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First quarter better than expected (Thursday, 5/29/03)
At 1.9 percent, GDP growth in the United States was a little better during January, February, and March than experts had expected. Here's more from Jeannine Aversa in Washington. Meanwhile, David Leonhardt reports that increasing consumer sales may mean that interest rates may stay where they are for a while and that growth may be better than expected for sometime.

Americans are deliriously happy about the new tax cuts, right? (Thursday, 5/29/03)
In fact, it isn't clear that too many have been paying much attention. For some, it may seem like pocket change, not enough to impact on buying habits particularly. Meanwhile, many people are wondering why the new law prevents so many lower-income people, who are almost sure to spend any extra money they have available, from receiving the child credit. Was that accidental, given that the new law was cobbled together by so many people with their own interests--like that horse designed by a committee that ends up looking like a camel?

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The National Science Foundation in the 21st Century (Thursday, 5/29/03)
Here's that new report from the National Science Foundation on how it can best support science and engineering research and development during the new century..

What will you do with that extra money? (Wednesday, 5/28/03)
President Bush is essentially claiming victory now that the $350 billion tax-cut bill has made it through Congress and on up the street to the White House, even though it isn't half as large as he said he wanted. However, he may be able to take credit and enjoy political benefits anyway, if a sufficient number of Americans don't notice the numbers themselves. Jennifer Loven says that tax refunds will start going out within weeks. The Administration seems to be hoping that most people will run to the stores and spend the money, thus boosting the economy a bit. However, in many cases, there may be a slight delay, because, instead of spending the money, you may have to give it to your state to spend. Abraham McLaughlin tells about how decreased federal taxes are being accompanied by increased state taxes.

Thousands of UK teaching jobs to be lost (Wednesday, 5/28/03)
Three-thousand teaching jobs will be cut across the United Kingdom. Here are details from Tony Halpin and Glen Owen of the Times of London.

TSA hiring procedures under examination (Wednesday, 5/28/03)
After dozens of the Transportation Security Administration's security screeners were discovered to have criminal records, the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General decided to conduct an investigation.

Why a tourist's phrase book may be needed when visiting Washington (Wednesday, 5/28/03)
Most people who live in Washington, D. C. speak English, but some of the people who work in government may not. For instance, if you're concerned about the possibility of recession, it's good to know that when officials refer to "negative growth," they mean something is shrinking, getting smaller. Also, officials at the Federal Reserve have been talking about "disinflation" lately, and, so far as far as we've been able to determine from our crack staff of consulting linguists, that means "deflation." However, the Fed's tendency to shy away from the use of the word may arise from its feeling much better equipped for dealing with inflation. Here's more from Neal Lipschutz in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Action, reaction; suit, countersuit (Wednesday, 5/28/03)
Two former Levi Strauss workers filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against their company, claiming that they were terminated after questioning some of the company's tax deductions. Now, the company is also suing them.

Job turbulence and how it stirs up marriage (Wednesday, 5/28/03)
Corporations like the flexibility of a "just-in-time" workforce, but all the hiring and firing and moving can run family relationships through the Cuisinart. Marilyn Gardner of the Christian Science Monitor has some stories.

New things to worry about at work (Wednesday, 5/28/03)
The Washington Post's Kirstin Downey tells about new occupational health hazards.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Domini 400 Social Index (Wednesday, 5/28/03)
The Domini 400 Social Index is a "socially-conscious" common stock index that monitors the performance of 400 American corporations. Selection is based on a number of broad social criteria.

State rights rolled back a bit (Tuesday, 5/27/03)
The Supreme Court has ruled that state employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in order to deal with family emergencies and other special needs like other employees. Here's more from Anne Gearan in Washington.

SARS hits beyond China's travel sector (Tuesday, 5/27/03)
Elaine Kurtenbach writes from Beijing about the range of companies that have been hurt by SARS and fear or SARS.

Careful, an optimism outbreak may be brewing (Tuesday, 5/27/03)
David McHugh reports from Frankfurt that an index that measures German business optimism has risen in May. Across the Atlantic, U.S. consumer confidence increased a bit.

Inflated concerns about deflation? (Tuesday, 5/27/03)
Michael Englund says that data from the second quarter suggest that there may not be much reason to worry about deflation...yet. Nonetheless, some experts are concerned, and we don't know if the fear is justified or not. However, we suspect that the fact that there are so many news organizations with so much time or space to fill has something to do with why the issue has been on so many people's minds lately. For instance, we now have multiple 24-hour cable TV news channels, meaning that, no matter what's actually happening, each needs 24 hours worth of news each day, even if they have to say the same things over and over or bounce off each other.

You may recall what the biggest news story in the United States was as of September 10, 2001. It was Gary Condit. The next day, there wasn't a mention of him, and he seems to have dropped totally from view since. Given that people in the media were talking about him constantly for months, consumers of news might reasonably have assumed that he was terribly important. But, if that story really were that important, shouldn't we have heard at least a LITTLE about it after 9-11?

One of Japan's largest banks cuts jobs (Tuesday, 5/27/03)
The fifth-largest bank in Japan intends to cut 4,000 jobs over the next two years.

Amphetamines use increases at work (Tuesday, 5/27/03)
Del Jones reports that the overall problem of drug use in the American workplace has been subsiding a bit, but the use of amphetamines has been on the increase.

New folks in town (Tuesday, 5/27/03)
And, a lot of the new folks are old folks. Mark Sappenfield tells how retirees are revitalizing towns that have been on the decline.

A refinancing how-to (Tuesday, 5/27/03)
With mortgage rates as low as they've been since your grandparents may have bought their house, it can be a good time to refinance too in order to take advantage of those rates and reduce your monthly payment significantly. Judy Rose offers some guidelines.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: HIV at Work (Tuesday, 5/27/03)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer a range of resources to assist persons concerned about HIV and AIDS in the workplace.

Strike approved (Monday, 5/26/03)
Eastern German steel workers have voted to strike next month in an effort to gain work-week parity with their counterparts in the more prosperous western region of the country.

Doing well while doing good (Monday, 5/26/03)
The Washington Post's long-time business columnist, James Glassman, says that ethical investing certainly isn't a joke. Not only because it intends to be ethical, but also because it can also turn out to be in the investor's enlightened financial self-interest.

Clearing the air about reverse mortgages (Monday, 5/26/03)
Eric Tyson says that there are a lot of rumors going around about reverse mortgages, as well as quite a lot of scary myths. He attempts to clear things up in his column.

Marriage penalty? You ain't seen nuthin' yet (Monday, 5/26/03)
Scott Burns writes about the results of a new study showing two-earner couples end up paying taxes at a far higher rate than commonly assumed--the second earner, at least.

It's never too early to start saving (Monday, 5/26/03)
Wendy Tanaka of the Philadelphia Inquirer tells why far more people in their 20s should be saving for retirement.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: History of Memorial Day (Monday, 5/26/03)
Do you know what Memorial Day was called originally? Do you know which war gave rise to it? Cable television's The History Channel answers these and many other questions in its History of Memorial Day.

Pension protest in Paris (Sunday, 5/25/03)
The French government wants people to contribute to their pensions longer, and this has attracted thousands of demonstrators to the Paris streets. Here's more from Paul Carrel. Meanwhile, in neighboring Germany, unions also are on the march throughout the country in order to protest changes planned by Chancellor Schroeder.

Rough summer for teens (Sunday, 5/25/03)
Teen unemployment levels across the country are at 18 percent and expected to worsen over the summer.

Deflationary pressures increase, according to a Japanese publication (Sunday, 5/25/03)
There is growing fear that deflation may end up marching across the global economy, and the Nihon Keizai Shimbun explains why.

Iraqi troops threaten (Sunday, 5/25/03)
The governing authority in Iraq plan to disband the Iraqi armed forces, leading demonstrators to threaten trouble if they aren't paid. Meanwhile, Iraqi business people still wait for the power to be restored.

It's going to be a wash? (Sunday, 5/25/03)
A senior economist at Economy.com says that the big Bush tax cut may give, but also take away. The price of some degree of short-term growth may be slower growth later.

How long since you've worried about a shortage of skilled workers? (Sunday, 5/25/03)
That was the problem during the late 1990s--a shortage of knowledge workers--shortly after a number of books were published that predicted a major decline in the number of jobs available, if not the elimination of U.S. jobs altogether. Now that it's beginning to appear that some of those authors may have been right after all, John McClenahen reports that some experts are expecting the U.S. skills shortage to flair up all over again. But, considering that slightly more than 95 percent of the world's people do NOT live in the United States, what happens if more white-collar knowledge jobs are exported, as SUNY Professor William Raynor discusses?

Long-term outlook for long-term health workers (Sunday, 5/25/03)
As the number of older people increases proportionate to the overall population, the need for long-term health care workers will increase, according to a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services. As many as 6.5 million will be needed by 2050, about triple the number presently in service.

