reports that a prescription medication plan has gained quick approval in the Senate Finance Committee. Meanwhile, Steven Pearlstein tries to clear the air by providing a reality check on some of the more popular myths about Medicare that continue to float around Washington and elsewhere.

Wholesale prices decline... (Friday, 6/13/03)
...but not enough to reinforce deflation fears. Here's more about the latest Producer Price Index from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Wage increases are likely to lag again, as usual (Friday, 6/13/03)
The economy seems ready to pick up, but Business Week's Aaron Bernstein says it's likely to be a while before paychecks start getting larger again.

Back to school (Friday, 6/13/03)
When jobs are scarce, it tends to result in increased college enrollments. Stephanie Armour says that applies, not only to young people who haven't gotten an initial foothold in the work world yet, but also to workers who think it's time to complete their degrees.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Economics A-Z (Friday, 6/13/03)
Economics A-Z provides definitions and more in order to cast light on key economic concepts. It all comes from the Economist magazine.

Prescription drug plans gain momentum (Thursday, 6/12/03)
The President wants it, many in the House and Senate want it, and a growing number of older Americans certainly want it, so maybe it will happen. David Espo says legislation that would add some sort of prescription medication benefit to Medicare is advancing in both houses of Congress. Many people, including many medical professionals, feel that the American healthcare system is broken. As Ross Perot suggested several years ago, it's time to open up the hood and get inside to make some major repairs. Milt Freudenheim of the New York Times reports that the high cost of prescription drugs isn't just a concern of people who have completed their careers. Even workers whose employers provide health coverage are having to pay more and more.

G8 not in a cooperative mood, according to European official (Thursday, 6/12/03)
Wim Duisenberg, Europe's Central Bank President, isn't expecting the G8 to work together too vigorously to deal with major global economic problems.

Will workplace violence be on the increase in Minnesota? (Thursday, 6/12/03)
Minnesota recently made it easier for most people to carry concealed weapons. However, the idea of having large numbers of employees carrying guns into their workplaces isn't very appealing to many employers, who are scrambling to make their places of business "no gun zones."

Recently, a consortium of Minnesota churches obtained a temporary restraining order. They don't like the idea of having to post a "no gun" sign outside the churches while ALSO telling each person who enters that they must not bring guns into the church. "Piece be with you? Leave it outside."

Fewer jobless claims (Thursday, 6/12/03)
First-time jobless claims dipped last week. This, plus other indicators, suggest that job losses may be slowing. Also slowing has been the rate at which new millionaires are being created by the global economy. There are more than 7 million persons in the world with assets of $1 million or more. Here's more from Eileen Alt Powell in New York.

NOT a jobless recovery? (Thursday, 6/12/03)
Paul Craig thinks the economy IS producing jobs, but not for Americans. If you can ignore the still fairly unpretty jobs picture, you may be happy to hear that the economy may be getting ready to leap ahead, according to a survey conducted by the Federal Reserve.

What's more fun, saving or spending? (Thursday, 6/12/03)
Americans haven't been known as great savers, compared to people in many other countries. Consumption at the expense of savings can be good for the economy, but not necessarily for individuals who expect to live long enough to retire someday. Consumption is in the culture, according to Noel Paul of the Christian Science Monitor.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Governing (Thursday, 6/12/03)
Governing is a monthly magazine for people who establish policy and manage daily operations of city, state, and county governments, as well as various governmental agencies.

Whoops...better cut more (Wednesday, 6/11/03)
When the word got out that the new tax law wouldn't provide child rebates to low-income families, many big-time Washington politicians suddenly went into PR mode in response to what appeared to be considerable bipartisan indignation. The White House and Senate are pushing for a revision, and the House's conservative leadership agrees, but only if a new tax-cut bill is several times larger than the one the Senate wants and only if high-income families get the credit too. Here's more from Mary Dalrymple in Washington. Also, as evidence that President Bush doesn't want to be perceived as an opponent of the poor, Linda Feldmann reports on the White House concession on Medicare.

CBO revises projections (Wednesday, 6/11/03)
A month ago, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that this fiscal year's budget deficit would amount to around $300 billion. Now, they're saying it's likely to be more like $400 billion. What's changed? The new tax-cut law, for one thing.

Like a slug (Wednesday, 6/11/03)
There has been an increase in economic activity lately, but things are still sluggish, according to a report from the Federal Reserve. Is the U.S. economy following Enron's example? Business Week's Thane Peterson asks the question and tries to answer it.

