Daily Report

[Richardson_D <Richardson_D@xxxxxxx>]

BLS DAILY REPORT, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1997:

Four years after the North American Free Trade Agreement opened borders
for freer movement of capital, reshaping the continent's industrial
landscape, labor is belatedly forging its own cross-border alliances.
And the new ties are changing the way unions on both sides of the border
defend their interests.  Union leaders in the United States have been
passionate opponents of Nafta and have watched with alarm as businesses
moved factories south.  But now many have decided to join forces with
their Mexican counterparts to strengthen independent unions in Mexico
(The New York Times, December 20, page 1).

Pre-holiday layoff announcements are back in fashion, after a 1-year
hiatus.  "We just barged through that taboo.  Nobody is immune and no
season is sacrosanct," says John Challenger of outplacement firm
Challenger, Gray & Christmas.  It tracks published layoff announcements
and expects December's count to top 37,402 cuts last December (USA
Today, page B1).

Securities industry bosses collected an average of $2 million in
salaries and bonuses last year, says a Conference Board  survey of the
highest-paid CEOs.  Runners-up:  Insurance, $950,000;
telecommunications, $820,000; commercial banking, $765,000;
communications, $722,000; manufacturing, $635,000; wholesale, $600,000;
energy, $557,000; utilities, $545,000; transportation, $514,000.  The
study examined 1,445 firms in 13 industries and did not include stock
options (USA Today, page B1).

Computer and video grams, researchers say, can help children develop
their skills of visualization, concentration and problem-solving, as
well as help them acquire a fluency in technology.  Some experts even
point to the games as a possible contributing factor in the steady rise
in I.Q. scores in developed nations.  In one study of 200 students in
the United States and Italy, researchers found that playing video games
developed spatial skills and informally prepared children for learning
about science and technology.  The study published in the "Journal of
Applied Developmental Psychology" in 1994 concluded that computer games
"are not a waste of time".  Computer games, it seems, are a form of
intellectual exercise.

In an article on "Generation X" entrepreneur (people in their 20s and
early 30s), The Washington Post Washington business section (page 10)
says that half of all Generation X business owners are women; although
women of all ages account for just a third of all business owners.  It
is estimated that about 18 million Generation Xers change jobs every
year, and about 87 percent of this age group say they would prefer
working on their own to working for someone else.  The majority of young
entrepreneurs do not earn a large personal salary from their companies.
Almost 21 percent earned less than $15,000; the next largest income
group was between $15,000 and $29,999 (18 percent).

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