Sick of sick leave (Sunday, 5/25/03)
For various reasons, an increasing number of employees are no longer distinguishing between sick leave and other unscheduled time off. Here's more from Jonathan Epstein of Wilmington, Delaware's News Journal.

Job description of a GOOD boss (Sunday, 5/25/03)
The Washington Post reports on what some employees think are the attributes of a good employer.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Virtual College Tours (Sunday, 5/25/03)
If you'd like to tour a large number of colleges and universities while staying where you are, CampusTours' Virtual College Tours may be of interest.

New benefits extension bill provides additional 26 weeks for some (Saturday, 5/24/03)
The bill that will extend unemployment benefits for persons who have exhausted state assistance has passed through the Congress and is at the White House awaiting the President's signature. Most persons who qualify for the extension will get another 13 weeks of benefits, but some people will get 26 weeks. Here's an explanation from Leigh Strope in Washington.

Mass firing (Saturday, 5/24/03)
More firing has been going on in Iraq, but only some of it has been gunfire. Nadim Ladki reports from Baghdad on the firing of hundreds of thousands of government employees from the Saddam Hussein era. It's an effort to purge Iraqi society of Baath Party elements, and critics of the action say it's ill-advised. In an autocratic society dominated by a single party, not everybody who works for the government is an enthusiast, they say. After all, the current democratically-elected President of Russia is a former Soviet KGB officer. During the bad old Soviet days, there was only one game in town, and the KGB scooped up the best and brightest to serve in its huge organization.

Having to pay less tax is nice, but... (Saturday, 5/24/03)
If, as many experts are now expecting, the American economy starts to pick up speed during the second half of the year, President Bush will be able to point out during the 2004 presidential campaign how much better things are by that time, attribute improvements to the tax cut, and remind people that they have been able to spend more of their own money because he cut their taxes.

However, David Francis says that there is a downside to a big tax cut, but many members of the public may not be thinking about it too much. In fact, some of the bad consequences may not be felt too much until after a Bush second term reaches completion.

What's the U.S. unemployment rate now? (Saturday, 5/24/03)
It depends upon whether you're talking about the official overall unemployment rate, which amounts to a weighted average across all ethnic groups, or whether you're talking about the rate for African Americans. The latter has been 10 percent for six months, says Kimberly Blanton of the Boston Globe.

When should you retire? (Saturday, 5/24/03)
In order to reduce costs, employers would like you to retire early, but, again, in order to reduce costs, government would like you to stay on the job for a few extra years. Marilyn Gardner has more about conflicting impulses, advice, and cost-gain ratios and the complicated business of deciding when to end your career.

People with problems often are problem people, and often costly (Saturday, 5/24/03)
It certainly isn't true that all employers lack altruistic impulses. However, many are finding that it's just good business to help workers solve their personal problems. Personal problems are costly, both to those who have them, and to employers who have to swallow the costs of diminished productivity. It can be in the boss' enlightened self-interest to invest in workers in many ways, and this is another one. Here's more from Stacy Teicher of the Christian Science Monitor.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Alcohol Cost Calculator (Saturday, 5/24/03)
What is alcoholism costing your business, and what can you do about it? Here's a an Alcohol Cost Calculator which can help you estimate the costs based on your industry and the number of employees in your company.

Tax-cut bill heads for the White House (Friday, 5/23/03)
The President will get his tax cut, but it's going to be half as large as he said he wanted. Meanwhile, given that it amounts to a tiny proportion of the American economy, many are saying that it's not large enough to provide the stimulus that the White House claims, and the long-term effects could be damaging. However, there are growing indications that the economy will grow at a higher rate during the second half of the year anyway, so what are the odds that the Administration will attribute this improvement to the tax cut? Many Democrats don't expect the tax cut to help the economy, but it could help Republican campaign fund-raising as well as the President's re-election chances.

Another bill is on is way to the White House. It will extend jobless benefits for another 13 weeks.

Economic sanctions lifted (Friday, 5/23/03)
Many people expected that the economic sanctions against Iraq would have been lifted immediately and automatically once Saddam was gone, but it's taken a while. The vote has come, though. Here's more from Edith Lederer at the UN.

Index declines (Friday, 5/23/03)
As a forecaster of economic things to come, the Conference Board's Index of Leading Economic Indicators gets the most attention. However, there are others as well. For instance, the Economic Cycle Research Institute's index declined last week, suggesting, not that recession lies ahead, but that recovery may be unimpressive.

Someday your prints may come (Friday, 5/23/03)
Concerns about terrorism have let the New York Stock Exchange to consider fingerprinting its employees and others.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Land Grant Institutions (Friday, 5/23/03)
Harvard and the College of William and Mary were America's first institutions of higher learning, and more followed. However, there was growing concern that higher education would be most accessible to America's privileged, which could result in a permanent aristocratic class much along the lines of many European societies. The Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 were intended to finance the establishment of "colleges for the common man," which also were intended to advance the economic development of the United States. Here are America's Land Grant Institutions that got their start when President Lincoln signed the first Morrill Act into law during the Civil War.

Congressional deal on tax-cut bill (Thursday, 5/22/03)
House and Senate leaders reached agreement on a compromise tax-cut bill to send to the President. Here's more from David Rosenbaum and David Firestone of the New York Times. The Administration has been saying that it expects the cuts to stimulate the economy and job growth, and there's still considerable disagreement about that. However, many economists expect improvement during the second half of the year, even without the latest tax cuts.

Incidentally, it's not just experts and leaders who should be following all the economic news, according to the Washington Post's Michelle Singletary. You should be concerned, because you will be affected, she says.

Jobless claims increase (Thursday, 5/22/03)
First-time jobless claims increased by 7,000 last week, and the tornadoes that struck part of the country are part of the reason, according to Labor Department experts.

The flat tax idea gains ground (Thursday, 5/22/03)
...But in Russia, not the United States. Here's more from Jason Bush in Moscow.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Geography of U.S. Diversity (Thursday, 5/22/03)
The U.S. Census Bureau special report on the Geography of U.S. Diversity presents distribution maps across the country.

Iraq deconstructed (Wednesday, 5/21/03)
It's easy to kick over an ant hill, but then what? The good news is that Saddam's government is gone, although he may still be hanging around Baghdad somewhere. The bad news is that there's still essentially no government at all. Trying to resume economic activity under these conditions is a little like trying to play a basketball game when there are no rules and no referees. Stanley Reed and Stan Crock pass on some ideas about how to get the Iraqi economy patched together and back in business. Meanwhile, Mr. Crock also feels that the Administration's performance so far on the reconstruction of Iraq has been, well, bush league.

Walkout at Dow Chemical (Wednesday, 5/21/03)
Dow's largest plant is operating with management and nonunion labor now that unionized workers have voted to strike, fearing the loss of their seniority system.

The Fed will remain in business, no matter what (Wednesday, 5/21/03)
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told the Joint Economic Committee in Congress today that the Fed is prepared to fight deflation, if that becomes necessary. There are other things it can do, even if the federal funds rate approaches zero. Given the unlikelihood that deflation sets in across the American economy, they won't be out of business, he said. Meanwhile, David Leonhardt says that it's important to remember that "Greenspan" is not simply another name for the Federal Reserve.

Chinese government swings into damage-control mode (Wednesday, 5/21/03)
Some of the once rapidly-expanding Chinese economy slammed into the SARS virus as if it were a brick wall. The Chinese government is trying to limit damage to its economy by providing aid to airlines and other companies in its travel industry.

The faces of Germany's jobless (Wednesday, 5/21/03)
Jobs are very hard to find and lives are being interrupted in the world's third-largest economy. Business Week's Carol Matlack, David Fairlamb, and Gail Edmondson report from Paris and Frankfurt, respectively. In the U.S., jobs are hard to find for many people too, but perhaps hardest of all for the vast number of persons leaving prison. In fact, there will be 625,000 of them this year alone.

Former Enron workers want permission to sue (Wednesday, 5/21/03)
Former employees of bankrupt Enron Corporation have asked a bankruptcy judge for permission to file suit to recover $53 million in deferred compensation.

Still on the job after all those years (Wednesday, 5/21/03)
The U.S. Census Bureau says that, over the past 20 years, there's been a 50-percent increase in the number of persons over 65 who are still working.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: China's Free Markets (Wednesday, 5/21/03)
China's economy has come a long way since the late 1990s when "free markets" referred mostly to farmers selling their own fresh produce. However, the creator of this photographic essay on China's Free Markets at the time felt that they represented an historic change of direction from a few years before. That turned out to be correct.

A newer (or older) type of "faith-based investor" (Tuesday, 5/20/03)
Putting money in stocks may always require a lot of faith of one type or another, not necessarily religious. However, Matt Krantz of USA Today reports on the role that full-time religious folks are playing in calling executive pay into question.