No longer double-digit, at least (Wednesday, 6/11/03)
Healthcare costs still are increasing at a breathless rate in the United States, but 2002 was slightly better than 2001. Costs increased by 9.6 percent last year compared to 10 percent the year before.

Light at the end of the valley? (Wednesday, 6/11/03)
There's been no job market turnaround in Silicon Valley yet, but job losses are occurring at a lesser rate, according to USA Today's Jim Hopkins.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Wednesday, 6/11/03)
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and is a good information source, including research data and survey results.

Discrimination cases have become easier for litigants (Tuesday, 6/10/03)
The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that circumstantial evidence can be used in discriminations lawsuits, which will make it easier for those bringing suits against employers to support their cases. Here's more from Gina Holland in Washington.

Rail strikes hit France (Tuesday, 6/10/03)
Moving among points A, B, and C has become very difficult throughout much of France today given the gridlock caused by the third national strike in a month. France's somewhat conservative government wants to make changes to the pension system, and this has caused widespread resistance, according to Catherine Bremer in Paris.

Regan dead at 84 (Tuesday, 6/10/03)
Former Secretary of Treasury Donald Regan has died in Williamsburg, Virginia.

President Reagan said he spent forty years trying to get people to pronounce his name right, and all that effort might have been jeopardized by his appointment of Donald Regan as Secretary of the Treasury. Regan also served as White House Chief of Staff in the Reagan administration, and certainly wasn't one of Mrs. Reagan's favorite people. Their feud extended on into Regan's memoirs, in which he revealed that Nancy Reagan sometimes consulted astrologers, causing many to wonder about the extent to which the ship of state navigated by the stars.

Showdown at Medicare corral (Tuesday, 6/10/03)
President Bush wants to spend $400 billion on a prescription medication plan for older Americans. However, Business Week's Howard Gleckman and Amy Barrett says he's in for a fight, because he wants to tie it to his plans for changing Medicare.

Move in Congress to slow the flow of jobs overseas (Tuesday, 6/10/03)
A few years ago, there was a strong effort on the part of American companies to persuade Congress to provide more H1-B visas so that more tech workers could enter the United States to do the tech work that they do. However, in the information economy, it's far easier and less expensive to move information than to move people, so now, rather than bringing knowledge workers into the United States, many companies are choosing to send the work to them in places like Bangalore, India. There has been growing concern about the loss of American white-collar jobs, and some members of Congress would like to do something about it. Here's more from Manjeet Kripalani, Bruce Einhorn, and Paul Magnusson in Bangalore and Washington, respectively.

Forecast for more of the same (Tuesday, 6/10/03)
Economist William Wolman says he is a member of the Flat Market Society and believes that the American economy is on a trend that will be, well, flat. What does he think of the Bush tax cut as a means of stimulating long-term growth? Don't ask.

The Chairman's dilemma (Tuesday, 6/10/03)
The New York Times' David Leonhardt explains why Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is engaging in a delicate balancing act right now, and will have to replace talk with action before long.

Free career counseling (Tuesday, 6/10/03)
Take our professional word for it: don't steal from a prospective employer if you really want to land the job. Anthony Kaleb Phillips' employment interview didn't turn out as he had hoped. Rather than simply saying, "Thank you," or even "Don't call us; we'll call you," this prospective boss called the cops.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: National Jobs for All Coalition (Tuesday, 6/10/03)
The National Jobs for All Coalition wants to see full employment at livable wages. Its large board of advisors contains some famous names, and it maintains affiliations with a large number of other organizations.

Wages and salaries decline in April (Monday, 6/9/03)
On average, Americans earned less in April for the first time since last summer, and that may mean that diminished consumer spending also lies ahead. Andrea Hopkins reports from Washington on he continuing gloom surrounding the job market, while Del Jones, Barbara Hagenbaugh and Barbara Hansen of USA Today tell what it's been like for 1998 graduates who finished college when the economy was at its hottest. What a difference five years makes. For many members of the class of 1998, it's been a matter of coping with the big slide ever since.

Growing or shrinking? Can't tell (Monday, 6/9/03)
Japanese government officials say that conventional economic indicators aren't much help in determining what's happening to Japan's economy right now. They aren't sure whether they're experiencing a little growth or a shrinkage.

Resurrecting a famous valley (Monday, 6/9/03)
The region between San Francisco and San Jose has become known world-wide as "Silicon Valley," America's great hi-tech corridor containing thousands of leading-edge companies. However, the dot-bomb experience of the late 1990's plus an overall tech downturn has hit the Valley hard, sending many companies out of business, and vaporizing thousands of jobs. Hi-tech will continue to change the world, but even after a vigorous recovery of the American economy, there is concern that many of the jobs won't come back to Silicon Valley, because of the white-collar outsourcing that SUNY's William Raynor discusses in his BNWW article. Nonetheless, Lisa Baertlein writes from Palo Alto about efforts to pull off some sort of come-back.

