business and economy

We are just a month into the new year and already you may have a to-do list that runs halfway across the office, a backlog of email and tasks left over from slacking off around the holidays.

It's enough pressure to trigger a nervous breakdown. What's a stressed-out, overwhelmed office worker to do?

Purge and prioritize.

In 2011, Michael McAndrews went to 108 funerals, weddings and special events, including opening day of a fair. But mostly he went to funerals.

He went to memorials for family patriarchs and beloved co-workers, and he went to funerals that had a police presence for fear of gang trouble.

The following tips are taken from an article written for executives who are 50 or older and have lost their jobs. Most recruiters and companies admit privately that they are significantly less interested in hiring executives over 50.

Liquor sales in the United States were up in 2011 from the previous year, stealing ground from the beer market, and consumers are back to drinking super-premium brands, according to the industry.

Federal civilian workers, on average, get 16 percent more in wages and benefits than their private-sector counterparts, according to a study released Monday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Some thoughts are best left unsaid. This one, for instance:

COVER LETTER: "I am tired of meeting with managers who have no business interviewing me because I am far more qualified than they are."

A job search requires many things: motivation, perseverance, patience. Don't forget to add a positive attitude to that list.

Commercials aired during the big game next Sunday will work overtime to entice viewers to dish on Twitter and Facebook, zap ads with Shazam, surf corporate websites, and view and share clips on YouTube.

With employer-sponsored health plans, is the carrot or stick more effective?

Some companies offer incentives -- gas cards, cash, discount rates -- to get employees to live more healthfully and curb costs. But, increasingly, firms are punishing employees financially if they don't take their own health more seriously.

In the U.S., Heinz means ketchup. Beans? Not so much.

For decades, the food company has been a bit player in the U.S. baked bean market. But Heinz is in the midst of expanding its recession-ready assortment of offerings, and that means trying to bring some of its international expertise in the bean business back home.

My wife and daughter love the cable TV show "What Not To Wear," and they record episodes so they can have marathons while I sit on the sofa and make obnoxious comments about what the hosts are wearing. For the most part I am joking, but I am a job search coach and part of what I do is teach people how to make good first impressions.