Weak U.S. jobs report slams Wall Street

A bombshell jobs report sent Wall Street into a frenzy this morning as U.S. employers added only 88,000 positions last month, yet one expert said this wasn't surprising given increases in payroll taxes and the effect of automatic federal budget cuts.

"I don't think we have to be overly worried, but we have to trim our expectations a bit. The growth is going to be slower than the last couple of reports imply but that's because the sequester is beginning to kick in and households are reacting to the cut in take-home pay. That's a pretty big thing," said Northeastern University economist Alan Clayton-Matthews. "If it weren't for those, growth would be really strong. So what we're seeing is just the simple math of positive growth on one side and negative effects on growth on the other and here's the net – slow to moderate growth."

Even though the unemployment rate fell a tenth of a percentage point to 7.6 percent last month, its lowest level in four years, the figure reflects the fact that more people have stopped looking for jobs. Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans working or hunting for jobs fell to 63.3 percent in March, the lowest such figure in more than three decades.

Stock futures took a dive upon the release of the report and markets are down this morning.

Yet one positive was the fact the economy added another 61,000 jobs in January and February combined compared to prior estimates.

While effects from the federal budget cuts, or sequester, will build over the coming months, Clayton-Matthews said an improved housing market, higher housing and stock prices, and increased demand for automobiles have helped to balance out economic woes.

"There's sufficient private demand out there and the economy has been adding jobs for months so that has been increasing household incomes, so that more than offsets drag from tax increases and budget cuts," he said.

Yet David Tuerck, executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute, said today the number of jobs that have disappeared from the U.S. economy since President Obama's first inauguration in 2009 has now ballooned to 5.1 million.

"The labor force participation rate is now the lowest that it has been for the month of March over the last 34 years," said Tuerck. "It appears that the major effect on labor market conditions of the administration's economic policy has been to discourage workers from seeking jobs."

The Associated Press contributed

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Facebook barges into Google turf with Home

NEW YORK — Facebook Home, the new application that takes over the front screen of a smartphone, is a bit of a corporate home invasion. Facebook is essentially moving into Google's turf, taking advantage of software the search giant and competitor created.

Facebook Home will operate on phones running Google Inc.'s Android software and present Facebook status updates, messages and other content on the home screen, rather than making the user fire up Facebook's app. The software will be available for users to download on April 12 and will come preloaded on a new phone from HTC Corp., sold by AT&T Inc. in the U.S.

Google gives away Android, the most popular smartphone software in the world, in the hope that it will steer phone users toward Google services, such as Maps and Gmail, and the ads it sells. Compared to ads targeting PC surfers, mobile ads are a small market, but it's growing quickly. Research firm eMarketer expects U.S. mobile ad spending to grow 77 percent this year to $7.29 billion.

With Home, Facebook is inserting itself between users and Google, diverting them to the social network's own ads and services. It's taking advantage of the fact that Google places few restrictions on how phone manufacturers and software developers modify Android. By contrast, Facebook Home would not work on the iPhone without approval from Apple Inc., and close collaboration with the company.

"Facebook Home can only reside on Android because only Google was daft enough to allow it," said independent phone analyst Horace Dediu, via Twitter.

At the launch event Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Google was aware of the project, but Facebook didn't work them to create Home. Asked if he believed Google could change tactics and restrict apps like Home, he said it was theoretically possible, but highly unlikely for Google to do a "180-degree change" in its stance on Android's openness.

It's not the first time a big Internet company has co-opted Android: Amazon.com has gone much farther with its Kindle Fire tablets. They run a version of Android that strips out all Google services, replacing them with Amazon's equivalents. Barnes & Noble Inc. does the same thing with its Nook tablets. These devices lie outside the Google system, whereas phones running Facebook Home still come with Google apps like Maps and the Play Store for music, movies and applications.

The Play Store has many examples of downloadable applications that modify the Android home screen — so-called "launchers." Home, however, represents the first time a major Internet company and Google competitor has created a downloadable launcher.