Helping the surviving spouse survive financially (Monday, 6/9/03)
When someone dies and a couple becomes a single, the surviving spouse may face financial bewilderment. Stacy Teicher of the Christian Science Monitor offers some survival advice.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: School Administrators and Their Careers (Monday, 6/9/03)
Will there be enough qualified school administrators during the years ahead? The issue is examined in detail in a lengthy report called Who is Leading our Schools?

Get his drift? (Sunday, 6/8/03)
John Snow, Secretary of the Treasury, expects new tax-cut legislation to begin helping the American economy immediately, and that it will result in improved employment by the fourth quarter of 2003. He should know, because he holds a Ph.D. in economics, in addition to his law degree. Problem is, one could easily line up 40 Ph.D.'s on all sides of these complex issues, suggesting that nobody really understands how huge, complex, dynamic (probably nonlinear) systems such as the American economy really work, particularly now that it appears to be mutating or morphing at a rapid rate as well. In part, it seems to be one of those chicken & egg situations: It appears that A won't happen until B occurs, and B won't happen until A occurs, and nobody really knows what to do to influence the system, even though things WILL happen.

Economic boomb (Sunday, 6/8/03)
Christopher Kenton has been trying to make sense out of the zigs and zags of the American economy and how its been affecting his own business. What's really going on? Along the same lines, Business Week's Christopher Farrell wonders about the stock market's current behavior while recalling "Einstein's IQ test." Is the economy like the atmosphere? That is, does meteorology's chaos theory apply? Forecasters know that they really can't have a clue about what the weather will be like more than a few days ahead of time, and now they think they know why. It's not a lack of information. Instead, it's simply inherent in the nature of a complex, nonlinear, dynamic, which is to say "chaotic" system.

Old will be gold for some (Sunday, 6/8/03)
Not so long ago, there were an enormous number of young people, and they like to think they changed American society. Well, in some ways, they did. Soon, there will be an enormous number of old people, and they'll be mostly the same people. Russ Wiles of the Arizona Republic tells how the huge baby boomer generation, now approaching its late years, is about to bend American society into a different shape all over again. We've heard about its impact on Social Security, Medicare, and so on, but how about its impact on business and investing? Here's how you may be able to cash in on the availability of a lot of customers who are a lot closer to their ends than their beginnings.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics (Sunday, 6/8/03)
Retired UCLA physics professor Nina Byers led the effort to produce Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics in order to point out that, despite stereotypes, technical fields never have been exclusively a man's game.

Given present trends, there are likely to be even more prominent women physicists from now on. Recent studies show that about 60 percent of American college and university students are now women, and females are outperforming males across the board, including technical fields, from elementary through graduate and professional school. For various reasons, American males are falling behind to the point of not being prepared for college by the time they reach college age.

The traditional gender gap persists in the work world, but there is a growing gender gap of a different kind in American schools at all levels. If present trends continue, women will eventually hold most of the higher-skill, higher-paid white-collar jobs. What will this mean for the marriage institution and family relationships or society as a whole? We don't know either, but things certainly have changed from a time remembered by some people still living when it was thought that women weren't smart enough to vote, that it was a waste of time sending girls to school for very long, and, if a girl was smart, she should conceal the fact in order to heighten her marriage prospects.

There may be a pulse! (Saturday, 6/7/03)
If you're old enough, you may remember things called "jobs." Many have been lost over the past couple of years, hopefully not forever, and there certainly aren't enough to go around. The United States has as many unemployed persons now as some small countries have total population, and this spring's crop of graduates is having a particularly difficult time finding work commensurate with what they have been taught to expect for college grads.

Still, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel which everyone is hoping will not turn out to be a locomotive. The Houston Chronicle reports signs of life. Here's more from Ron Scherer of the Christian Science Monitor.

Incidentally, while some of the unemployed have given up looking for work, the San Francisco Chronicle tells about how many new grads are trying to keep their minds off a cranky job market and do something else for a while, including more school.

India's forces suffer an apparently high incidence of stress-related disorders (Saturday, 6/7/03)
Bhavna Vij- Aurora reports from New Delhi on psychiatric disorder among India's police and paramilitary forces.

Expatriates worry about their careers (Saturday, 6/7/03)
Haldane's Mideast director, David Thatcher, advises expatriates who are worried about the effect of international turbulence on their careers to avoid hasty decisions. Careful career planning is even more important now, he says.

Concerns about another type of downsizing (Saturday, 6/7/03)
In the not-very-distant future, an increasing number of machines will be constructed out of a few atoms or molecules and will be common in the workplace, as well as in other settings. Alexandra Witze says that nonotechnology is developing more rapidly than knowledge about its safety.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Ford's History (Saturday, 6/7/03)
The Ford Motor Company is celebrating its 100th anniversary this month. The Kansas City Star offers a chronology of key events in the company's history.

Unemployment reaches nine-year high (Friday, 6/6/03)
U.S. unemployment in May reached 6.1 percent, its highest level since July 1994. The May results reflect methodological changes instituted by the U.S. Department of Labor. Here's more from Caren Bohan in Washington.

More on those left out (Friday, 6/6/03)
USA Today reports on the "fine print" in the new tax law, including the millions of low-income families, including military families, who will not experience benefits.

No time to take a break (Friday, 6/6/03)
Many employees as well as executives are taking less vacation time because of the pressure of work, according to new polls. Here's more from Stephanie Armour of USA Today.

Frustrated ballplayer, musician advises kids (Friday, 6/6/03)
Career counselors often tell people that they should follow their strengths, which is part of what Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told some students in Washington. If he had insisted on pursuing a career in either baseball or music, most of us probably never would have heard of him, because, in his own judgment, he wasn't good enough at either. As it turned out, he followed a different path which leaded to his becoming one of the most influential men in the world, trusted and admired by many Democrats as well as Republicans.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Public Administration and Management Journal (Friday, 6/6/03)
Founded by scholars from the Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg, the Public Administration and Management Journal claims to be the first-of-its kind peer-reviewed journal on the Internet.

Yesterday was the day for good news, but today is another day (Thursday, 6/5/03)
April was a bad month for factory orders. They declined by the greatest amount in 17 months, and first-time jobless claims took a lurch upward last week as well.

Meanwhile, one American state has one of the world's largest economies, even when compared to all of the world's countries: California. It's struggling at the moment, though, and a turnaround won't mean strong growth for a while, according to economists at UCLA.

Is another rate cut coming soon? (Thursday, 6/5/03)
Some experts are encouraging the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates again and also are guessing that it might happen. Here's more from Barbara Hagenbaugh.

Reports provide slight hope in Germany (Thursday, 6/5/03)
Germany's grim job market may not be totally comatose, according to two new government reports. Still, significant improvement isn't expected in an economy that remains weak.

Former officers cannot become future officers in a new military (Thursday, 6/5/03)
Senior officers in the Iraqi military who were leading their troops in the war with U.S.-led coalition forces only a few weeks ago will be locked out of Iraq's new military, although former enlisted members of Saddam's army will be eligible for new jobs. Meanwhile, displaced Iraqi officers are threatening to take up arms against the occupying authority again if they don't reverse their decision.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: CareerOneStop (Thursday, 6/5/03)
CareerOneStop tries to be what its name suggests, but you'll have to be the judge of whether it lives up to its name. However, one way that makes it different from similar sites is that this one is publicly-funded and comes from the United States Department of Labor.

Change is a major stressor, so hang on--here's some good news (Wednesday, 6/4/03)
The U.S. services sector expanded again during the month of May, many employers plan to cut fewer jobs, while some plan to do more hiring, and productivity grew a little more during this year's first quarter than experts had expected

Well, okay, the productivity increase is both good news and not so good news. It's good, in that, ultimately, a society's standard of living depends on productivity, but it's not so good in that it means that fewer people are doing more work, and not necessarily because of more efficient organization or more effective use of technology. Marianne Anthe of the Christian Science Monitor tells how survivors of corporate layoffs are doing now that many of their coworkers are gone.

Fed official doesn't see deflation as an immediate threat, but... (Wednesday, 6/4/03)
...Much faster economic growth is needed, and it will take highly stimulative monetary and fiscal policies to make it happen. Here's more from Tim Ahmann about what Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert McTeer had to say.

Jobless report faces fix (Wednesday, 6/4/03)
The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics intends to make some methodological changes in its jobless report in order to improve its accuracy. Here's more from Andrea Hopkins in Washington.

Things are better for Twin Cities grads (Wednesday, 6/4/03)
The Employment Policy Foundation says that the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area offers the best job prospects in the country for new college graduates.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Labor Research Portal (Wednesday, 6/4/03)
If you're involved in labor relations, you will want to know about the information accessible to you through the University of California, Berkeley's Labor Research Portal.

