of visitors the Monitor Company identified in its initial research as looking for an escape from the rigours of daily life. ---- Page 3 NO WEEKEND CRUISE SHIP SHI No weekend cruise ship It is highly unlikely that Bermuda will see a regular scheduled weekend caller during the 1999 cruise ship season, a top tourism official said yesterday. ---- Page 3 SLIGHT DIP IN LOCAL WORK FORCE GVT SUR Slight dip in local work force New employment figures show the number of Bermudians in the work force slipped by one percent -- even though hundreds of new jobs were created. The 1997 Employment survey -- released yesterday -- showed 663 new jobs over the same period in 1996 with women taking 367 of the new jobs. ---- Page 5 PERMIT FOR CONCESSION DELAYED GVT EAT Permit for concession delayed A possible new beach concession at one of Bermuda's best snorkelling spots has been delayed. It will be early in the New Year before the partners who ran the stand at Church Bay will know whether or not they are to be granted a new permit for the 1999 season. ---- Page 6 STAPLES' LOSSES TO CONTINUE BUC Staples' losses to continue The financial performance of office and medical supplier Staples Holdings Ltd.

is about to get worse, before it gets better. Faced with a 19 percent drop in sales for the first half of its fiscal year to September 30, Staples Holdings declared a six month loss of $236,019. ---- Business, Page 17