As we've pointed out many times, some Americans have been taught that the single-minded pursuit of great wealth doesn't require explanation; that it's simply part of "human nature." Of course, the reasons for this kind of obsession are no more obvious than for any other, and its prevalence in some American subcultures doesn't make it any more "normal." World cultures aren't equally materialistic, by any means, and individuals within the American culture certainly aren't. In fact, it's easy to find very smart, talented, and effective Americans whose principal life priorities have nothing to do with the accumulation of wealth or material possessions.

Psychologists might suspect that the "it's-just-human-nature" argument used by people who are willing to sacrifice nearly everything else in brief, opportunity-rich life for money or material possessions (that somebody has decided are "worth" a lot) is simply one more example of an adjustment mechanism often called "projection." In other words, some American CEOs may be little more than redundant case material.

It seems that the wealth/materialism obsession is in some ways similar to the widespread but certainly not universal American obsession with guns. There may be genuine legal arguments about whether the Constitution's use of the term "militia" means that individuals have a basic right to own guns. There may also be real issues having to do with whether the law or some other social mechanism can most effectively regulate a particular behavior. There are many behaviors that are infrequent but not illegal, for instance.

However, the basic cultural question has to do with why so many Americans--from kids in street gangs to white-collar "good citizen" weekend hunters--are so interested in guns. Of all the things in life on which one can spend precious time and energy, why GUNS, for heaven's sake? Even if they weren't dangerous, why don't more Americans believe that they're simply stupid and boring?

Students dissatisfied with ethics training (Tuesday, 5/20/03)
A new study from the Aspen Institute finds that business students feel that ethical conduct is important, but they aren't satisfied with the way their schools approach the issues.

Are prices going up or down? (Tuesday, 5/20/03)
Yes, most of them are. When economists refer to "inflation" or "deflation" across the economy, they're thinking in terms of some measured average. At any particular time, some prices are inflating, while others are deflating. Barbara Hagenbaugh discusses the effect of all this complexity on individual households.

Contract talks begin at GE (Tuesday, 5/20/03)
General Electric has begun new contract negotiations with two of its major unions.

An unkind cut? (Tuesday, 5/20/03)
A traffic controller in Sydney, Australia has sued his former employer, saying that he was fired by means of a mobile telephone text message, but the employer says he quit.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: SBA (Tuesday, 5/20/03)
The United States Small Business Administration has revamped its web site with the hope that it will be more useful to persons starting or running small businesses.

Leading Indicators up, but not a lot (Monday, 5/19/03)
The Conference Board's Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose by 0.1 points in April after falling 0.2 points the month before. The slight increase last month reflects the mixed-bag U.S. economy with some things strengthening, but others not. The Index is watched closely by many people because it does a fairly good job of forecasting economic activity several months ahead.

The American economy is watched all over the globe, because it is the world's largest. It's difficult for the global economy to do genuinely well if the U.S. is doing poorly. However, France's Finance Minister sees reason for optimism.

Even if there is vigorous U.S. GDP growth during the final months of the year, it may be a while before job creation picks up, because employers tend to wait until there's reason to be pretty sure that things are really getting better. Sue Kirchhof reports that many Americans have been unemployed long enough to lose their benefits, and that's going to pick up with more persons affected.

More deflation concerns (Monday, 5/19/03)
But, not in the United States this time. Clifford Coonan reports from Berlin that Germany's economy may provide much more cause for worry.

Poverty recedes in some cities (Monday, 5/19/03)
Dennis Cauchon writes in USA Today that poverty is beginning to lose its grip on more and more American urban centers.

Too much work is still a modern Japanese affliction (Monday, 5/19/03)
In Japan, there is an official cause of death called "death from over-work." The tendency to work obsessively at the expense of nearly everything else has loosened a bit during recent years, but hard economic times have complicated things for many people. Here's more from Etsuro Kondo of Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun.

On the move (Monday, 5/19/03)
Hi-tech means that it's faster, easier, and cheaper to move information than to move people, and it also means that much work can be done just about anyplace. So, why keep congregating at the office? Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy doesn't see any reason why his company's 35,000 employees should sacrifice flexibility and productivity in order to serve old habits having to do with a permanent place of work. Keep moving; it may make you less of a target.

It's possible to defer gratification too long (Monday, 5/19/03)
True, one cannot expect to get anyplace or prepare for the future if all one's energies and resources go to satisfying immediate impulses. Still, it's possible to wait too long, says Shannon Buggs of the Houston Chronicle. For one thing, some people end up not having nearly as much future as they've been expecting. Have some fun. Don't sacrifice all of your presents for a future that may not come, she advises.

More tools in your tool box (Monday, 5/19/03)
If you're young, you now have more tools to work with in preparing for your late years. Here's more from Scott Burns. Along similar lines, Eric Troseth of the Christian Science Monitor says that many employers are offering a broader array of options to their workers.

Know the score (Monday, 5/19/03)
Do you know your credit score? Ray martin of CBS MarketWatch says that about 70 percent of Americans don't, and they should.

NOT a new astrology (Monday, 5/19/03)
The "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" stuff is pretty clever, and Jim Hopkins says it even seems to apply to gender differences among entrepreneurs.

Am I blue? You card, you (Monday, 5/19/03)
You've heard a lot about green cards, but how about blue cards? Amy Joyce reports on blue cards as part of an effort to allow workers at all levels to express their opinions and make suggestions without having to worry about workplace politics and their careers.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Score (Monday, 5/19/03)
Score: Counselors to America's Small Business is the organization of retired executives that helps people make their small businesses succeed. They've renovated their site, including an expansion of the learning center and the addition of Small Business Toolbox, which provides access to hundreds of other sites.

Administration criticized for inaction on unemployment assistance (Sunday, 5/18/03)
Most political analysts seem to agree that, if the presidential election were held today, no Democrat could defeat President Bush. But, since a week can be an eternity in politics, stay tuned.

Given that, with each passing day, there is less time for the American economy to turn around before the next election, many Democrats feel that President Bush's administration may end up being distinguished by continual economic decline during his entire first term.

Also, if the post-war situation continues to unravel in Iraq, and, if there are more terrorist attacks between now and November 2004--particularly if there is another major attack in the United States--the Democratic nomination may be very much worth having this time. Whichever Democrat is in position at this time next year might have a fairly good chance of becoming the next president of the United States.

However, the political polarization involving "Clinton haters," "Newt haters," and "Bush haters," among others, that began building momentum more than a decade ago, seems to be continuing. It could mean that Americans may end up having to choose between the lunatic right and the lunatic left in many contests. This may mean lower voter turnout overall and that the votes of committed ideologues could have more relative influence in the general election, as they usually do in primaries.

No Democratic candidate has risen from the pack at this point, and one person who is not a declared candidate probably could have the nomination in a walk--Senator Hillary Rodhnam Clinton. However, she's a highly polarizing figure too, and, barring one or more disasters affecting the President image and popularity, she'd likely win the first big battle (the nomination), but lose the war by a wide margin (the presidential election).

For the moment, the Democrats are well-advised to remain relatively silent about Iraq and the war on terrorism, saving those criticisms for later, given that the Administration still seems to enjoy a major public opinion advantage on national security issues. For the moment, Democrats should emphasize the struggling economy and its effect on workers who are also voters. In the Democrats' weekly radio address, Michigan Congressman Sander Levin made his contribution along these lines by criticizing the White House as well as House Republicans for not moving ahead on renewal of federal unemployment assistance.

Michigan measure tracks improving consumer sentiment (Sunday, 5/18/03)
The University of Michigan maintains one of the two most-watched measures of consumer sentiment or confidence, and the numbers have been on the increase.

Who has profited from America's "original sin?" (Sunday, 5/18/03)
Some of the current value of many American companies that were already doing business during the 19th century comes from the compounded economic benefits of coerced free labor before 1865. L.A.'s City Council is considering an ordinance that would require companies wanting to do business with the city to disclose whether they have ever profited from slavery.

Government investments going bad (Sunday, 5/18/03)
Many state and local governments around the country offered assistance to corporations in exchange for promised jobs in their regions. Now, with the private sector in a slump and government budgets in a shambles, some companies are trying to walk away from their commitments while governments are trying to recover whatever they can.

How to finance very long retirements (Sunday, 5/18/03)
With many Americans living far longer than they or government officials have expected, an increasing number of people will spend nearly as many years in retirement as they spent in their careers. For lower income persons with diminishing pensions or none at all, that will turn out to be a major problem. The Washington Post's Albert Crenshaw reports that some experts see the "saver's credit," enacted in 2001, as a partial solution.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: E-Comp (Sunday, 5/18/03)
If you look up "Apple Computer" on E-Comp, you'll see that CEO Stephen Jobs receives a salary of $1 per year. You'll also see that this is not the whole story. E-Comp offers a database showing the compensation of 50,000 senior executives in more than 12,000 publicly-traded companies. You'll need to be a paying subscriber to access the entire database, but you can look up individual companies at no cost.