J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth said Home may increase the pressure on Google to find ways to get people to spend more time on its Plus social network, which so far hasn't been as magnetic as Facebook's hangout. Anmuth also thinks the communication tools built into Home could decrease usage of Google's Gmail and Gchat services.

But Zuckerberg said the app will help Google.

"I think this is really good for Android," he told the audience at the launch event in Menlo Park, Calif. Developers do their best work on the iPhone first, but with Home, Facebook is putting Android first. If consumers want the Facebook Home experience, they'll have to get an Android phone.

In a statement, Google seemed to agree. "This latest device demonstrates the openness and flexibility that has made Android so popular," it said.

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AP Technology Writers Barbara Ortutay and Michael Liedtke contributed to this report.

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KFC to offer easy-to-eat boneless chicken

NEW YORK — KFC is stripping out the bones to make it easier for people to eat its chicken.

The fast-food chain is introducing deep-fried boneless chicken pieces on April 14 as an alternative to its traditional breast, thigh and drumstick pieces.

The new offering reflects the growing popularity of nuggets and strips that are easier to eat on the go, as well as Americans' seemingly endless desire for more convenient foods. KFC says nearly four out of five servings of fried chicken in the U.S. are now boneless.

Based on customer trends, the company says chicken with bones could eventually be pushed off its menu.

The new boneless, skinless pieces are about twice the size of KFC's crispy strips and come in white or dark meat. Customers can order them for the meal deals, which include two pieces, a side, a biscuit and a drink for $4.99. They also come in buckets, which include four pieces of boneless chicken and six pieces of chicken with bones for $14.99. The boneless chicken option costs the same as the regular fried chicken.

A piece of the boneless white meat has 200 calories and 8 grams of fat. A dark meat piece has 250 calories.

Spokesman Rick Maynard said it took two to three years to develop its version of boneless chicken, which he said performed strongly in test markets including Oklahoma City and Omaha last year. He said the new boneless pieces will also replace the chicken filets used in sandwiches. Last year, KFC also introduced its smaller, boneless "bites," as well as "Dip'ems" chicken strips that come with a variety of sauces.

KFC has more than 18,000 restaurants around the world, including more than 4,500 in the U.S. Its parent company Yum Brands Inc. also owns Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, which have also been introducing major new menu offerings in recent months.

Despite its choppy performance in the U.S. in recent years, Yum has enjoyed a streak of growth as a result of its presence in China. Yum is the largest Western fast-food operator in the country with about 5,300 locations, most of them KFC restaurants.

But since late last year, the company has been working to overcome a scare over its chicken supply in China that has hammered sales. Yum, based in Louisville, Ky., has warned that it expects its profit in 2013 to decline, snapping an 11-year streak of double-digit growth.

Shares of Yum Brands fell $2.17, or 3.2 percent, to $65.58 in morning trading as broad market indicators sagged on weaker than expected U.S. job growth in March.

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Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi

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Official: Obama proposes cuts to Social Security

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's proposed budget will call for reductions in the growth of Social Security and other benefit programs while still insisting on more taxes from the wealthy in a renewed attempt to strike a broad deficit-cutting deal with Republicans, a senior administration official says.

The proposal aims for a compromise on the Fiscal 2014 budget by combining the president's demand for higher taxes with GOP insistence on reductions in entitlement programs.

The official, who spoke on a condition of anonymity to describe a budget that has yet to be released, said Obama would reduce the federal government deficit by $1.8 trillion over 10 years. The president's budget, the first of his second term, incorporates elements from his last offer to House Speaker John Boehner in December. Congressional Republicans rejected that proposal because of its demand for more than a $1 trillion in tax revenue.

A key feature of the plan Obama now is submitting for the federal budget year beginning Oct. 1 is a revised inflation adjustment called "chained CPI." This new formula would effectively curb annual increases in a broad swath of government programs, but would have its biggest impact on Social Security. By encompassing Obama's offer to Boehner, R-Ohio, the plan will also include reductions in Medicare spending, much of it by targeting payments to health care providers and drug companies.

