Business: Loose change

Loose change

By Times staff writer

THE UNION GAP: After decades of guarding the entrances to its union halls, the United Association has put out the welcome mat. The national plumbers and pipe fitters union needs qualified apprentices to offset a wave of retiring plumbers, and curb further incursions by nonunion workers, who control about 75 percent of the market. Among its extraordinary steps: advertising, marketing and even allying with colleges.

PRINCIPLED, TO A POINT: Of 31,000 Americans surveyed, nearly one in 10 say they would commit insurance fraud if they wouldn't be caught. And while about a third of respondents to a recent Progressive Insurance survey said they wouldn't turn in an acquaintance for fraud, money could sway some. Respondents would be four times more likely to report fraud when a reward could reach $500 rather than $250.

HAMSTER HOLDUP: A little-known and endangered black-bellied hamster is costing DaimlerChrysler big bucks. Work was halted at a multimillion-dollar used car center the carmaker is constructing near Leipzig, Germany, after a colony of the wild hamsters was found. DaimlerChrysler is spending thousands to relocate the rodents but says that's a fraction of what it's losing every day the project is on hold.

$23-BILLION: That was the size last year of the craft industry, including needlecrafts and painting, according to a study by the Hobby Industry Association. The group says that's comparable to the traditional U.S. toy market ($23-billion in 1999) and nearly triple some other leisure activities such as do-it-yourself landscaping ($8.59-billion in 1999) and movie ticket sales (estimated at $8.31-billion in 2000.)

IT'S YOUR MOTHER: A recent survey by DiMassimo Brand Advertising reveals stockbrokers would be most likely to interrupt trading to take a call from mom, while lawyers are most likely to interrupt their day to take a call from a broker. Mom ranks third on lawyers' list, behind their golf pro.