G7 optimistic...sort of (Saturday, 5/17/03)
Ministers from the world's richest industrial nations have been meeting in France, and have expressed cautious optimism about the world economy. The glass-half-full folks may be fairly courageous at the moment, given that several European economies appear to be shrinking, Japan continues its long struggle to restart genuine growth, and fears are growing that the world's biggest economic engine, the United States, could be catching the "deflation flu" that already has taken quite a lot of the fun out of life in several of the world's economies.

"Dead peasant" life insurance policies may be about to die themselves (Saturday, 5/17/03)
The fairly common practice of corporations taking out life insurance policies on their employees and naming themselves as beneficiaries so that they can benefit from the deaths of their workers may annoy you. Actually, Hollywood studios have long insured their major stars so as to protect a huge investment in a film, for instance. However, you can be fairly sure that an A-list film star who may be willing to work only for a $20 million guarantee will not be referred to as a "peasant."

The fact that these policies commonly are referred to as "dead peasant" policies in the regular corporate world suggests something about the underlying attitudes toward ordinary workers. One of the reasons the policies have been popular among employers is that they haven't had to pay taxes on the death benefits. However, as L. M. Sixel of the Houston Chronicle reports, that part of it may be about to change.

Evidence of changing attitudes (Saturday, 5/17/03)
A new report from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation says that there was a big increase last year in the number of employers in the U.S. who now offer health insurance benefits to same-sex domestic partners, as well as an increase in the number of local laws prohibiting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Crash course for people who thought they were finished with school (Saturday, 5/17/03)
The new crop of grads is in danger of being overwhelmed with challenges, so a little financial literacy couldn't come at a better time. Here's some basic information and advice from Aleksandra Todorova.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Official Federal Land Patent Records Site (Saturday, 5/17/03)
The Official Federal Land Patent Records Site from the Bureau of Land Management contains records of more than two million federal land titles from 1820 through 1908.

Tax cut bill squeaks through the Senate (Friday, 5/16/03)
Narrowly, the U.S. Senate has passed a $35 billion tax cut bill, and, with the help of Vice President Cheney who voted to break a tie, the Senate voted to approve the temporary elimination of tax on stock dividends.

Consumer price decline is the biggest in eighteen months (Friday, 5/16/03)
The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index fell 0.3 percent in April. This, combined with the decline in wholesale prices announced yesterday, adds to the growing anxiety over the possibility of the U.S. economy's catching the deflation flu which has afflicted other economies in the world, most notably that of Japan during recent years. Emily Kaiser reports that major retailers intend to cut prices significantly during the current quarter in order to clear inventories. Sam Stovall of Business Week provides an analysis of deflation possibilities, sector by sector.

Meanwhile, while deflation certainly hasn't hit the real estate market--meaning that housing prices have NOT been declining--the cost of borrowing money to buy homes certainly has been. It's because the Fed has kept interest rates at historically-low levels. Jeannine Aversa reports from Washington that mortgage rates have fallen again for the sixth time this year.

European economies on the brink (Friday, 5/16/03)
The return of recession to Europe, with significant implications for the global economy, is much on the minds of economists and political leaders now that Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands report economic contraction during the first quarter of 2003. Here's more from Mark Landler in Frankfurt. Meanwhile, the Japan's economy, which is the world's second largest, stood still during the first quarter.

Class-action suit affecting Northern Marianas Island workers settled (Friday, 5/16/03)
Several major American retailers were accused of maintaining sweatshop working conditions in the Northern Marianas Islands, a U.S. Commonwealth. A $20 million settlement has been approved by a federal judge.

New York City nannies get new benefits and protections (Friday, 5/16/03)
The New York City Council has approved a measure that could establish new precedents across the nation. Here's more from Stacey Vanek Smith of the Christian Science Monitor.

Personal bankruptcies up, business bankruptcies down (Friday, 5/16/03)
New bankruptcy filings have been increasing for individuals, but decreasing for businesses, according to the latest data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

McWane said to be target of criminal investigation (Friday, 5/16/03)
The manufacturer of cast-iron pipes frequently has violated workplace safety and environmental laws in the past, and now is undergoing a criminal investigation, according to David Barstow and Lowell Bergman of the New York Times.

Paid leave for papas (Friday, 5/16/03)
L.M. Sixel reports that more new fathers are taking advantage of paid paternity leave than many had expected.

New grads in holding pattern (Friday, 5/16/03)
The National Association of Colleges and Employers says that the job market for new graduates is about the same as last year, but far weaker than when the current crop started college, and that may have most to do with determining many young people's hopes and expectations. Steve Giegerch reports that many grads are intending to stick with what they've got for the time being and wait for job market conditions to improve.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: State of the U.S. Economy (Friday, 5/16/03)
The Washington Post provides an overview of economic news, reports, and other information on its State of the U.S. Economy page.

Big drop in wholesale prices (Thursday, 5/15/03)
If you feel that it's time to begin worrying about deflation, the 1.9 percent drop in wholesale prices during April may convince you that you're right. On the other hand, the Producer Price Index dip may be attributed mostly to the end of the war in Iraq and the pressure it took off of oil prices. Nonetheless, it's the biggest monthly drop in about 17 years.

It has been getting harder to tell the good news from the bad news lately, so you'll have to decide whether a drop is prices is good or not. There may be more agreement on the meaning of drop in first-time jobless claims, which were at their lowest in five weeks last week. Here's more from Joseph Rebello and Phil McCarty in Washington.

The growing cost of SARS (Thursday, 5/15/03)
A new UN report says that SARS will cost the global economy 5 million jobs this year alone, and Asia will be hardest hit. Meanwhile, the airline industry which was slammed by the aftermath of 9-11, then by the war in Iraq and its impact on energy prices, is saying that SARS has hurt it most of all.

Shrinkage in Germany (Thursday, 5/15/03)
Germany's economy got smaller during the year's first quarter, according to data from the Federal Statistics Office.

Layoffs at American (Thursday, 5/15/03)
American Airlines will lay off 3,000 flight attendants by July 1.

Globalization protesters prepare for summit (Thursday, 5/15/03)
The European Union summit in Greece will attract a considerable number of protesters opposed to globalization, according to Karolos Grohmann in Athens. Meanwhile, Jane Lampman reports that a number of clergy and other persons concerned with broad spiritual issues are afraid that the globalization locomotive is in danger of crushing local traditions and values.

Yet another coal mine disaster in China (Thursday, 5/15/03)
An explosion in an eastern Chinese coal mine has cost 81 lives so far, and the toll has been rising.

Jobs are exported, then exported again (Thursday, 5/15/03)
If you're still thinking about all the manufacturing jobs that have moved from the U.S. to Mexico, you may be slipping behind the times a bit. Janalia Moreno reports that many of those jobs already have moved on...to China.

Privatization in Nigeria (Thursday, 5/15/03)
Nigeria has four petroleum refineries, and its government says it intends to privatize them.

Fakin' it (Thursday, 5/15/03)
Through the miracle of modern high-technology, it has become easier to pretend you're working even when you're not on the premises, according to the Wall Street Journal. Email messages can be queued up ahead of time and sent out later; office computers can be under remote control. There are various ways of pretending to be hard at work when you're not, and, if everybody starts doing it, nothing will get done. Jobs and companies will disappear. Worried yet?

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Job Corps (Thursday, 5/15/03)
Here's the official Jobs Corps site from the United States Department of Labor.

Retail sales down in April (Wednesday, 5/14/03)
April was not a good month for retail sales in the U.S., which provides additional cause for worry, because consumer spending makes up about two-thirds of the American economy.

Dow workers may strike this afternoon (Wednesday, 5/14/03)
A thousand workers at Dow Chemical's largest plant located in Freeport, Texas may walk off their jobs when their present contract expires if the company's new contract offer is rejected. According to one union official, the dispute is not about money, but, instead, about seniority rules and other issues.

Disagreement over whether it's time to worry about deflation (Wednesday, 5/14/03)
Mike Myers of the Minneapolis Star Tribune finds that many economists aren't in sympathy with the Fed's recent alarm about the dangers of falling prices. In fact, here's at least one Federal Reserve president who isn't frightened by the prospect that some things might cost less.

Meanwhile, the cost of borrowed money has certainly been lower than usual recently, and this has meant a big boost to mortgage refinancing. Here's more from Aleksandrs Rozens in New York.

SARS vs. China's economy, and, at the moment, the virus is ahead on points (Wednesday, 5/14/03)
David Lynch of USA Today is in Beijing, but a lot of other people aren't. He tells how SARS and fear of SARS has been slamming China's go-go economy.