Obama's budget proposal also calls for additional tax revenue, including a proposal to place limits on tax-preferred retirement accounts for wealthy taxpayers. Obama has also called for limits on tax deductions by the wealthy, a proposal that could generate about $580 billion in revenue over 10 years.

The inflation adjustment would reduce federal spending over 10 years by about $130 billion, according to past White House estimates. Because it also affects how tax brackets are adjusted, it would also generate about $100 billion in higher taxes and affect even middle income taxpayers.

The reductions in the growth of benefit programs, which would affect veterans, the poor and the older Americans, is sure to anger many Democrats. Labor groups and liberals have long been critical of Obama's offer to Boehner for including such a plan.

Administration officials have said Obama would only agree to the reductions in benefit programs if they are accompanied by increases in revenue, a difficult demand given the strong anti-tax sentiment of House Republicans.

That Obama would include such a plan in his budget is hardly surprising. White House aides have said for weeks that the president's offer to Boehner in December remained on the table. Not including it in the budget would have constituted a remarkable retreat from his bargaining position.

Obama's budget, to be released next Wednesday, comes after the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-run Senate passed separate and markedly different budget proposals. House Republicans achieved long-term deficit reductions by targeting safety net programs; Democrats instead protected those programs and called for $1 trillion in tax increases.

But Obama has been making a concerted effort to win Republican support, especially in the Senate. He has even scheduled a dinner with Republican lawmakers on the evening that his budget is released next week.

House Republicans, however, have been adamant in their opposition to increases in taxes, noting that Congress already increased taxes on the wealthy in the first days of January to avoid a so-called fiscal cliff, or automatic, across the board tax increases and spending cuts.

Congress and the administration have already secured $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the next 10 years through budget reductions and with the end-of-year tax increase on the rich. Obama's plan would bring that total to $4.3 trillion over 10 years.

As described by the administration official, the budget proposal would also end a loophole that permits people to obtain unemployment insurance and disability benefits at the same time.

Obama's proposal, however, includes calls for increased spending. It would make pre-school available to more children by increasing the tax on tobacco.

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US economy adds 88K jobs, rate drops to 7.6 pct.

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added just 88,000 jobs in March, the fewest in nine months and a sharp retreat after a period of strong hiring. The slowdown may signal that the economy is heading into a weak spring.

The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dipped to 7.6 percent, the lowest in four years, from 7.7 percent. But the rate fell only because more people stopped looking for work. People who are out of work are no longer counted as unemployed once they stop looking for a job.

The percentage of Americans working or looking for jobs fell to 63.3 percent in March, the lowest such figure in nearly 34 years.

Stocks plummeted after the report. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 157 points in morning trading. Broader indexes also declined.

March's job gains were less than half the average of the previous six months, when the economy added an average of 196,000 jobs a month. The government said hiring was even stronger in January and February than previously estimated. January's job growth was revised up from 119,000 to 148,000. February's was revised from 236,000 to 268,000.

Several industries cut back sharply on hiring in March. Retailers cut 24,000 jobs after averaging 32,000 in the previous three months. Manufacturers cut 3,000 jobs after adding 19,000 the previous month. Financial services shed 2,000.

Some economists said retailers might have held back on hiring because March was colder than normal. That likely meant Americans bought fewer spring clothes and bought less garden equipment. Clothing stores shed 15,000 jobs and building material and garden supply stores shed 10,000.

The Labor Department uses a survey of mostly large businesses and government agencies to determine how many jobs are added or lost each month. That's the survey that produced the gain of 88,000 jobs for March. It uses a separate survey of households to calculate the unemployment rate.

In March, the number of people either working or looking for work fell by nearly 500,000. It was sharpest such drop since December 2010. And the number of Americans who said they were employed dropped nearly 210,000.

The percentage of adults in the labor force is a figure that economists call the participation rate. At 63.3 percent, it's the lowest since 1979. Normally during an economic recovery, an expanding economy lures job seekers back into the labor market. This time, many have stayed on the sidelines, and more have joined them.

