News In Brief

YOU'RE CONFUSING THE ISSUE

When an Internet giant is as popular as Yahoo! it can afford to ignore an obscure, foreign-based Web site that requires a password for admission, right? Apparently not. From Bangkok comes word that Thai authorities are under pressure from the American search engine to close Yoohhoo.com, whose few home-page English words call it "The No. 1 Gentlemen's Web." Yahoo! argues that Yoohhoo, although legally registered, infringes on its intellectual property rights. Besides, Yahoo! reportedly plans to launch a Thai-language version of its portal later this year.

HEY, THERE'S ALWAYS THE TRAIN

That was a memorable trip to Portugal Rudolf Scharping took last weekend. His flight aboard a military jet from Bonn, Germany, had to turn back for him because, while the rest of his party was on board, no one had made sure he was. Then his return was delayed while officials scoured an airport packed with planes for the right one. Who is Scharping? Germany's defense minister.

Today's employees rank benefits right up with pay

Money talks, but without a full benefits package an employee walks. That's the finding of Randstad North America, a division of the Dutch staffing and training organization. Its study shows that in today's strong economy, some employees may value benefits more than a competitive salary when weighing job offers. It recommends that employers should offer flexible work arrangements and compensation, menu-based benefits, and profit-sharing to gain a recruiting advantage. The benefits workers considered important to stay put, if another job was offered, and the percentage of respondents who said so:

Health insurance/benefits 70%

On-site/internal training 50%

Outside training resources 45%

Stock/profit-sharing plan 38%

Bonuses based on company profits 37%

Tuition reimbursement 37%

Employee award/recognition program 30%

Incentives (trips, gift

certificates, etc.) 24%

- Business Wire

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