Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.trends,americast.usa-today.trends From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: trends Thu, Sep 3 1992 Date: Thu, 3 Sep 92 04:19:20 EDT Message-ID: 09-03 0000 DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update Sept. 3, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network AMERICAN MEN FACE DIM PROSPECTS: American men are starting their careers earning less than their counterparts of a generation ago. An analysis by the congressional Joint Economic Committee says only the most educated male workers escape the downward trend in which men start off at lower salaries than those in the 1950s. They also show slower growth in earnings in their 30s and stagnant growth in middle age. (For more, see special Men package below.) SKI PRICES HEADED HIGHER: Lift ticket prices are heading up at Colorado ski areas - and popular resorts elsewhere appear to be following suit. Vail says one-day tickets there will rise to $42 this season. Aspen is considering an increase to $43. Rates at most other Colorado resorts will be around $38. COLUMBUS MOVIES COMING OUT: Warner Home Video plans to add to this season's Columbus stew by releasing a Christopher Columbus video next month. The video's based on the TV miniseries that aired in 1985. Here's the rundown so far: Gabriel Byrne stars in the Warner home video; George Corraface is in "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery;" and Gerard Depardieu is in Paramount's "1492," out next month. SKIN INDUSTRY TRIES TO EXPLAIN: Many of today's skin-care products need explanation. It's tough to make sense out of ingredients such as free-radical scavengers, vital amino acid complexes and EPC-K agents. To help, September's Vogue reports that the cosmetics industry is now using many dermatologist-designed systems to show women in detail what their skin needs and which products best improve it. SKIN INDUSTRY GOING HIGH-TECH: A new program at Shiseido counters uses high-tech special effects to tell people what their skin needs. Consultants make a small clay imprint of a customer's cheek, then magnify it on a television screen to examine the texture and quality of the skin's surface. Terme di Saturnia is now arming its beauty consultants with The Critical Age Skin Sensor. PERSONAL INCOME SHRINKING: Personal income grew at its slowest pace in 30 years last year and failed to keep up with rising prices for the first time since 1982, the Commerce Department says. Income per capita rose a revised 2.4% to $19,092 last year after growing 5.3% in 1990 and 6.5% in 1989. FORTUNE 500 SHRINKING: The Fortune 500's share of the workforce is declining. A Kemper Securities survey finds non-farm employment has declined as big corporations have cut staff to reduce expenses. In 1971, its share was 20%. That decreased to 17% in 1981 and 10% in 1991. EUROPEAN AIR TRAVEL GROWS: The Association of European Airlines said Wednesday that international European airline traffic was 12% higher in July than in the same month last year. Over the two-year period from July 1990, European air traffic increased by 3.2%, although business did not gain the momentum hoped for as it entered the peak summer period. FAMILIES ARE THE FOCUS: Political rhetoric aside, Democratic and Republican strategists are finding a lot of common ground on "family value" issues. Meeting this week at Colorado's Aspen Institute is a newly-formed Domestic Strategy Group. Among the topics: Choices for the future. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON MEN: EXPECTATIONS NOT MET: "Americans expect their incomes to improve over their lifetimes and expect their children to do better than they did," Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., said in releasing a congressional Joint Economic Committee report that shows that men earn less than they did a generation ago. "Neither of these expectations is likely to be met if current economic trends are allowed to continue." TREND GETS WORSE: The report said men's earnings, while still higher than women's, no longer steadily rise as fast as they did in the 1950s and 1960s. "Unfortunately, it appears that the American economy is steadily shrinking or reversing the income gains once associated with each stage of life," the JEC said. EDUCATED WORKERS EARN MORE: More educated workers continue to earn more than others, but the report said today's working man cannot afford or doesn't have the time to return to school to improve his earning potential. Rather, the report recommends borrowing from systems in such countries as Japan, where only 15% of the workers have a college degree, and Germany, where 6% do. (End of package.) Trends & Marketing Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM