The bottom line

Overworked Americans?

Despite new technology to increase productivity, the average number of annual hours worked per worker has dropped by just 200 hours in the U.S. since 1950, compared with drops of 991 hours in Germany, 684 hours in France, and 540 hours in the U.K.

The Atlantic

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Good growth for plus-size clothing

Sales of plus-size clothing are expected to jump 5.2 percent annually in the next five years, hitting $9.7 billion in retail sales by 2017, up from $6.6 billion in 2009.

The Wall Street Journal

Vacation myths

Fewer than one in 10 executives and employees achieves “complete relaxation” while on vacation, while 58 percent achieve no stress relief and 27 percent report feeling more stressed when vacations end than when they begin.

CSMonitor.com

Borders's unredeemable gift cards

Almost 18 million people hold a collective $210.5 million in unredeemable gift cards from bankrupt bookseller Borders, which shuttered the last of its stores in 2011.

NPR.org

President Obama and the stock market

President Barack Obama is only the fifth president to see the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index double on his watch. The others were Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.

The New York Times

Moms as primary breadwinners

Mothers are the sole or primary breadwinners in four out of 10 American households with children, according to a new survey. While 51 percent of Americans said they believe children are better off when a mom stays at home with her kids, 79 percent rejected the idea that women should return to “traditional roles.”

CNN.com