The bottom line

Sedentary habits keep rising

Americans are less active than ever. A new government study found that people’s sedentary time outside of work increased by about 40 percent between 1965 and 2009. On average, Americans take 5,117 steps a day—far fewer than the 10,000 recommended by the American Heart Association.

The Wall Street Journal

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A new home for Twinkies

Bankrupt Hostess announced that it would move ahead with plans to sell its Twinkies brand to two investment firms after receiving no competing offers. The new owners, who offered $410 million to snap up Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Ho Hos, say the snack cakes could be back on store shelves by summer.

Associated Press

Taco Bell's new hit

Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Tacos are a huge hit. The fast-food chain sold 372 million last year, or more than 1 million a day, boosting store sales by 8 percent; the company had to add 15,000 jobs to handle the growth.

TheDailyBeast.com

Companies stretch the workweek

Not since World War II have American factory workers put in more hours than they did in February, when they worked an average 41.9 hours a week. Overall, U.S. companies have stretched the average workweek to 34.5 hours, up from 33.8 in 2009 and just shy of the 34.7-hour peak in 2006.

Bloomberg.com

Women's wages still fall short

Women still earn more than $10,000 a year less than their male counterparts, according to U.S. Census data. The disparity is greatest in Provo, Utah, where women’s pay in 2011 was just 61.6 percent of men’s, and the median income for women was nearly $20,000 less.

Yahoo.com