News In Brief

so, eat them with a fork

"If we don't find an emergency solution, we'll end up wasting them all," said a spokesman for the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Meaning ... what? It seems more than 120 tons of frankfurters destined for lunches at public schools have ended up in limbo because there are no rolls to wrap them in. That's because an irate vendor who lost the bidding for a contract to supply the city with bread won a court order stopping all bun deliveries. But, while officials boil down the legal tangle, somebody has come up with a use for the wieners before they spoil: as a base for sauces in pasta and rice dishes.

for 27 more cents? why not

The official cost of a ride on Rome's metro is the equivalent of 73 cents. But these days, commuters better be willing to pay extra. That's because the tickets have become the latest and hottest commodity for scalpers, who are charging $1. The market is ripe, news reports say, because many of the city's automated ticket machines don't work.

Measuring Americans' faith in the future: It's slipping

Fickle stock markets and the drumbeat of corporate job cuts are weakening Americans' confidence in the future, a new survey has found. In an annual poll by Hatboro, Pa.-based TNS Intersearch, conducted as 2000 ended, 50 percent of respondents said they think this year will be better than last - a 12 percent drop from the end of 1999. In sharp contrast, 89 percent of people in war-torn Kosovo expect the New Year to be better than 2000 - the highest show of optimism uncovered anywhere. Some findings from the US portion of the survey:

Overall, I'm optimistic about the New Year 50%

2001 will be better economically than last year 15

2001 will be a year of economic difficulty 23

Strikes and other industrial disputes are likely to rise 30

My job is fairly safe 85

If I'm laid off, I'll find a new job fairly quickly 71

International discord will rise in 2001 34

Business Wire

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Publishing Society