Finance and Economic

Adobe Systems Inc. has taken another step in the greening of its downtown headquarters.

It has just completed installation of 12 Bloom Energy Inc. fuel cells in its parking garage — the largest installation of the alternative energy devices to date.

The Bloom servers generate about 30 percent of the energy Adobe uses at its headquarters.

Each fuel cell— called "energy servers" by venture-backed Bloom —generates 100 kilowatts of power. At a cost of $800,000 each, it’s by no means an inexpensive investment, but Adobe’s director of workplace solutions, Randy Knox, said the company expects to recoup its investment in six years or less.

The company helped finance the installation by using a 30 percent federal tax credit for energy efficiency projects under the Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

"We hope through future investments to get up to at least 50 percent of our energy" from renewable sources, "and being a forward looking company like we are, we are working with the Public Utilities Commission on a net zero program. We are constantly trying to find a way to reduce the amount we use."

The Bloom servers were installed between June and August, capping a two-year process during which Adobe hired a San Jose State University physics professor to analyze fuel cell technology.

"He said by far the future of fuel cell technology was Bloom," Knox said payday loans in one hour. "And at the time, Bloom wasn’t known publicly either, so everything was done very quietly."

Adobe in January announced in had installed 20 wind turbines between its two 18-story towers. The equipment was expected to generate enough electricity to power the public art sempahore spinning on the Almaden Tower and the electric vehicle charging stations the company provides for employees.

Adobe invested $1.4 million in 64 projects that earned the company a Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification in 2006 from the U.S. Green Building Council. It has more than earned back the initial investment including $389,000 in rebates from Pacific Gas & Electric.

Since the beignning of the company’s green efforts in 2001, the company has saved nearly $7 million.

Bloom emerged from stealth mode in February to wide acclaim. The company spent 10 years developing the technology, and the company has fuel servers installed at tech companies across the valley, including eBay Inc., Google Inc. and Cypress Semiconductor Corp., whose founder and CEO, T.J. Rodgers, sits on Bloom's board.

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Initial filings for unemployment insurance ticked up in the latest week, but continued to hover in the same range they have been since November, the government reported Thursday.

The number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits rose to 465,000 in the week ended Sept. 18, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The number was higher than economists’ forecasts of 450,000 for the week, according to consensus estimates by Briefing.com. It also marked an increase from the upwardly revised 453,000 initial claims filed in the previous week, which was shortened by Labor Day.

Both this week’s higher figure, and the upward revision to last week’s number disappointed investors, driving stock futures lower in pre-market trading.

"It’s a problematic level and really inconsistent with any meaningful job growth," said Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo. "It raises the risk that the unemployment rate is going to move back toward 10% toward the end of the year."

Initial claims had declined in the two prior weeks, giving investors some hope for the job market. But overall, the weekly number has made little progress since November, hovering in the mid to upper 400,000s and even ticking slightly above 500,000 in mid-August.

As unemployment figures remain one of the defining measures of the recovery, economists say they’re looking for weekly initial claims to trend below the current range before they’re entirely optimistic about the economy.

"Companies are still focusing more on cutting costs than they are on growing their business, and that’s really what has not changed," Vitner said. "Businesses have been unwilling to take on any risks, and hiring a worker is taking on risk."

The four-week moving average of initial claims, calculated to smooth out volatility, totaled 463,250, down 3,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 466,500.

Continuing claims: The number of people continuing to file unemployment claims for a second week or more fell to 4,489,000 during the week ended Sept. 11, the most recent data available.

That’s down 48,000 from an upwardly revised 4,537,000 the week before. Economists were expecting continuing claims to edge down to 4,450,000.

The four-week moving average for ongoing claims rose by 2,500 to 4,537,000.

Earlier this month, the government’s closely watched monthly jobs report showed that the economy cut payrolls by 54,000 jobs in August. The national unemployment rate stood at 9.6%.

Did you get a factory job? Have you recently been hired in the manufacturing industry? Tell us about it and you could be featured in an upcoming story on CNNMoney.com. 

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KFC Corp., which in the past has painted its logo on fire extinguishers and city streets as a means of grassroots marketing, is promoting its bunless chicken sandwich on the buns of college coeds.

KFC is paying women at various college campuses across the United States to wear red sweatpants with the KFC Double Down logo and the iconic Colonel Sanders portrait logo.

The chicken restaurant chain said it will select certain women to serve as “human billboards” and pay them with $500 stipends and KFC gift checks.

Women interested in participating in the promotion can contact KFC through the chain’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/kfc, according to a news release.

John Cywinski, chief marketing and food innovation officer for KFC, said in the release that the promotion is aimed at attracting KFC’s key target: young men.

Louisville-based KFC is a division of Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), which also is the parent company of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver’s and A&W Restaurants.

There are more than 15,000 KFC outlets in 109 countries and territories. It is estimated that the stores serve about 12 million customers per day.

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The Miami Herald will cut another 49 jobs, the second round of major layoffs in as many years at The McClatchy Co.’s largest newspaper.

The newspaper will offer buyouts and conduct layoffs, including nine newsroom employees and four from the El Nuevo Herald newsroom, the Spanish-language newspaper. Publisher David Landsberg was blunt — the bad economy mixed with still-hurting advertising revenue forced the move, according to an Associated Press report.

