Investors have feared that with job growth and wages surging, the Federal Reserve would have to raise interest rates to slow the economy and prevent a rise in inflation. The House has passed a bill that eliminates a Depression-era law that penalizes senior citizens' who earn wages and collect Social Security benefits, and President Clinton has pledged to sign the bill into law if it passes in the Senate. Eight hundred thousand Americans between the ages of 65 and 69 are expected to benefit from the new law. Clinton Wants Stock Options for All Workers President Clinton has called for a change in the nation's labor laws to encourage companies to offer stock options to all workers, not just executives.
Republicans say they're in full agreement with the plan.
Signing the waiver meant getting better severance benefits, but they could not be part of a pending discrimination suit. The company is reducing its work force by 6,000 and says it wants to eliminate confusion at a sensitive time.