Job cuts in Mexico (Wednesday, 5/14/03)
Alcoa will cut 4,200 jobs at its operations in Mexico as part of a restructuring effort.

Chipping off a little here, a little there (Wednesday, 5/14/03)
Companies are trying to cut costs wherever they can, and that has meant a general shrinkage of pension benefits and 401(k) contributions. Here's more from Christine Dugas of USA Today.

Privatization at the IRS? (Wednesday, 5/14/03)
The Administration would like the federal tax agency to make use of private debt collectors, according to Albert Crenshaw of the Washington Post.

Discrimination settlement approved (Wednesday, 5/14/03)
A $2.1 million deal between the EEOC and Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation will settle discrimination claims now that it has been approved by a federal judge.

Grim spring for freshly-minted grads (Wednesday, 5/14/03)
This year's springtime crop of people finishing college is facing the worst job market for new grads in 20 years, according to the New York Times. The principal problem seems to be an economy that just isn't generating many jobs at the moment. However, new grads are also having to compete with educated people who have been laid off. Moreover, some of the jobs for which they might otherwise be applying may have been sent to places like India.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Privatization.org (Wednesday, 5/14/03)
Privatization.org comes from an organization that calls itself the Reason Public Policy Institute. They say that they've worked with both Republican and Democratic governors on the streamlining of government.

How many Americans really lack health coverage? (Tuesday, 5/13/03)
We've heard that there are more than 40 million uninsured Americans, but are there really that many? A Congressional Budget Office study suggests that the real number may be much lower. Here's more from Alan Fram in Washington.

Bad Tuesday in France (Tuesday, 5/13/03)
The French government wants to change the state pension system, and many workers don't like the idea. Strikes throughout the country have tied up transportation and disrupted life across France. Elsewhere in the world, a strike now its fifth day has tied up South Korea's Pusan port. The government is sending in troops to move shipments, according to the BBC.

Increased trade gap further encumbers the American economy (Tuesday, 5/13/03)
March's trade gap hit $43.5 billion, up 7.6 percent over February. It's the second-highest gap on record, according the U.S. Department of Commerce.

High turnover at the top (Tuesday, 5/13/03)
The rate at which CEOs have been leaving their jobs in large, publicly-traded companies increased by ten percent last year over the year before, according to a new study from Booz Allen Hamilton..

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Globastat (Tuesday, 5/13/03)
Globastat: Country Rankings and World Statistics summarizes information in more than 140 categories on more than 190 countries, and draws on the CIA World Factbook.

Bush on their own time (Monday, 5/12/03)
President Bush will speaking at Airlite, a plastics plant in Omaha, and a lot of people won't be able to continue their work while he's there. It won't be paid time off either, according to this report from Margery Beck. Also, as Deb Riechmann reports from Santa Fe, New Mexico, there are additional stops on the President's tour as he attempts to persuade members of the public to put pressure on Congress to give him the tax-cut bill he wants.

Travel problems expected within as well as in and out of France (Monday, 5/12/03)
The French travel sector, including its airlines, is expecting major disruption because of planned strikes. Incidentally, 9-11 resulted in a cutback on business travel from which the world's airlines still haven't recovered. Now, many business people are choosing to make use of teleconferencing rather than risk travel in and out of regions where they might pick up the SARS virus.

Cuts at Hartford in Hartford (Monday, 5/12/03)
Hartford Financial Services Group is named after its Connecticut city, and both are about to lose 1,500 jobs.

Update on workplace discrimination (Monday, 5/12/03)
How's the entire world of work doing in the fairness department? The International Labor Organization, an agency of the United Nations, has a new report called "Time for Equality at Work." It finds that some improvements have been made in many countries, but that prejudice against women and ethnic minorities, among others, persists and still acts as an effective barrier preventing many people from fulfilling their potential.

You should maintain a big cookie jar for emergencies (Monday, 5/12/03)
Not for that sudden sugar craving, but, instead, for the loss of your job or some other emergency. Many people agree that they should set aside money to cover at least three months' living expenses in case of emergencies, but not as many actually do it, according to a new survey from Bankrate.com.

Flexibility on flextime (Monday, 5/12/03)
In Japan, flextime has become increasingly popular during a long period of economic distress, but it's implemented in a variety of ways, according to Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun. In the United States, Kim Campbell reports that "job swapping" has become more popular. Jay and Katie aren't the only ones doing it.

MBA students get some extra help (Monday, 5/12/03)
Amy Joyce reports on one school's extra effort to help its new biz grads find work after receiving their master's degrees. Many students finishing either undergrad or grad programs this spring face, not only a tough job market, but also the problem of managing crushing credit card debt, according to the Detroit Free Press. Meanwhile, temp firms are benefiting from the crunch that is leading many employers to rely more on temporary workers. Shabina Khatri says it's a good time for the temp firms themselves to recruit the higher-quality grads as well as laid-off professionals.

You, Incorporated (Monday, 5/12/03)
Approach your personal life in a businesslike way, and it can help you achieve your goals, say some. Here's more from Stacy Teicher of the Christian Science Monitor.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Attending to Early Modern Women Resources (Monday, 5/12/03)
Persons who have special interest in the status of European and American women currently and during recent centuries may be helped by Attending to Early Modern Women Resources from the University of Maryland Libraries.

For many, one master's just ain't...whoops, mea culpa, for heaven's sake...ISN'T enough (Sunday, 5/11/03)
Justin Pope writes about how the MBA has lost some of its luster, compared to the 1990s, and how some people are boosting their attractiveness to employers by adding a second specialized master's degree.

However, over recent years, some emphasis seems to have shifted from substance to symbols. An increasing number of young people, parents, job seekers, and employers apparently have become more concerned with the perceived prestigiousness of diplomas or which schools have issued them than with genuine competence, however, wherever acquired, a trend which most universities have not resisted, because it tends to strengthen their position as employment centers. It's good for business when lots of people want to buy whatever it is that you're selling, for whatever reason.

There are far more people with multiple graduate degrees, even multiple "terminal" degrees than there used to be. However, while some of these people truly are remarkable, others may remain forever clueless despite all the time spent sequestered on campuses.

When asked, many people identify Washington, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt as the three greatest presidents in American history, but, of the three, Roosevelt was the only one who completed elementary school., Herbert Spenser, first taught himself to be a highly successful civil engineer, then became one of the towering, most influential intellectuals of the latter half of the 19th century, and there is no record of his ever having attended school. Not that he didn't go to college; it doesn't appear that ever attended SCHOOL...at all.

Major parts of the United States were built mostly by people who couldn't read or write. Then, a high school diploma seemed to be sufficient for many people who turned out to be highly effective leaders. Then, a college degree was required, then a master's, then a Ph.D. Now, some M.D.s or J.D.s are being persuaded that they need Ph.D.'s besides, and maybe an MBA as well. At least in part, it seems to be a type of accelerating inflation, and when a currency inflates, it loses value. In the case of hyperinflation, it can reach a point of having no meaning or significance at all.

Well, okay, then, let's HEAR it for inflation (Sunday, 5/11/03)
Rachel Beck says that, for decades, the Federal Reserve has seen its job as controlling inflation, and Alan Greenspan has displayed what seems to be an absolute allergy to it. But, wait--is the Fed turning around? Has it done its job too well? Is it time to hope for rising prices for a change?

Gender gap on the Street (Sunday, 5/11/03)
Not the Arab street, but Wall Street. Allan Drury says that there's still plenty of room for progress for women in the financial services industry.

The new age of boomerangers (Sunday, 5/11/03)
No, Mr. Wolfe, you CAN go home again, or, at least, you may be able to go back to your previous employer, even if you left of your own accord. Increasingly, previous employers aren't holding your search for greener pastures against you. David Koeppel has more about the growing number of "boomerang employees."

Hybrid vigor? (Sunday, 5/11/03)
Not so long ago, you had to choose between a fixed or adjustable-rate mortgage. Now, you can have it both ways, to an extent. Here's more from USA Today's Thomas Fogarty about those new hybrid mortgages.

Where do educated old people like to go when they retire? (Sunday, 5/11/03)
A lot of them like to go back to college, or very near. Here's more from Karen Alexander of the New York Times.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Making Democracy Work (Sunday, 5/11/03)
Here's a 126-page report from University of Virginia on how the executive branch of government has been reorganized throughout the century just past. Here's Making Democracy Work: A Brief History of Twentieth-Century Federal Executive Reorganization.

House passes big tax-cut bill (Saturday, 5/10/03)
President Bush wanted more, but he is pleased that a bill that would cut taxes by $550 billion over the next ten years has passed the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate has given every indication of being unwilling to go that far. However, the President no doubt has been reading poll results that show that American public opinion may be shifting in the Administration's direction, and this has galvanized the President. If he can persuade the public, more Senators may also be persuaded by their constituents before a final vote comes.

