ERIN CONROY

AP Business Writer
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Relax without getting the ax; Fewer turkey naps

RELAX WITHOUT GETTING THE AX: Layoffs and budget cuts may make you anxious, but that's no reason to triple your workload. In fact, there are many ways to look as though you're working hard when you're hardly working, says business humorist Stanley Bing.

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Citi upgrades global 2010 economic growth forecast

Citigroup Inc. upgraded its 2010 economic growth forecasts for several countries on Monday, and said it expects a sustained but uneven global recovery next year.

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Immigrants likelier to support smoking bans

SMOKE-FREE ALLIES: The strongest American advocates for smoking bans in public venues are the newest Americans, one study said.

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Hyatt Hotels, Ancestry.com jump in market debuts

Two well-known companies surged in their market debuts Thursday despite what has recently been a difficult market for initial public offerings.

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Ancestry.com raises $100 million in IPO

Genealogy Web site Ancestry.com has succeeded in raising $100 million in its initial public offering. With more than a million paying subscribers, little competition, a small debt load and a record of increasing revenue, it fared better than other IPOs that have recently priced below their filing ranges.

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Shoppers, small businesses planning to spend less

TIGHT-FISTED?: A third of U.S. adults said they would spend less this year than they did in 2008 on gifts, while 49 percent would spend about the same amount, according to a Consumer Reports poll on holiday shopping.

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Friend turned boss, nutrition facts, major search

FRIEND TURNED BOSS: You have lunch together every day, grab an occasional drink after work, and have gotten each other through work-related crises. So wouldn't it be strange if your office buddy became your new boss?

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Lehman shares jump in over-the-counter trading

Shares of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. jumped in over-the-counter trading Monday despite analysts warnings that prices will eventually dwindle down to nothing.

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Credit tips, layoff's silver lining, snooze blues

SWIPING PLASTIC: It can sometimes be difficult to make a purchase if you don't have a credit card — or impossible, in the event that you need to make a hotel reservation or rent a car.

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Credit and consumption; wed and unemployed

BUY NOW, PAY LATER: Financial institutions helped develop consumer credit in the 1920s, as postwar prosperity raised the standard of living and old ideas about the burdens of debt quickly disappeared. Americans became so enamored of credit and layaways that many couldn't survive without them.

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Blue-collar jobs, yard sales

BLUE COLLAR WORKERS WANTED: Could there be a shortage of blue-collar labor?

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Beware the bully, MBAs adjusting to recession

BULLY WATCH: The recession is creating a "blank check" for office bullies, said one employee advocate.

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Get online, get a job; offices still congenial

SIGN UP, HOOK UP, JOIN UP: Every time you hand out a business card, that contact should also be added to your online social network, experts say. These sites are an opportunity for self-branding and building connections while on the job hunt.

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Dollar mixed on consumer confidence, home prices

The dollar was mixed Tuesday after the Conference Board said consumer sentiment rose in May to the highest level since September, but home prices fell at the fastest annual rate on record in the first quarter.

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Lengthy job hunts, tax tips, severance as leverage

THE 36-WEEK JOB HUNT: Being out of a job for an extended period no longer carries the stigma it once did for top managers, according to a new survey.

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Citi customers angry about reported gov't plans

The sight of a Citibank logo makes Rumi Turkel cringe.

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Gold surges back above $1K on economic worries

A thousand dollars will buy you a laptop, a Caribbean cruise or, these days, an ounce of gold.

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Beef up your small business, lay off with care

BUSINESS IDENTITY CRISIS: You're basically a one-man operation run out of your garage, and you can barely afford to hire a receptionist to answer the phones. So how do you create the illusion that you're a successful agent with offices on Wall Street or Rodeo Drive?

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Dollar turns lower on banking intervention concern

The dollar sagged in volatile late trading Friday amid a huge sell-off in U.S. bank stocks and talk about further drastic actions the government may take in the financial sector.

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Dollar slides on bleak corporate outlooks

The dollar slid against the euro, the pound and the yen Wednesday as U.S. companies gave bleak profit outlooks and markets anticipated rate cuts in Europe.

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Ford announces new self-parking technology

Sit back, relax and let your car parallel park itself — without a single scratch or ding to your bumper.

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Dollar extends decline a day after Fed rate cut

The dollar sank to a fresh 2-month low against the euro and a 13-year low versus the yen on Wednesday, a day after the Federal Reserve cut a key lending rate target to historic lows.

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Green jobs, subprime confessions

'GREEN-COLLAR' JOBS: Companies are stepping up their environmental initiatives, and that could mean one thing — a boom in "green-collar" jobs.

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Web sites allow users to outsource virtual errands

Think only celebrities, high-ranking professionals and the wealthy can enjoy having personal assistants at their beck and call? Not necessarily.

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Prices soar for Memorial Day fixins' for barbecues

Hamburgers and hot dogs? Check. Lighter fluid? Check. Beer? Check. More money?

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