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Growth in the number of people tweeting and friending from their mobile devices is keeping pace with increases in subscribers to social networks.

A new study by comScore shows that 4.7 million people accessed Twitter on their mobile phones in January 2010, up 347 percent jump compared to last year.

The number of Facebook users going to the site on their mobiles hit 25.1 million, up 112 percent.

MySpace's numbers actually declined 7 percent from last year, with 11.4 million mobile users free credit report.

Those numbers compare with an overall increase of 4.6 percent in the number of mobile phone users who accessed a social networking site via mobile browser.

ComScore said that In January, 11.1 percent of all mobile phone users went to social networks on their mobiles.

Smartphone owners were far more likely to do so compared to other cell phone users, 30.8 percent vs. 6.8 percent .

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Programs at the University of Cincinnati and Miami University are among 14 Health Care/Biomedicine Centers of Excellence across the state announced by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.

UC’s newly named state center of excellence, Transforming Health Care in the 21st Century, focuses on the neurosciences; environmental health and cancer; pediatrics; and diabetes and obesity. At Miami, Structural Biology and Metabonomics made the list.

“Aligning Ohio universities with Ohio’s growing biomedical and health care industries will generate economic growth and new, hard-to-outsource jobs,” Strickland said. “Biomedicine and health care in Ohio create high wage jobs, investments in facilities, research and development and production. But much more than that, these industries bring forth medical breakthroughs that benefit citizens of Ohio and citizens of the world.”

Dr. John Tew, clinical director of the UC Neuroscience Institute, said his organization was honored to be included cash advance america.

“Ohio is renowned for its health care excellence, and to be recognized as a neuroscience leader by the state’s leadership confirms our achievement as a benchmark institution in neurological care,” he said in a statement.

The Centers of Excellence are part of Ohio’s 10-year Strategic Plan for Higher Education. Friday’s announcement was the second of five announcements of university Centers of Excellence that align with the state’s targeted industries and focus on talent recruitment, according to a press release. In October 2009, the governor announced Ohio’s nine Centers of Excellence in Advanced Energy at eight of the state’s universities.

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Just as they are contending with massive gaps in their operating budgets, states and localities must also deal with a $1 trillion deficit in public employees’ retirement benefits’ funds, a new report found.

The shortfall amounts to more than $8,800 for every household in the nation, according to the Pew Center on the States, which published its findings Thursday.

States largely got themselves into this mess by failing to make annual contributions while also enhancing benefits, the study found. Now, they are behind by a total $452 billion in their pension accounts and $555 billion in their retiree health funds, as of the end of fiscal 2008, which ended June 30 for most states.

The deficit is likely even more severe because the report did not take into account the crumbling of the stock market in the latter half of 2008. The typical pension plan lost 25% of its value in 2008.

States must find ways to make up these gaps because retiree benefits for public workers are largely guaranteed by union contract. And they are funded through contributions from both employees and state employers, as well as investment returns.

So when gaps appear, states must ask their residents to make up the difference, usually through property tax or income tax hikes.

"Ultimately, taxpayers could face higher taxes and cuts in services," said Stephen Fehr, one of the report’s authors. "You can’t ignore the problem. It’s just going to be more serious budget trouble for states down the road."

To be sure, the bill isn’t due all at once and no state is in danger of default. These benefits are paid out over decades. Still, the deficits must be addressed sooner than later or the gaps will simply balloon more.

In the most trouble

The consequences of the shortfall could be severe. It comes at a time when states are wrestling with a cumulative $180 billion budget gap for fiscal 2011.

Eight states are in the most dire shape, according to the Pew report. These include: Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey and Oklahoma.

Two of these states — Illinois and Kansas — have less than 60% of the necessary assets on hand to meet their long-term pension obligations.

Only four states — Florida, New York, Washington and Wisconsin — had a fully funded system in 2008, down from just over half at the beginning of the decade.

Overall, state pension systems are 84% funded.

Many states have been lax about funding their pension systems, even during more prosperous times earlier this decade. Some 21 states failed to contribute at least 90% of the required amount during the past five years.

Retiree health care and other non-pension benefit accounts are in even worse condition. Only about 5% of their total liabilities are funded. States generally paying these bills as they come due, rather than setting aside money in advance.

Also, some states sweetened their retiree benefits during the 1990s and earlier this decade, reducing employee contributions or providing cost-of-living increases. But they didn’t allocate money to pay for these changes.

What’s being done

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, states have begun to act. Fifteen states passed legislation reforming their pension systems in 2009 and 16 are looking at making changes this year.