Bush's plan for Mideast prosperity (Saturday, 5/10/03)
Part of the world's current problem is that some things haven't changed much in a thousand years, while other things will be greatly different by a week from Thursday, and, in a world made smaller by technology, nearly everything is coming into daily collision with nearly everything else.

Also, vast wealth gaps sooner or later seem to produce social explosions which have a high probability of not turning out all that well, as demonstrated by both the French and Russian revolutions. Among the many root causes of the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a vast wealth disparity, and radical Islamic terrorism is fueled by huge numbers of young people who see no future for themselves while being bombarded daily with images of modernism and wealth from the U.S. and elsewhere. It's not good when people with no hope constantly are exposed to others who routinely waste more than they can ever hope to have for their families. The rage, with its destructive and self-destructive impulses, is reminiscent of those instances in the United States when desperate people in American cities set fire to their own communities.

All in all, many people feel that the world could become a somewhat less volatile, less dangerous place if there were significant economic development across the Middle East. Deb Riechmann reports on President Bush's ideas for achieving that. He would like to see a Mideast free trade zone. He and others of like mind hope that the removal of economic barriers might also promote a reduction of other kinds of barriers separating people.

Forecasts scaled back (Saturday, 5/10/03)
New data have made many private economists less optimistic about the remainder of 2003. A panel of experts at Blue Chip Economic Indicators, a closely-watched newsletter, have scaled back their growth forecasts for the U.S. economy.

Lufthansa to cut hours rather than jobs (Saturday, 5/10/03)
The big German airline has reached tentative agreement with its pilots to cut costs by cutting back on hours.

Corporate generosity: Some give, some take away (Saturday, 5/10/03)
The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Julie Forster reports that Target intends to cut benefits for its part-time workers. Meanwhile, janitors in the San Francisco area have been trying to get their cleaning-company employers to provide health coverage, but, so far, without success. Genentech has announced that it will pay family health care premiums for the janitors who clean their facilities over the next three years, even though the janitors are not employed by Genentech.

EDS changes its mind (Saturday, 5/10/03)
Electronic Data Systems, the company that Ross Perot founded but sold years ago, cut severance pay from 26 to 4 weeks, and this move impressed employees about as much you might expect. Detroit Free Press business writer Jeff Bennett reports that the company has reversed itself somewhat.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Working in Paterson (Saturday, 5/10/03)
Paterson, New Jersey identifies itself as the first planned industrial center in the United States, and was founded in 1791. The Library of Congress conducted an occupational culture study in 1994 in which many people in Paterson talked about their work lives. There are hundreds of recordings and thousands of photographs and other items in Working in Paterson: Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting.

Bush tax plan continues through the mill (Friday, 5/9/03)
For a time, there was speculation that some of the more conservative House Republicans might refuse to vote in favor of any tax cut, if they regarded it as too small. That could mean that the President could end up empty handed, and having to go back to the drawing board for ideas on how to stimulate the U.S. economy.

However Alan Fram reports that House Republicans are pushing toward passage of a bill that would cut taxes by $550 billion. That's far short of what the President initially wanted, but it might be enough to please him, given the current climate in Congress. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that a Senate panel has approved a much smaller cut, with the dividend tax cut, well, cut...out...entirely.

However, all this has been happening before members of Congress have had a chance to see new poll results showing growing public support for the President's plan. The quick U.S. victory in Iraq--which may not be too much of a surprise, because the U.S. is history's most powerful giant, and Saddam's Iraq was a dwarf--may have something to do with it, if some of the good feelings that Americans have for the President as Commander in Chief are generalizing to other aspects of his role. Overall, Will Lester says that results of a new survey from Pew Research Center find that Americans have become more optimistic about the economy now that the war is over.

Forecasts reduced because of SARS (Friday, 5/9/03)
SARS will take its biggest economic toll in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, if the Asian Development Bank's revised forecasts turn out to be correct. In other Asian news, truck drivers in Pohang, South Korea have ended their strike.

One can understand why stockholders might be willing to pay some CEOs a lot if they would simply leave, but... (Friday, 5/9/03)
Houston Chronicle columnist L. M. Sixel says that corporation owners have gotten increasingly steamed about how much some executives have been paid while they're with their companies. Now, it may be time to look at what they're being paid to leave.

Is another cut coming (Friday, 5/9/03)
Rick MacDonald tells why he thinks the Federal Reserve may be ready to cut interest rates again, and how all that relates to the Fed's growing concerns about deflation.

New safety rule is unpopular among miners (Friday, 5/9/03)
Members of the United Mine Workers of America haven't liked the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, but they don't like the proposed revision either. Here's an explanation from Martha Mryson Hodel in Charleston, West Virginia.

Mastering your ABCs (Friday, 5/9/03)
Anne Tergesen offers what amounts to a buyer's guide for students and their families who need to buy college on time, as they might say. Tuition costs are up, but interest on college loans is down and likely to go even lower. Here are some of the rudiments when it comes to knowing about the college loan minefield.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Living on the Edge (Friday, 5/9/03)
Alan Berube and Benjamin Forman of the Brookings Institution examine, not the flight from central cities to the suburbs, but decentralization within the central cities themselves during the 1990s. Here's their report: Living on the Edge: Decentralization Within Cities in the 1990s.

New jobless claims down a bit (Thursday, 5/8/03)
First-time claims for jobless benefits declined somewhat in the latest report period, but all signs still point to a sluggish job market overall. Still, as Will Lester reports, a new poll finds considerable optimism about the economy on the part of the majority of Americans.

House bill would restructure job training (Thursday, 5/8/03)
The government has $6.6 billion worth of job-training programs, but Republican leaders in the House of Representatives want a quick vote on a bill that would restructure funding for the Workforce Investment Act, which was passed in 1998.

United's new work rules are a lot like other companies' old work rules (Thursday, 5/8/03)
Many of United Airlines' employees joined the company in the first place because of favorable perks and work rules. However, many of those have been changed due to agreed-upon concessions that the airline says it needs in order to stay in the air and eventually fly out of bankruptcy.

Japan: more of the same (Thursday, 5/8/03)
A major index in Japan forecasts yet another contraction of the Japanese economy, which has been in a general slump for more than a decade.

Lower interest, higher principal (Thursday, 5/8/03)
Federal student loans will cost less soon because of lower interest rates. But, at the same time, many colleges and universities are raising tuition., and some are raising it a LOT.

More on that new nervousness about deflation (Thursday, 5/8/03)
If inflation is high or increasing, there is cause for worry. If it's low and decreasing, there's also cause for worry. It may SEEM nice if prices are going down, but consider for a moment what that would mean for the entire economy, and, before long, what it would mean for you. Barbara Hagenbaugh and Sue Kirchhoff of USA Today write about what's on the minds of some of the people who are paid to worry.

More long-termers (Thursday, 5/8/03)
How many people are unemployed is an important question, and it's one that the unemployment rate is intended to answer. However, how LONG people are unemployed is another important measure of what the economy is doing. Kirstin Downey reports that nearly a quarter of the 8.8 million unemployed persons in the United States have been out of work for six months or more, and that's a 20-year high. Hmmmm...maybe it's about time for President Bush to put that flight suit on again and make another landing on an aircraft carrier in front of the TV cameras.

One of Hong Kong's tougher jobs right now (Thursday, 5/8/03)
It's the role of nurse while SARS and fear of SARS are slamming China's beautiful, highly congested economic showplace. Here's more about how hard it is to be a nurse right now from Keith Bradsher of the New York Times, who is on the scene in the former British colony.

The advantages of hiring during a slump can be overestimated (Thursday, 5/8/03)
In a tight job market, lots of high-quality people are looking for work, so you'll have the pick of the crop if you're hiring, or so goes some of conventional biz wiz ("business wisdom"). However, David Gumpert of Business Week suggests that you proceed carefully.

UPS cleared (Thursday, 5/8/03)
A jury has decided that United Parcel Service did not discriminate against several minority employees who were fired.

Nude models vote to unionize (Thursday, 5/8/03)
Moore College of Art and Design claimed that the thirteen people who pose nude in art classes are "independent contracts," but the National Labor Relations Board has rejected that assertion. As a consequence, the models have voted to join a union out of a concern with low pay, but also working conditions.

Blow your own horn...but not too loudly (Thursday, 5/8/03)
If you do a good job, the boss will notice, and you will be rewarded, right? Don't count on it. Companies usually have to promote their products, or sales will simply dry up. A little self-promotion may be a good idea in your own case as well. Here's more from Katherine Reynolds Lewis.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Affordable Assisted Living (Thursday, 5/8/03)
Part of Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, Affordable Assisted Living: Surveying the Possibilities is a 112-page report by Jenny Schuetz. Assisted living facilities are intended to enable elders with limitations or frailties to live as independently as possible, while also receiving necessary assistance.

