AnnArbor.com's Business2Business Expo opens today at 9 a.m. in the Morris Lawrence Building at Washtenaw Community College.

The free event features over 50 exhibitors and eight seminars to help the Ann Arbor area's business community build contacts and grow their businesses. Seminar topics include franchising, how to start a business and Roth IRA conversions.

The event runs until 5 p.m. Highlights include a live broadcast of "The Lucy Ann Lance Business Insider" on WLBY 1290 AM from 9 a.m. until noon. AnnArbor.com's Business Review team of Paula Gardner and Nathan Bomey will be guests at 10:20 a.m.

The day's events also include a sold-out luncheon sponsored by the Washtenaw Economic Club featuring AnnArbor.com's economic forecast for Washtenaw County by University of Michigan economists.

AnnArbor.com reported several articles about that report on Sunday and Monday. They include:

Washtenaw County’s economic rebound set to ripple through community

2009 forecast 'did not nail the severity' of Washtenaw County's downturn

Ann Arbor's Top 10 hottest jobs of 2010

TeL Systems holds off on adding jobs despite activity

Adaptive Materials swamped with interest for its alternative energy engineering jobs

Read the full 40-page report here.

View the charts that show the trends here.

Education chasm: Downturn splinters Ann Arbor's economy into two pieces

Internship separates Ann Arbor social media experts in job hunt