Since it’s tough to make changes to union contracts, most states apply the new rules to incoming employees only.

Several states, including Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Texas, have reduced benefits offered to new employees or raised the retirement age. Some are also asking workers to contribute more to their pension accounts or retiree health benefits. And a few have created 401(k) style plans to go alongside their traditional pensions.

In Nevada, for instance, those hired in 2010 and beyond will have to wait until age 62 to retire, instead of age 60. They will also have a less generous funding formula: Their years of service will be multiplied by 2.5, rather than 2.67, to derive the percentage of salary being replaced by pension benefits.

In New York, new hires can’t retire until age 62, instead of age 55, and they will have to work for 10 years instead of five.

"A growing number of policy makers recognize that their states’ fiscal health depends on how well they manage the bill coming due for public sector retirement benefits," said Susan Urahn, the center’s managing director. "We are seeing more and more states explore policy reforms aimed at putting their systems on stronger fiscal footing."

The study looked at 231 state-administered pension plans and 159 state-administered retiree health care and other non-pension benefit plans, which include some localities’ and teacher plans. 

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Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of the stimulus bill, and from here on out the pace of spending should pick up, according to administration officials.

The federal government expects to spend more money on projects — such as high-speed rail — rather than payments to states and individuals, according to Vice President Joe Biden, who released his annual stimulus progress report Wednesday.

On Feb. 17, 2009, Congress passed a $787 billion economic stimulus program — the largest in the nation’s history — and it has elicited both praise and scorn.

The White House is mounting an all-out campaign this week to tout the benefits of the Recovery Act, saying the package has largely lived up to its promises of stemming job losses and boosting economic growth. Administration officials are touring the nation to highlight stimulus-funded work and detailing where the money has been spent in the past 12 months.

Through the end of January, some $334 billion in spending has been approved, of which $179 billion has actually left federal coffers. Another $119 billion has gone to tax cuts.

"Our work is far from over, but we have rescued this economy from the worst of this crisis," said President Obama on Wednesday, though he noted many Americans may not feel the Recovery Act’s impact because they remain unemployed.

Detractors, however, counter that stimulus has been a waste of money and produced few jobs. And few Americans believe the stimulus program is really working. Only 36% of respondents said the Recovery Act is helping the economy, according to a recent CNN poll.

"In the first year of the trillion-dollar stimulus, Americans have lost millions of jobs, the unemployment rate continues to hover near 10%, the deficit continues to soar and we’re inundated with stories of waste, fraud and abuse," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "This was not the plan Americans asked for or the results they were promised."

Shifting the mix

In the coming months, the pace and mix of spending will change, senior administration officials said. Until this point, the bulk of the spending has been on tax relief and direct aid — such as unemployment benefits — in order to stop the economic freefall.

Going forward, the government will distribute $32 billion in Recovery Act funds per month, up from an average $27 billion a month over the past year, according to Biden’s annual report.

To date, only $31 billion has been spent on projects — such as infrastructure, high-speed rail, broadband and health technology. But in the second phase of the act, the amount of money going to these initiatives will more than double to $7 billion a month as the work ramps up. The administration views this spending as setting the stage for a lasting expansion.

"Many projects are just now getting underway, and will be creating jobs throughout 2010 and beyond," said Biden, noting that the administration will announce an additional $1.5 billion of surface transportation projects Wednesday. "Work on many Recovery Act projects will accelerate in the spring and summer months as weather conditions permit work on roads, bridges, water projects, and Superfund site clean ups."

Payments to states and individuals will fall to $11 billion, from $14 billion, per month. Much of this spending — such as Medicaid funding and additional unemployment benefits — was meant to stabilize the economy during the recession.

The administration will reach its goal to disburse 70% of the Recovery Act funds, or $551 billion, by Sept. 30, senior administration officials said.

The Congressional Budget Office recently hiked the cost estimate of the Recovery Act to $862 billion, though the administration still uses the original $787 billion figure.

Shortcomings highlighted

Republicans, however, were quick to point out stimulus’ shortcomings, stressing the nation’s stubbornly high unemployment rate, which stands at 9.7%.

"Taxpayers aren’t getting their money’s worth from the trillion-dollar ’stimulus’ and struggling families and small businesses are rightly asking, ‘Where are the jobs?’," said Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the House’s top Republican.

Republican Whip Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., said states have lost a total of 2.9 million jobs between the bill’s enactment last February through December, though the administration projected stimulus would save or create 3.5 million positions.