Steady, steady (Wednesday, 5/7/03)
The Federal Reserve yesterday announced that it will leave interest rates at their 41-year lows for the moment. But, even though Alan Greenspan and many other Americans have spent decades worrying about inflation, it seems that the Fed is more concerned about the possibility of deflation at this point. Here's more on how deflation could stop the U.S. economy dead in its tracks from today's Washington Post. Incidentally, the Administration has been giving the possibility due consideration, according to presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer.

Is Kmart a viable company again? (Wednesday, 5/7/03)
Kmart is emerging from bankruptcy as a much smaller, and, many hope, more vital and competitive company, prepared to make it on its own again. For a number of years, the Martha Stewart brand helped sustain Kmart in a discount market increasingly dominated by Wal-Mart and Target. The fact that Ms. Stewart is still undergoing insider trading investigation has put her company under a cloud, and can only be considered by Kmart officials as very bad timing for them. Here's a chronology of the Kmart bankruptcy.

IT jobs expected to remain scarce for a while (Wednesday, 5/7/03)
The Information Technology Association of America has surveyed 400 managers in charge of hiring for technology positions, and the consensus seems to be that demand for tech personnel is likely to remain steady at best over the next twelve months. That's what the very optimistic ones are saying.

Hi-tech safety system (Wednesday, 5/7/03)
Nelson Antosh of the Houston Chronicle reports on a new technology system from National Oilwell intended to reduce common hazards to workers on oil rigs.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Picturing Business in America (Wednesday, 5/7/03)
If you've ever wondered what influential business people look like and really expect that they look different from everybody else, here's an opportunity to test your hypothesis. Picturing Business in America is from the National Portrait Gallery and the Wall Street Journal. It's a collection of small portraits of business leaders who have appeared in the publication since 1979.

What lies ahead for Iraq? (Tuesday, 5/6/03)
Iraq has considerable mineral wealth, but, despite its oil reserves, there are likely to be shorter-term economic problems arising, not only from the cost of post-war rebuilding, but also from debt and the threat of inflation. Meanwhile, many of Iraq's women are worried that a fundamentalist Islamic government could arise which could greatly affect their situation. Saddam's regime was brutal, but it was also secular, and modern Iraqi woman have little taste for the kinds of regressive experiences faced by women in Iran or Afghanistan during recent years.

Companies with blue-collar workers want to be able to set aside less pension money (Tuesday, 5/6/03)
A bill in the House of Representatives would allow companies to reduce the amount of money they're presently required to set aside for pensions if they have blue-collar workers. Reason? Statistically, blue-collar workers don't live as long as white-collar workers, so don't collect pensions as long. At least, that's the argument. Here's more from Mary Williams Walsh of the New York Times.

Housing costs outpace wage increases (Tuesday, 5/6/03)
Genaro Armas reports from Washington on the findings of a new study of affordable housing in major metropolitan areas.

The women entrepreneurship success story (Tuesday, 5/6/03)
Perhaps in part because women have been dissatisfied with their progress in occupying high positions in established corporations, more have been starting their own businesses. Jim Hopkins of USA Today tells about findings from a new study of Census data conducted by the Center for Women's Business Research.

They don't use it, so they don't want to pay for it (Tuesday, 5/6/03)
Andrew Welsh-Huggins reports that there may soon be a religious exemption from worker's comp in Ohio.

Basic education (Tuesday, 5/6/03)
Starting early, education should be more than about reading, writing, and 'rithmetic. It should also be about money, according to many experts. Here's what one, Dara Duguay, has to say about the need for financial education for children.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Special Report: Job Exportation (Tuesday, 5/6/03)
Over the years, we've reported on one of America's major exports: jobs. Recently, SUNY's Professor William Raynor broke new ground with his article, "Globalization and the Offshore Outsourcing of White-Collar Jobs." Now, CNN/Money reporter Mark Gongloff offers a special report on "U.S. Jobs Jumping Ship."

More evidence that the American economy hasn't been waiting for the end of the war (Monday, 5/5/03)
Oil prices are down following the end of the war in Iraq, but that hasn't been enough to spur the U.S. economy. The jobs picture, in particular, looks grim, with a 71 percent increase in layoffs during the month of April. Business Week's Rick MacDonald is worried about another statistic: the average workweek, which fell from 34.3 to 34 hours. The month of April wasn't all horrible news, though. While the manufacturing sector got smaller, the service sector expanded.

The money-in-politics picture has gotten fuzzier again (Monday, 5/5/03)
Now that a three-judge federal court panel has thrown out some provisions of the campaign finance law, nobody really knows what will happen, except that there will be an appeal to the Supreme Court.

One Mr. B doesn't like another Mr. B's dividend tax-cut plan (Monday, 5/5/03)
You can decide who probably knows more about money: Mr. Buffet or Mr. Bush. However, the President can't be too happy to hear that yet another major figure on the economic scene is unenthusiastic about the White House tax-cut plan. In this case, Warren Buffet doesn't like the idea of eliminating the tax on corporate dividends. By the way, he thinks that some CEOs are overpaid too.

New 401(k) trend (Monday, 5/5/03)
No, we're not talking about the one that has so many people saying that their 401(k)s are now 201(k)s. Instead, a growing number of people are saying that being left on their own isn't as attractive as some once thought. More options and freedom of choice aren't necessarily advantageous. Professional management is becoming more attractive again, according to at least one expert.

Eastern Germany workers seek shorter work week (Monday, 5/5/03)
Some industrial workers in what used to be East Germany work more hours per week than their counterparts in what used to be West Germany, and they don't like it. David McHugh reports from Frankfurt on Monday's strikes by IG Metall members.

Truth in the fine print (Monday, 5/5/03)
Scott Burns suggests that you may need to get out the magnifying glass in order to see what the government wants to be able to say it told you. He's found it in the tiny print of a report not many people read, and it has to do with the insolvency of the Social Security system.

Year-by-year financial aid advice (Monday, 5/5/03)
College has been getting more expensive at the same time than many families have found that their assets have been shrinking. Shannon Buggs says there is some good news, and offers suggestions on what you should be doing at each point along the way.

Incidentally, a few years ago, tech degrees and MBAs seemed to be sure-things. Not any longer. The guy handing you your hot-dog across the fast-food counter may be an engineer, and Kate Hazelwood reports on the tough time that newly-minted MBAs are having finding jobs that will make use of their expertise.

Is an unfamiliar truck backing up to your house? (Monday, 5/5/03)
Too many Americans have too much debt at a time when existing jobs have become less certain and new ones harder to come by. As a consequence, more than 2 million people are getting behind on mortgage payments, and that means increased vulnerability to foreclosure. Jennifer LeClaire tells what you can do to keep your home during a time when lenders are offering more leeway than before.

Three strikes, and you're out...of California? (Monday, 5/5/03)
The corporation is a marvelous legal invention. It allows you to be in business without risking everything you have. That is, you can't lose any more than you invest in the business itself, so, if it fails, they're not going to come and get your sofa. There are many ways in which a corporation is treated as an individual under the law. That is, the corporation isn't you, even if you own all the stock. It's "somebody" else.

Well, okay, some people are saying--if a "three strikes and you're out" law is appropriate for individual criminals, something equivalent should be okay for corporations too. Steve Lawrence (presumably not the singer) reports from Sacramento on the movement in California to create a law something like that which would apply to errant companies that seem to be slow learners.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Career Advice for Older Workers (Monday, 5/5/03)
Career Advice for Older Workers is a service of Netscape and Monster.com.

Republican favors increased taxes on the wealthy (Sunday, 5/4/03)
New York City's Mayor Bloomberg, charged with finding solutions for problems arising out of a huge deficit, has indicated that he would favor a temporary increase in income taxes for single individuals who earn more than $100,000 yearly.

Much still lies ahead for women in the work world, according to new analyses (Sunday, 5/4/03)
In some ways, the new economy looks quite a lot like the old economy to many women. Given a continuation of present trends, it will be 20 years before women achieve parity in the corporate world, according to a report from the Committee of 200. Another study conducted by the American Association of University women reports consistent findings. It finds that American women have progressed compared to previous years, but the greatest number of women who are college grads still work in teaching or nursing roles, two occupations traditionally associated with women.

Rough competition for new grads (Sunday, 5/4/03)
In a sluggish job market, this year's graduates will have to compete with others like themselves, plus grads from previous years and the multitude of persons who have been laid off. Here's more, plus some helpful hints, from Jonathan Higuera of the Arizona Republic.

Overtime pay (Sunday, 5/4/03)
Employees at Bank of America have won a class-action suit that claimed that they didn't receive overtime pay that was due them. A settlement has been reached, and the workers will receive $4.1 million.

Women bring hi-tech to Africa (Sunday, 5/4/03)
Jonathan Salant reports on African-born executives who are bringing their technology and business expertise with them back to their continent of origin.