Greenspan is encouraged by May's data (Tuesday, 6/3/03)
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve sees a strong economic turnaround in our future. Here's more from David McHugh.

FedEx wants fewer workers (Tuesday, 6/3/03)
In fact, FedEx Express would like to eliminate 14,000 of its 116,000 employees, but also would like not to have to lay them off. Woody Baird reports from Memphis that they're hoping to accomplish their goals by offering voluntary severance packages.

No tech slump in Spain (Tuesday, 6/3/03)
Spain's high-technology sector is doing quite well, thank you. In fact, it has become Western Europe's fastest-growing tech market, according to Business Week's Paulo Prada and Andy Reinhardt writing from Madrid and Paris, respectively.

You still don't have to go to law school in order to become a lawyer (Tuesday, 6/3/03)
The American Bar Association doesn't like it, and, presumably, people who run law schools don't like it much either, but, in seven states, it's still possible to prepare for the bar exam by "reading law" in a working law office. That's how Lincoln became a lawyer in Illinois after a long process of self-education overall, but he made sure that his son Robert attended Harvard as an undergrad and that he also attended law school. In which states is it still possible to become a lawyer without attending law school? You'll have to read the original story to find out.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Mass Layoff Statistics (Tuesday, 6/3/03)
The Mass Layoff Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor are back. The service had been discontinued at the end of last year because of lack of funding.

Bush meets Chirac in France (Monday, 6/2/03)
President Bush made a quick stop at the G8 conference in Evian and managed to chat with the French President for a few minutes. At any rate, leaders of the G8 (the world's 7 richest industrial nations, plus Russia, which isn't rich, but which the world has learned not to ignore) expressed confidence in global economic recovery, perhaps while trying to forget that "Evian" spelled backwards is "naive," as many drinkers of bottled water have been told. Representatives of the world's much larger number of poor nations have been present too, trying to convince the rich countries to provide more aid.

Erica Bulman reports that authorities are trying to track down leaders of the violent protests that greeted the G8 delegates.

Food rationing resumes in Iraq (Monday, 6/2/03)
Some things haven't changed, apparently. The same program that has rationed food for Iraqis over the past 13 years is back in business, as the U.S-led occupation administration attempts to cope with lingering chaos throughout the country. Coalition deaths continue to occur too, suggesting that a Saddam-led war of attrition may be underway. If Saddam is still alive and in Baghdad, it is thought that he might be orchestrating the attacks while encouraging continuing chaos and a strengthening of anti-U.S. attitudes toward the United States. If American public opinion turns against what might seem like an endless, thankless occupation with continuing American casualties, the U.S. might eventually decide to give up and go home, he might feel. This could create a vacuum that could be filled by "guess-who?" The war is not yet over; the peace has not yet begun. A fundamentally wealthy country remains poor. Stay tuned.

Manufacturing slips in the U.S. (Monday, 6/2/03)
May was not a good month for American manufacturing. May was the third consecutive month of decline. In Germany, workers in the manufacturing sector went on strike yesterday.

Protecting the young (Monday, 6/2/03)
Summer jobs will be hard for teens to find this year, and those who are lucky may face hazards on the job. However, there is law intended to protect young workers, and teens should know their rights, according to Gary Haber.

You've heard about H1-B, but do you know about L-1? (Monday, 6/2/03)
Katie Hafner and Daniel Preysman of the New York Times report that the L-1 was originally intended to enable companies to transfer employees from foreign branches to operations in the U.S., but that's not all it's being used for now, and challenges are growing.

If you're unemployed, don't expect to find a new job overnight (Monday, 6/2/03)
Adam Geller reports from Princeton, New Jersey that it is now taking job-seekers an average of 20 weeks to find what they're looking for or something near it. Stacy Teicher has some words of advice if you are among the long-term unemployed, while Sara Miller tells about people who have decided to use this particular speed bump as an opportunity, not just for job change, but also career change. John Demma says that the job search/hiring system is broken and needs major repair.

Why baby boomers are so reluctant to give up the fiction of youth (Monday, 6/2/03)
Growing old will mean retirement, and, in addition to the fact that many haven't been saving enough to finance a comfortable old age, Mike Meyers of the Minneapolis Star Tribune says that many are wondering if they'll receive the Social Security benefits they feel they're entitled to.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Poverty: Progress and Problems (Monday, 6/2/03)
According to the Brookings Institution's Paul Jargowsky, concentrated poverty declined dramatically in the United States during the 1990s. Here's his report: Stunning Progress, Hidden Problems: The Dramatic Decline of Concentrated Poverty in the 1990s.

Here are NewWork News stories from previous months

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