In the final quarter of last year, the Recovery Act funded 595,263 direct jobs, according to Recovery.gov. The figure is based on about 160,000 reports from state, local and corporate recipients who have spent $57.9 billion in stimulus money.

It does not tally jobs created indirectly through companies buying supplies for stimulus projects, people spending their tax cuts, increased unemployment benefits and the like.

In total, the economic stimulus program has boosted employment by 1.5 million to 2 million jobs, the president’s chief economic adviser said in mid-January. That number is derived from a mathematical formula based on how much money has flowed out the federal door.

A week ago, the president’s top economic adviser praised the Recovery Act, calling it the "great unsung hero of the past year." Council of Economic Advisers Chair Christina Romer reiterated that the program has funded up to 2 million jobs and helped turn the economy around. 

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Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. Thursday posted sharply higher fourth-quarter profit as restaurant openings and higher menu prices helped push revenue up 12 percent.

The Denver-based fast-casual restaurant chain known for its bulging burritos (NYSE: CMG) posted quarterly net income of $31.6 million, or 99 cents a share, up from $17 million, or 52 cents a share, in the same quarter of 2008.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 81 cents a share, Thomson Reuters reported.

Revenue for the fourth quarter rose to $387.4 million from $345.3 million a year earlier. Analysts had forecast revenue of $388.2 million.

Chipotle opened 45 new restaurants in the quarter, bringing its total to 956 payday loans in 1 hour. Same-store restaurant sales rose 2 percent, largely on menu price increases.

Revenue-level operating margins were 24.5 percent, up from 21.1 percent a year earlier.

For full-year 2009, Chipotle reported net income of $126.8 million, or $3.95 a share, versus $78.2 million, or $2.36 a share, in 2008.

Full-year revenue was $1.518 billion, up from $1.331 billion the previous year.

Chipotle said it expects to open 120 to 130 new restaurants in 2010, with flat same-store sales. It plans a move into the United Kingdom by spring.

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The Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy continues to show signs of modest improvement but signaled it will stay the course and keep interest rates low to help spur a recovery.

As expected, the central bank left its key interest rate, the federal funds rate, near 0%, the level it has been at since December 2008. That rate is used as a benchmark for a broad range of business and consumer loans.

In a statement released at the end of its two-day meeting, the Fed pointed to improvement in business spending, but said that the "recovery is likely to be moderate for a time."

While that may not sound like a ringing endorsement of economic growth, it was significantly better than what the Fed had been saying in its statements since last April — "Economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time."

Still, the Fed repeated its earlier forecast that conditions are "likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period."

But one member, Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig, voted against the Fed’s latest action. According to the statement, Hoenig thought that economic conditions had changed enough so that the continued expectation of low rates was "no longer warranted." It was the first dissenting vote among Fed policymakers since January 2009.

The Fed said it will stick with plans to let some of its efforts of the past two years expire in the coming months. But it provided no new details of how or when it plans to start pulling back on nearly $2 trillion it has pumped into the economy over the last two years through the purchases of mortgages, long-term Treasurys and the debt of mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500).

Some critics of the Fed have worried that the central bank is behind the curve in withdrawing that stimulus, which could feed inflation down the road. But the Fed repeated its earlier view that it believes inflation "is likely to be subdued for some time."

Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank, said Hoenig’s dissent is probably a good thing since it may assure markets that the Fed is not getting too far behind the curve in keeping prices in check.

Keith Hembre, chief economist at First American Funds, said if the Fed policymakers had followed Hoenig’s lead and dropped the language on keeping rates exceptionally low, it would have roiled financial markets not yet ready for the Fed to start raising rates.

"Hoeing is one of the more hawkish guys on inflation," Hembre said. "But I think the view [of other Fed policymakers] on inflation is on the mark."

Hembre added that due to the weakness in the job market, he thinks it will be years before there is a big enough increase in wages that could help drive the prices of goods and services higher.

Along those lines, the central bank did highlight some key economic weaknesses that remain, including tight credit, continued declines in real estate investment and employers still being reluctant to hire new staff.

McCain said that given the uneven signs of improvement in the housing market so far, it was not realistic to expect the Fed to lay out plans to start selling the $1.25 trillion in mortgages it expects to own by the end of March. Some have even argued the Fed should raise that limit in order to buy more mortgages.

"There is concern about what happens with the housing market when there is no longer the support of the Fed making these purchases," McCain said. He believes the Fed has decided its best course on mortgages is to "steer the middle course," and go ahead with the purchases it has committed to and no further.