Use or abuse, need or greed? (Sunday, 5/4/03)
Steve Jordon of the Omaho World-Herald examines how foreign-born workers are employed in Nebraska.

Fed meeting Tuesday for consideration of interest rates (Sunday, 5/4/03)
Caren Bohan reports from Washington that the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates where they are for the moment.

Where is ethical behavior rewarded? (Sunday, 5/4/03)
Not in contemporary American business, according to nearly half of the corporate human resource professionals who were surveyed recently. Amy Joyce has more from the Ethics Resource Center and the Society for Human Resource Management.

How to get the most out of your Social Security (Sunday, 5/4/03)
It would help to know exactly how long you're going to live. However, if you aren't privy to that information, Albert Crenshaw has some other suggestions.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Community Development Corporations (Sunday, 5/4/03)
The Urban Institute's Christopher Walker examines Community Development Corporations and their Changing Support Systems. His 69-page report is based on research in 23 cities over a period of ten years.

SARS hits NWA (Saturday, 5/3/03)
Northwest Airlines carries a lot of passengers back and forth across the Pacific, but not as many as a few weeks ago. SARS has been discouraging a lot of travelers, and Northwest is considering additional layoffs as a result. However, the biggest economic impact of what many fear could turn into a genuine international pandemic seems to be in China, where the world's fastest-growing economy may be hitting a brick wall. According to Elaine Kurtenback, the latest casualty seems to be China's stock market.

Send our refund, please (Saturday, 5/3/03)
Some of the corporations involved in the big accounting scandals who were inflating profits say they paid too much federal tax as a consequence, and would like that money back.

My gosh! A Republican in Silicon Valley! (Saturday, 5/3/03)
California's big hi-tech corridor contains a lot of Democrats, including many of its leading entrepreneurs. It also contains a lot of cranky, unemployed people who have fallen from the tech heights of the 1990s and, so far, haven't bounced much. President Bush persists in claiming that the solution to America's jobs problem is big tax cuts, and he was in the Valley yesterday trying to convince some people. Here's more from Jennifer Loven in Santa Clara.

European labor flexes is muscle (Saturday, 5/3/03)
As European governments attempt to scale back the welfare state, unions are retaliating with an increasing number of industrial actions. Even more are on the way, according to Business Week's Jack Ewing in Brescia, Italy, Carol Matlack in Paris, and Eric Sylvers in Milan.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Statistics Indonesia (Saturday, 5/3/03)
Indonesia is a country that many people in the world don't often think much about, but they probably should. Its more than 230 million people are spread over the world's largest archipelago, and it also has the world's largest Islamic population. And, oh yes...it's a steaming, boiling cauldron of problems, including, but not limited to economic problems. For more details of nearly every kind, here's Statistics Indonesia.

Unemployment hits 6 percent in April (Friday, 5/2/03)
The U.S. unemployment rate was 0.2 percent higher in April compared to the previous month. There are now 8.8 million unemployed workers. It's among several indicators of an economy that continues to struggle despite the end of the war in Iraq.

Taxpayers convinced to give themselves up (Friday, 5/2/03)
The Internal Revenue Service reports that 1,200 Americans have taken advantage of an IRS offer and have come forward to acknowledge that they've been using offshore means to evade taxes totaling $100 million. The big tax agency now expects their help in pursuing people who have been selling illegal offshore accounts.

ACORN accused of hypocrisy (Friday, 5/2/03)
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which advocates "living wage" laws, has been reprimanded the National Labor Relations Board for laying off three employees for trying to organize a union.

Albright to join board (Friday, 5/2/03)
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has been nominated for a position on the board of the New York Stock Exchange, and she has accepted.

Postwar re-entry problems? (Friday, 5/2/03)
The return of reservists to their jobs in small businesses is likely to require some adjustment on the part of everybody involved. Here's what some professionals suggest in order to make re-entry smoother.

The benefits of workplace diversity (Friday, 5/2/03)
Taylor Cox, who heads a Michigan human resource consulting firm, told a conference yesterday about research indicating that diversity leads to increased productivity and work quality.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence (Friday, 5/2/03)
The early 20th century notion that all members of the human race can be lined up on a single scale from low to high in a way that meaningfully sums up their abilities has been discredited by mountains of psychological research, and the old "IQ" concept isn't used much anymore. There are a lot of different ways of being "smart," and some are more important in certain situations than others. In many work settings, "emotional intelligence" can be very important, and the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence has been promoting its study in the workplace since 1996.

American Airlines begins to slice jobs (Thursday, 5/1/03)
After getting the concessions it wanted from its unions, the big airline is implementing cost-saving cuts without delay. Thousands of jobs are set to go.

Also, those new federal airport screener jobs were nice while they lasted. But, with the travel industry's continuing weakness and fewer passengers to screen, a lot fewer screeners are needed. The Transportation Security Administration plans to cut another 3,000 in addition to the 3,000 announced in March.

Corporate gloom in Japan (Thursday, 5/1/03)
A new survey of 100 largest Japanese companies has found that it's almost unanimous: 98 of them don't expect the Japanese economy to get better anytime real soon.

Unemployment in France increases (Thursday, 5/1/03)
France's unemployment rate reached its highest level in 2 1/2 years in March. It increased by 0.1 percent to 9.3 percent.

A once-great company ceases to exist (Thursday, 5/1/03)
Bethlehem Steel once seemed as solid as steel itself, but, as David Caruso reports from Philadelphia, that was then and this is now. Here's how the change is affecting a lot of individuals. The paperwork was signed yesterday that caused bankrupt Bethlehem Steel to fade from existence.

The lingering ghost of Juan Peron (Thursday, 5/1/03)
Joshua Goodman reports from Buenos Aires on Argentina's presidential runoff election. The country's economic problems will require some inspired leadership from somebody, but things are still up in the air. One thing is certain, though, the new president will be a Peronist.

Productivity improves, but... (Thursday, 5/1/03)
The first three months of 2003 saw productivity increasing at an annual rate of 1.6 percent, but that was considered no more than lukewarm by the stock market, which cooled a little itself. The new jobless numbers didn't impress investors either.

The states have big budget problems, but is this TOO creative? (Thursday, 5/1/03)
Most states are trying to cut costs, and some are raising taxes in order to get the worst state budgetary problems in 50 years under some degree of control. Some states are thinking of sponsoring gambling to raise money. L. M. Sixel reports that some people in the Texas House of Representatives would like to see that state follow the lead of some corporations and take out life insurance policies on state employees, naming the state as beneficiary.

Meanwhile, state universities are in a major bind because of the budget problems. On the one hand, they are under great pressure to make their services accessible to as many citizens as possible, but, on the other hand, state funding is declining and there is pressure to hold tuition levels as low as possible. Being a university president right now can be as little fun as being a governor.

What do Alan Greenspan and Colin Powell have in common? (Thursday, 5/1/03)
Both have major national constituencies of their own and are seen as indispensable by a lot of people. As a consequence, the President needs them both, which, in a sense, means that both, so long as they are careful, may be even more powerful than the President of the United States on some issues.

For instance, Chairman Greenspan annoyed many Republicans in the House when he mostly poured ice water on the President's big tax-cut plan sometime ago. But, when Greenspan was scheduled for surgery, the President was quick to say that he would like to see him have a fifth term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Greenspan thanked the Prez, but it didn't mean he was ready to return any favors.

David Rosenbaum reports from Washington on Greenspan's latest expression of skepticism about another tax cut, saying that it isn't necessary for stimulating economic growth. Meanwhile, some Democrats are saying that it may really be intended for stimulating high-income Republican campaign contributions for the 2004 election.

The state of American pension plans (Thursday, 5/1/03)
According to testimony in Congress yesterday, more than 16,000 of the nation's 32,000 traditional pension plans are underfunded. But, how should pension values be determined? Mary Williams Walsh reports that Administration officials say that present methods are flawed, but that proposed changes could make things worse.

India attempts to close its digital divide (Thursday, 5/1/03)
You would probably expect a lot of people in the Bangalore region to have a lot of hi-tech devices, because that's India's "Silicon Valley" with one of the more important tech industry's in the world. However, Amol Sharma reports from Dayalpur, India that you'll find many tech tools you wouldn't expect in many regions you wouldn't expect, given the government's effort to close its technology gap.

Guidelines for assisted living (Thursday, 5/1/03)
Assisted-living facilities make up the fastest-growing part of long-term care for the aged in the United States, but, until now, there haven't been any guidelines for helping to insure consistent quality. Kevin McCoy of USA Today writes about a new federal study that has just been released which it will share with the states. It's non-binding, though.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Answers for Reservists (Thursday, 5/1/03)
The United States Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration offers a useful collection of questions and answers for reservists called to active duty.

Here are NewWork News stories from previous months

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