Amazon Reveals U.S. Employees' Purchases
A new feature at Amazon.com lets you find out what books, videos and CDs are being bought by employees at American companies -- and privacy advocates are up in arms. Amazon says the feature protects individual confidentiality, making public only categories that include several hundred people. But Internet privacy experts warn that the practice could lead to concern that companies are assembling detailed electronic dossiers on employees.

Stockbrokers' Paychecks Rise, and Fall
A new study by the Securities Industry Association, Wall Street's biggest trade group, reports that in 1998 stockbrokers' average income rose to $168,726 -- up 6.7%. Median take-home pay, however, was $116,917 -- down 1.8%. An explanation for this discrepancy: A small number of very-high-earning brokers moved the average upward, while an increase in the number of lower-earning brokers sent the median paycheck downward.

Overweight Workers Lose Suit
A federal district court in Georgia has ruled that a hospital did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to hire a respiratory therapist whose height-to-weight ratio exceeded their cutoff for the position. The courts said there was no question of disability because the case hinged on the ability to do the job. However, when weight is simply a matter of appearance, labor law experts say, employers have not won similar discrimination cases.

Help-Wanted Ads Hold Steady
Help-wanted ads in major U.S. newspapers remained unchanged at a three-year low in July, a business research group reports. The monthly help-wanted index held steady at 85 in July, matching the figure for June. The biggest jumps in newspaper ad numbers took place in Seattle and the Pacific region, which encompasses several parts of California.