Loose change

By CATHY KEIM

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 17, 2001

WHAT DOES YOUR DESK SAY ABOUT YOU? A messy desk suggests the occupant isn't career-driven, according to nearly 70 percent of 138 workers surveyed by Irvine, Calif., computer company IOGEAR. Stuffed animals, loud calendars and knickknacks indicate inexperience and immaturity. Photos and greeting cards say social butterfly. Empty soda cans and food wrappers? Workaholic.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Airlines are going all out to court business travelers, analysts say, because they fly often and typically pay full fare. British Airways, for example, offers business-class fliers a buffet, shower and aromatherapy massage in its Terrace Lounges.

WE ARE NO. 5: Florida has advanced from sixth place to fifth among states in high-tech employment, according to the Cyberstates 2001 report. California with its fabled Silicon Valley remains No. 1, followed by Texas, New York and Massachusetts.

24: That percentage of job applicants last year lied or provided inaccurate information about their past employment or education, according to a survey based on 1.8-million worker background checks.

LOOK WHO'S DRIVING THAT PT CRUISER: The trendy DaimlerChrysler car has some celebrity fans. Among them: Secretary of State Colin Powell, who owns one, and Cher, who bought two.

$165,630: That's how much it will cost a middle-income American family to raise a child born last year over the next 17 years. Factoring in inflation, the total increases to $233,530, the Department of Agriculture says.

- Compiled by Cathy Keim from Times wires.

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