The Fed’s latest meeting comes two days before the Commerce Department is expected to report the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 4.6% in the fourth quarter. That would be its strongest pace in four years.

The meeting also comes as the Senate prepares for a key vote Thursday that could clear the way towards confirming Fed chairman Ben Bernanke for another four-year term as head of the central bank. His term is set to expire Sunday, and there has been growing opposition from both ends of the political spectrum to his reappointment. 

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The amount of money that Canadians are stashing away for retirement has been declining for a decade, and the trend is likely to continue through 2020 as the baby boomers move into their golden years, according to a study by the Royal Bank of Canada.

Contributions to registered retirement savings plans, or RRSPs, grew steadily from the late 1960s to the late 1990s.

Since 1997, there has been a "decidedly downward trend" in the RRSP savings rate, the report says.

"This downward trend in itself doesn’t mean there’s a problem," if the level of savings is still adequate for Canadians’ retirement, RBC assistant chief economist Paul Ferley said in an interview.

"The big question is determining how much savings is needed to properly fund the population as they move into their retirement years. At the moment the academic community is working through that analysis. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on that."

A falloff in savings would have a negative impact on the overall economy because it would result in fewer funds available for business investment.

Government officials said in December they will study and consult the public on a short-list of proposals for how to boost retirement savings.

The list includes everything from a continued reliance on voluntary savings plans and higher contributions to the Canada Pension Plan to supplementary pension plans and tax reform.

A report is expected by May.

Financial planning experts, academics and labour groups have been calling for pension reform, particularly as the massive baby boom population, those born in the two decades following World War II, moves into the retirement years.

Stock market volatility and turmoil in the economy over the past two years have exposed weaknesses in the current system. Fewer than one in four Canadians now holds a private company pension plan.

The decline in RRSP contributions can largely be pinned on changing demographics, according to the RBC paper.

Different age groups tend to save differently for retirement, the study noted, with those in their mid-30s and 40s traditionally saving the most and those ages 34 and under and ages 55 and older saving less.

"Because household RRSP contributions have historically tended to fall after age 55, it is possible that we could actually see a decline in total real RRSP contributions over the next decade," the study said.

The run-up in RRSP contributions as a share of income through the 1980s and early 1990s appears to have been mainly due to the boomers entering their peak saving years, along with rising income growth and comparatively strong real stock market gains, the study found.

Periodic changes in government policy, such as increases to contribution limits and scrapping limits on carry-forward room, also spurred savings.

Retirement savings declines have been driven by falling stock markets and economic slowdown, as well as demographic changes.

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Passenger traffic continues to decline at Mineta San Jose International Airport, but the decreases are growing smaller.

In November, traffic was down 4.2 percent compared to November 2008, according to the weekly report from Debra Figone, San Jose city manager. During the summer months, monthly passenger decline percentages were consistently in the low double digits.

"The smaller decline reflects the retention of passengers on SJC's other flights and resulting higher load factors despite fewer flights, and it could be an indicator that business and leisure travel are in the early stages of recovery," Figone said in her report.

The airport, owned and operated by the city, has suffered passenger declines and a growing number of canceled flights for more than two years, as have many airports nationwide. Dating back to September 2007, Mineta San Jose has seen its daily flight volume drop from 190 to about 150. Passenger volume dropped from 10.7 million in 2007 to 9.7 million in 2008.

There has been some good news in recent weeks. On Dec. 15, JetBlue Airways announced it will restore daily nonstop service between San Jose and Boston, starting May 13. Connecting two of the nation¹s high-tech capitals, the San Jose-to-Boston

JetBlue flight will be another version of the so-called "nerd bird" flights, which is what frequent fliers call the twice-daily Alaska Airlines flights that connect Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas. Alaska resumed those flights in late summer, after American Airlines dropped its San Jose-to-Austin service earlier this year low interest personal loan.

The new JetBlue flight beginning in May will depart San Jose at 9 p.m. daily, arriving in Boston at 5:30 a.m. local time. The Boston-to-San Jose flight will depart Boston at 4:25 p.m. local time, arriving in San Jose at 8:02 p.m. JetBlue had nonstop San Jose-Boston flights beginning in 2004, but began routing the connection through New York in 2008.

Last month, Horizon Air/Alaska Airlines announced it will launch twice-daily direct service from Spokane, Wash. to Sacramento and San Jose starting March 26. One daily flight from Spokane will operate nonstop to Sacramento and continue on to San Jose, while a second flight will operate nonstop to San Jose and continue on to Sacramento. The new service also includes a second daily roundtrip between San Jose and Sacramento, facilitating same-day business trips in each direction between Silicon Valley and the state capitol.