Longer-term trends have helped keep the participation rate down. The vast generation of baby boomers has begun to retire. The share of men 20 and older in the labor force has dropped as manufacturing has shrunk.

Some who have left the job market are getting by on government aid, particularly Social Security's program for the disabled. The share of women working or looking for work has plateaued, and fewer teenagers are working.

Heidi Shierholz, says the labor force participation among those ages 25 to 54 — "prime age" workers — has dropped to 81.1 percent. It hasn't been lower since December 1984.

This could be the fourth straight year that the economy and hiring have shown strength in the winter and early spring, only to weaken in the summer. In 2012, for example, job gains averaged 262,000 a month in the January-March quarter, but then fell to a pace of 108,000 in the April-June quarter.

Economists blame a range of factors for the trend. Europe's financial crisis intensified in 2010 and 2011. And Japan's earthquake and tsunami disrupted U.S. manufacturing in 2011. The government's seasonal adjustment process may also be exaggerating the winter gains and depressing the summer figures.

In March, average hourly pay rose a penny, the smallest gain in five months. Average pay is just 1.8 percent higher than a year earlier, trailing the pace of inflation, which rose 2 percent in the past 12 months.

"This is not a good report through and through," Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at brokerage firm BTIG, said in a note to clients.

Economists had hoped that the bigger pay increases in recent months would continue and boost Americans' ability to spend.

Some economists said they expect any slowdown this spring to be milder than in the past three years.

"We don't anticipate the slowdown becoming too severe, not when the housing recovery is firing on all cylinders, but it is a reminder that the U.S. is still unable to sustain what used to be just average rates of growth," said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics.

Gary Burtless, senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, notes that some Americans have likely stopped looking for work because their unemployment benefits have run out.

"If people aren't collecting benefits, they have one less reason to be out pounding the pavement looking for a job," Burtless says.

Most analysts think the economy strengthened from January through March, helped by the pickup in hiring, a sustained recovery in housing and steady consumer spending. Consumers stepped up purchases in February and January, even after Social Security taxes increased this year.

Still the higher taxes have reduced paychecks. And many economists say steep government spending cuts that began taking effect March 1 will slow growth in the spring and summer.

Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, said employers may be slowing hiring in anticipation of the impact of the spending cuts.

As federal agencies and contractors cut back in coming months, Behravesh expects jobs growth to average 100,000 to 150,000 a month, down from an average 212,000 from December through February.

"The good news is that this is happening at a time when the private economy is gaining momentum," Behravesh said. He expects hiring to pick up after mid-year.

Craig Alexander, chief economist with TD Bank Financial Group, says the economy isn't growing fast enough to generate many jobs. He expects the economy to grow around 2 percent this year, a sluggish pace. It would be growing faster, perhaps at a 3 percent annual rate, if not for the Social Security tax increase and the federal budget cuts.

"Fiscal austerity is having an impact," Alexander said.

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Arthur Frommer gets Frommer brand back from Google

NEW YORK — Travel guru Arthur Frommer said Wednesday that he has reacquired rights to his travel guidebook brand from Google, and that he intends to resume publishing Frommer guidebooks.

Google acquired the Frommer brand last summer from the Wiley publishing company, but last month Skift.com reported that Google was "quietly pulling the plug" on publishing Frommer's books.

Google refused comment at the time, but Arthur Frommer confirmed in a phone call from his home Wednesday night that he had reacquired rights to the brand.

"It's a very happy time for me," Frommer, 83, told The Associated Press. "We will be publishing the Frommer travel guides in ebook and print formats and will also be operating the travel site Frommers.com."

Frommer sold the Frommer line of travel books to Simon & Schuster in 1977. The books had more recently been published by Wiley & Sons.

Frommer started the guidebook enterprise in 1957 with a self-published book called "Europe on 5 Dollars a Day." It was an expanded version of a small travel guide he had written for American soldiers in Europe. With its emphasis on budget travel, it became an immediate best-seller and launched a guidebook company that became one of the world's most recognized travel brands. Frommer's daughter Pauline Frommer also has written numerous guidebooks for the brand and, like her father, is a much-quoted expert on consumer travel and related issues.

