The U.K. may lean this way because it could be in need of bailout assistance, too.

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But publicly, as you know, those Arab leaders are pressing the U.S. to lean on Israel to halt its bombing campaign.

NPR: U.S. Pressures Syria Through Regional Friends

The company can also lean on a trade group, the U.S. Fuel Cell Council, whose members range from specialty companies like Fuel Cell Energy and Ballard Power Systems to giants like General Electric and United Technologies.

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Another bearish clue that the U.S. stock market is headed for some lean times just ahead is that the copper futures market has been hammered lower this week.

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Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg since she was catapulted onto the global stage, but perhaps none so strange as one told at the U.K. launch party for her book, "Lean In, " hosted by British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne at his official residence in Downing Street this week.

WSJ: Sandberg Wins Admirers, But What Will Come Next?

The U.S. corporation still leads the way when it comes to running lean and mean.

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The improvement in general employment levels in the U.S. over 2012 also means these customers have more purchasing power than the lean period of 2009-10.

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