A Week's Worth

• For the first time in three weeks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average held the ground it gained, closing Friday at 11,076.34, up 0.5 percent. Leading the way: General Motors and Ford, whose shares climbed 13 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.

• Can't decide whether to invest in foreign stocks? Results of a poll of portfolio managers suggest you should. Thirty-seven percent said they expect international equities to perform better than any other class of investments this year. Standard & Poor's Outlook newsletter says that was the highest rating for any class. Those surveyed represent hedge funds with less than $100 million in assets under management.

• Tax-preparation software is almost a must nowadays because of the complex language of the tax code. Or so says a developer of such programs after surveying more than 3,000 filers over the past two years. CCH CompleteTax found, for example, that only 12 percent could correctly identify the maximum allowable child tax credit and only 20 percent knew how 401(k) retirement plans work.

• The longer you've been in your job, the more you may want to watch your attitude toward co-workers, according to new research. PsyMax Solutions of Cleveland studied 2,300 employees and found a tendency in those who have held their jobs for five or more years to become set in their ways and unsupportive of fellow staffers. PsyMax Solutions says those are "almost certain career-killers."