Last year, the newspaper cut 175 positions in a companywide 15 percent work force reduction effort, and remaining staff endured 5 percent to 10 percent pay cuts, according to media reports.

McClatchy — owner of 30 daily newspapers, including The Sacramento Bee — announced dramatic cost-cutting efforts last year, including buyouts, layoffs and pay cuts online payday loan lenders. However, the company has lifted some restrictions in recent months.

Shares of McClatchy dipped 11 cents — or 3 percent — to $3.49 in trading Friday. The company has endured a roller coaster-like ride, with a one-year low of $2.13 and a high of $7.16. However, the stock is far from its $65-plus price several years ago.

McClatchy chairman Gary Pruitt has been direct about the challenges, citing declining advertising revenue and print readership. However, Pruitt, in recent months, said the advertising revenue decline has slowed, showing a possible improvement for the hard-hit sector.

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N.C. State University is teaming with the Charlotte campus of culinary school Johnson & Wales to study how to breed a better North Carolina strawberry.

The Rocky Mount-based Golden Leaf Foundation is supporting the project with a $200,000 grant.

Essentially, the project will work as follows: Johnson & Wales chefs will research and report the characteristics (size, flavor, texture, etc.) that culinary experts value most in strawberries. The NCSU team at the N us fast cash.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis then will work to find ways to breed a strawberry with the preferred characteristics.

“Ultimately, we want to increase the economic value and impact of N.C. strawberries while enhancing the eating experience,” says Jeremy Pattison, part of N.C. State’s Plants for Human Health Institute.

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Three people have been charged in connection with the theft of nearly $250,000 from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said Friday.

The three were identified as Melissa Leeann DeHerrera, 32, a former CHFA employee; Zarak Tyron Shepard, 45; and Scheherazade Donya Yvette Marshall, 33.

Each were charged with theft, forgery, computer crime, conspiracy to commit theft, conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to commit computer crime, Morrissey said.

The charges allege that in March and April, DeHerrera used CHFA’s computer system to steal nearly $250,000 from the agency, conspiring with Shepard and Marshall in the theft low interest rate personal loans.

Shepard and Marshall were arrested Thursday, and an arrest warrant has been issued for DeHerrera, Morrissey said. Bond has been set at $100,000 for each person.

CHFA works to provide financing to homebuyers, small and medium-sized businesses, and apartment developers.

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As the nation celebrates Labor Day today, the U.S. Census Bureau counts 154 million people 16 years of age and older in the U.S. work force. Arizona reports a civilian labor force of 3.18 million, however, 10 percent of those people are currently unemployed as the recession’s effects linger.

Arizona’s service industries, including retail, utilities, health care, hospitality and professional services, account for the bulk of the state’s employment, 2.07 million jobs. Goods-producing industries, such as construction and manufacturing account for 275,300 jobs. Government and schools provide 372,900 jobs.

Labor Day was first observed as a parade of 10,000 workers on Sept. 5, 1882, in New York, organized by Peter McGuire, a Carpenters and Joiners Union secretary, the Bureau says. Congress established the first Monday in September as the federal holiday in 1894.

Here are a few other Labor Day stats provided by the Census Bureau:

• 78% of workers in private industry receive a paid vacation.
• 7.6 million U.S. workers who hold down more than one job.
• 10.1 million people in the U.S. are self-employed.
• 10.3 million work as independent contractors.
• 27% of workers 16 and older who work more than 40 hours a week.
• About 7 percent work 60 or more hours a week.
• 4.1 is the median number of years workers have been with their current employer. About 10 percent have been with their current employer for 20 or more years.
• There are 16.1 million labor union members nationwide.

Click here for the latest labor report from the Arizona Department of Commerce.

Click here for more stories on local labor and other economic statistics.

Click here for stories about job prospects in the Phoenix area.

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SureWest Communications is launching on Saturday a one-hour radio show on the region’s high school football programs.

SureWest (NASDAQ: SURW) said Thursday that SureWest Sports Radio Show will debut Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m. on ESPN 1320 AM.

An extension of the SureWest Sports TV program, the radio show will air every Saturday, a news release said.

“The response to the SureWest Sports TV Show, which launched over a year ago, has been overwhelming,” Mike Finnerty, SureWest Sports Show’s host who will also host the new radio program. “I talk to kids, coaches and families everyday, and they always want more coverage. The weekly one-hour radio show with ESPN 1320 is a great extension of our TV program and allows us to dig deeper into the Sacramento’s high school sports scene to whet the appetites of our die-hard high school sports fans.”

The radio show will feature regular weekly contributions from knowledgeable local sports sources, including head coaches and sports writers in the region. Contributors will include Sacramento Bee writer Joe Davidson, Jon Gudel of the Elk Grove Citizen and Bill Hicks of the Grapevine Independent.

SureWest Sports Radio Show will recap the previous night’s games and preview the next week’s contests, the release said. Each week Finnerty also will rank his top 15 local football teams.

“Utilizing our relationship with the SureWest Sports Show and Mike Finnerty allows ESPN 1320 to now provide even more in-depth high school football coverage on the area’s most popular sports radio station,” Brian Lopez, ESPN 1320’s program director, said in the release. “Mike and his guests on the show bring a unique and unparalleled amount of knowledge and passion for high school sports in Sacramento and we are excited to have them on ESPN 1320.”

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