Horizon Air started a seasonal daily flight connecting San Jose and the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area this week, running through March, to accommodate skiers heading to the huge eastern Sierra Nevada resort.

David Vossbrink, the airport's communications manager, has told the Business Journal that airport officials hope the facility's major renovation and expansion will be instrumental in helping attract new flights and carriers. The $1.3 billion Terminal Area Improvement Program, scheduled for completion in June, is highlighted by the 380,000-square-foot, $342 million Terminal B Concourse, parts of which have already opened.

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The Sedona Film Festival is raffling off a $50,000 solar system to benefit the annual event.

The festival, now in its 16^th year, will sell 3,000 of the tickets at $20 each or six for $100 in order to raise money for the festival. The system is being donated by the Cottonwood-based Arizona Solar Power payday loan.

The idea to raise money is based on the festival’s new endeavors into sustainable media.

For info: www.sedonafilmfestival.com.

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NEW YORK–The nation's retailers suffered miserably through November as a modestly positive start to the holiday shopping season wasn't strong enough to offset weak spending the rest of the month.

After posting two consecutive monthly sales gains after more than a year of declines, merchants collectively posted a surprise 0.3 percent decrease for November, compared with a year ago when business plummeted to historic lows as spooked shoppers clamped down after the financial meltdown. The sales decrease is an ominous sign for an economy in the early stages of a fragile recovery.

Now, the big worry is whether consumers won't go back to the stores until the final hours before Dec. 25 as they wait for even bigger discounts in a season that many analysts had hoped would generate sales that would be unchanged from a year ago.

According to sales results announced Thursday, most stores including department store chains Macy's Inc.,Children's Place Retail Stores Inc., teen merchant Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and discounter Target Corp. posted sales declines. Warehouse club operator Costco Wholesale Corp. posted a sales gain, though it's smaller than expected. Another exception was Limited Brands Inc., which runs Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. It reported a solid sales gain instead of the sales decrease that Wall Street projected.

The figures are based on sales at stores open at least a year and are considered a key indicator of a retailers' health because they exclude the effects of store expansions or closings.

The 0.3 percent drop, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Index, is far worse than the original 5 to 8 percent growth forecast, which was whittled down to 3 to 4 percent gain earlier this week. The weak results come on top of a 7.7 percent drop a year ago.

"This suggests that consumers are still under a significant amount of pressure from unemployment and job worries," Ken Perkins, president of retail research firm Retail Metrics.

After consumers showed some signs of life in September and October, merchants saw a sales lull throughout November until shoppers crowded stores and malls for the early morning specials for the day after Thanksgiving payday loan lenders.

According to reports, however, shoppers were picky about what they bought for themselves and others, focusing on discounted basics like microwaves, boots and bed sheets over the holiday weekend. The hot areas were electronics and online shopping, which is not reflected in most of Thursday's sales figures.

Economists say that depressed spending could persist for several years amid stubbornly high unemployment – now at 10.2 percent, the highest in 26 years.

Amid a challenging economy, Costco fared well, posting a 6 percent increase; results were less than the 8.1 percent gain that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected. However, half of that increase results from currency shifts and higher gas prices.

But discounter Target said that strong sales during Thanksgiving weekend were not enough to offset weak business the rest of the month, sending sales in stores open at least a year down 1.5 percent. The drop was bigger than the 0.5 percent drop analysts were expecting and were on top of the 10.4 percent decline in November 2008.

Discount retailer Fred's Inc. posted a 3.3 percent decline, a bigger drop than the 1.6 percent decrease analysts predicted. The retailer said its pharmacy department was strong in the month but discretionary spending by consumers remained weak.

Consumers "utilized layaways to a much greater extent than last year, deferring recognition of those sales until December," said CEO Bruce A. Efird.

Macy's sales in stores open at least a year fell 6.1 percent in November, a bigger than analysts expected.

Macy's said the month was hurt by a shift of a sales event and warm weather. Still, Macy's said it had strong traffic early on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when many Americans go shopping. Analysts had expected a 3.1 percent drop.

Abercrombie & Fitch's woes continued, with sales falling 17 percent, much worse than the 9.3 percent decline analysts predicted.

But Limited posted a 3 percent sales gain, surpassing estimates from analysts who had expected a 2.5 percent decline.

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