But Ms. Fraser makes a strong case that millions of white-collar workers -- bank managers, high-technology executives, retailing middle managers -- often work 90-hour and 100-hour weeks in pressure-cooker conditions.
Her father, who is retired, was the vice chairman for retail and middle-market banking at First Chicago-NBD Corporation, a bank holding company in Chicago.
Caracas, set on a verdant plateau twelve miles from the Caribbean coastline, was an enclave of American-style modernity, where slums coexisted with a growing sector of high-end retail and middle-class homes.
In retail folklore, middle-class southerners carry the orange rosette that is a Sainsbury's bag for life, while a bootful of heavy duty Tesco carriers points to a more workmanlike existence.
Cooper previously was vice chairman in charge of retail and middle-market activities for Mellon National Corp., Pittsburgh.
Chicago developers, Mr. Taylor said, "would rather force another 50,000 square feet of unwanted retail in the middle of Lincoln Park".
These occasional activities included working as paid herdsmen, small retail traders and middle men, called 'tefanke', for the livestock trade.
"We believe we have a better mousetrap than what's currently out there," said John Barry, U.S. Director of Franchising for Caffe Bene, emphasizing the coffee shop's desire to create an environment that feels more like entering someone's living room rather than another grab-and-go retail in the middle of a hectic metropolitan city.
The company acts as both manufacturer and retailer, cutting out middle layers of retail distribution and the related markups.
