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SINCE THE OFFSHORE SHIFT of skilled work sparked widespread debate and a political firestorm three years ago, "offshoring" has been portrayed as the killer of good-paying American jobs. Now U.S. workers suddenly face a grave new threat, BusinessWeek says, "with even highly educated tech and service professionals having to compete against legions of hungry college grads in India, China and the Philippines willing to work twice as hard for one-fifth the pay." Still, a more enlightened, strategic view of global sourcing is starting to emerge as many executives discover offshoring is really about corporate growth, making better use of skilled U.S. staff, and even job creation in the United States, not just cheap wages abroad.

SMART HIGH-TECH PRODUCTS are changing the way Americans cope with the health issues of aging family members, BusinessWeek says. Devices such as a talking medicine cabinet that is under development "can help people better monitor and treat their chronic diseases, provide quick access to reliable medical information in an emergency and make a private home safe for an older person to continue living there," the magazine says.

IF YOU THINK an auction is a good way to find bargains, think again. Researchers say people frequently overbid. "One study found that 98.8 percent of buyers in online auctions for CDs, books and movies overpaid," according to strategy+ business, a quarterly published by business consultants Booz Allen Hamilton. "Temporarily being the highest bidder during an auction can create a sense of ownership or attachment to an item, which promotes overbidding. Direct contact with the item can have the same effect," the magazine says.

E-MAIL HAS TAKEN OVER office communications. Nearly three-fourths of executives polled by OfficeTeam of Menlo Park, Calif., said e-mail currently is their favored form of communication. In-person talks were cited by 14 percent, followed by the phone.

THERE'S ONE West End London cocktail bar where you'll never complain about a warm drink. It's the Absolut Icebar, made primarily of ice and kept at 23 degrees. Bloomberg Markets says patrons don hooded thermal capes and gloves before entering the bar, where seating includes fur-covered cushions on ice benches. The bar is a collaboration between V&S Vin & Sprit AB, the Swedish company that makes Absolut vodka, and owners of Sweden's Icehotel, built in 1990 north of the Arctic Circle in Lapland. The magazine notes the Icebar's floor is not made of ice.

Compiled from Times wires and Web sites.

[Last modified January 26, 2006, 19:52:02]