Google confirmed in an email Wednesday night that the brand was returned to its founder, but added that the travel content it had acquired from Frommer's and Wiley had been integrated into various Google services such as Google Plus.

The terms of the deal between Google and Frommer were not disclosed.

Pat Carrier, who has watched the ups and downs of the travel publishing industry as the former owner of the Globe Corner Bookstore in Cambridge, Mass., said the whole thing was "baffling."

"I don't get why they (Google) bought Frommer's and then decided to essentially shut down the whole enterprise," he said. "Do they really think the content that they acquired from the Frommer's deal has a longer shelf life than yogurt?"

Jason Clampet, who reported Google's decision to cease publishing Frommer content on Skift.com, called Frommer's reacquisition of his brand "fantastic news."

"Everyone I know was hoping this would happen once we saw that Google was just after content for Google Plus rather than the brand's history and potential," said Clampet, a former editor for Frommer's. "I think Arthur's and Pauline's passion will reinvigorate the series. There are dedicated readers both online and in print who will stay with a name they trust."

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Disney lays off staff at game developer LucasArts

LOS ANGELES — Four months after acquiring "Star Wars" maker Lucasfilm, The Walt Disney Co. is shutting down video game production at subsidiary LucasArts and laying off staff as it focuses on the less-risky, less-expensive path of licensing its characters and stories to other developers.

A Disney spokesman confirmed the layoffs Wednesday, but didn't say how many people were affected.

Website Kotaku said 150 people were laid off, citing an unnamed source. Two games that had been in production, "Star Wars: First Assault" and "Star Wars: 1313," were canceled, Kotaku said.

Disney has been moving away from games that are expensive to make for consoles, like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and toward apps.

One example of the licensing model is Rovio Entertainment Ltd.'s November launch of "Angry Birds Star Wars."

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US unemployment aid applications jump to 385,000

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose last week by 28,000, the third straight increase.

Weekly applications increased to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the highest level since late November. The gain pushed the four-week average, a less volatile measure, to 354,250.

A Labor Department spokesman says the figures may have been affected by the Easter holiday. The department says the holiday's timing varies from year to year, which makes it difficult to adjust for school closings and other seasonal factors that can alter the data.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have declined steadily since November, pushing the average to a five-year low three weeks ago.

The recent increases could be a sign that companies are starting to cut jobs, possibly because of steep government spending cuts that began on March 1. Earlier reports this week suggested that companies may have slowed hiring this month after four months of strong job growth.

Economists said they wanted to see more data before concluding the job market's trajectory had changed.

"We suspect the surge in the last two weeks reflects seasonal adjustment problems more than any fundamental change in the trend, but of course that remains to be seen," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, in a note to clients.

The government will issue the March employment report Friday. Economists forecast that it will show employers added 195,000 jobs last month, a healthy figure but below February's total of 236,000.

Job growth has picked up in recent months. Employers added an average of 200,000 jobs per month from November through February. That's nearly double the average from last spring. The gains helped lower the unemployment rate in February to a four-year low of 7.7 percent.

Stronger economic growth this year has spurred more hiring. A steady housing recovery has boosted home construction and prices. Higher home prices make Americans feel wealthier, which can spur more spending.

In February, consumer spending rose by the most in five months. And consumer confidence improved in March from the previous month, according to a survey released last week by the University of Michigan.

Two reports Wednesday, however, suggested companies may have grown more cautious last month. Services companies grew in March but at a slower pace than in February, according to the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group. Service firms, which include retailers, hotels, restaurants and financial companies, cut back on hiring and a measure of new orders fell.

And private employers added fewer jobs in March compared with February, according to payroll processor ADP. Construction firms didn't add any positions after three months of strong gains.

Several economists lowered their forecasts for hiring in March after Wednesday's reports. Still, many analysts cautioned that the ADP is not always an accurate predictor of the government's more comprehensive figures.

Nearly 5.3 million people received unemployment aid in the week ended March 16, the latest data available. That's about 170,000 fewer than the previous week.

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Eyes on Facebook mobile event as company evolves

NEW YORK — Facebook is unveiling a mystery product on Thursday that has something to do with Google's Android operating system for mobile devices, a move that coincides with rapid growth among the number of users who access the social network from smartphones and tablet computers.

The company hasn't said what it plans to reveal during the event at its Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters, but speculation has centered on a mobile phone made by HTC Corp. According to media reports, the phone would deeply integrate Facebook into the Android operating system, aiding Facebook in its aim to evolve from its Web-based roots into a "mobile-first" company.

"What Facebook wants is to put itself at the front of the Android user experience for as many Facebook users as possible and make Facebook more elemental to their customers' experience," said Forrester analyst Charles Golvin.

The move could help to attract more mobile advertisers. Though mobile ads were a big concern for Facebook's investors even before the company's initial public offering last May, some of the worry has subsided as the company muscles its way into the market.

Last year, Facebook began showing ads to its mobile audience by shoehorning corporate-sponsored content into users' news feeds, which also include updates from friends and brands they follow. Facebook now faces the challenge of showing people mobile ads without annoying or alienating them.

The mobile advertising market is growing quickly, thanks in large part to Facebook and Twitter, which also entered the space in 2012. Research firm eMarketer expects U.S. mobile ad spending to grow 77 percent this year to $7.29 billion, from $4.11 billion last year.

EMarketer said Wednesday that it expects Facebook Inc. to reap $965 million in U.S. mobile ad revenue in 2013. That's about 2.5 times the $391 million in 2012, the first year that Facebook started showing mobile ads.

Clark Fredricksen, vice president at eMarketer, said it's "tough to speculate" how much effect Thursday's announcement would have on ad revenue.

At the same time, he says "there are some clear reasons why a deeper integration with mobile operating systems and handsets make sense for Facebook. At the end of the day, the more deeply Facebook can engage consumers, no matter what device or operating system or handset," the better.

Such deeper integration could mean Facebook is no longer a stand-alone mobile app but part of the operating system's building blocks. For example, if users who want to take a photo would use Facebook's camera app. If they want to chat, they'd use Facebook's chat service. The invitation to the event, "come see our new home on Android," suggests that Facebook will be prominently featured on a phone's home screen.

Facebook's rival, Google Inc., makes the Android software that Facebook and HTC would be using under the widely speculated scenario. Google makes the software available on an open-source basis, meaning others including rivals are free to adapt it to their needs. Amazon.com Inc. does just that in modifying Android to run its Kindle tablet computers.

Facebook is No. 2 behind Google Inc. when it comes to mobile ads, and it isn't expected to surpass the online search leader any time soon. Google dominates the mobile search market with 93 percent of U.S. mobile search advertising dollars, according to eMarketer. Online music service Pandora Inc. is in third place when it comes to mobile ad dollars, followed by Twitter.

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Boston will be first to get new Bank of America ATMs

Bank of America customers soon will be able to have video chats with tellers at the bank's new automatic teller machines that are being rolled out first in the Hub.

Boston will get the ATMs when they make their debut later this month at BofA's Massachusetts Avenue branch in Back Bay, the bank announced today.

Other branches in the city and the rest of the country will follow later this year.

Customers will have access to the Teller Assist video service from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.

The new ATMs, which will offer service in English and Spanish, and allow customers to cash checks for the exact amount, including receiving change and cash withdrawals in a variety of denominations.

In the future, the ATMs will also allow people to deposit checks with cash back, split a deposit into two or more accounts and make loan or credit card payments.

"We know that customers want to bank on their schedule — not ours – so we are constantly looking at how to deliver more convenient banking options to them," Katy Knox, retail banking and distribution executive, said in a statement. "This technology gives customers easy, convenient access to ATM banking services with the added option of having a personal interaction and the support of a teller available at the push of a button."

Banking center tellers will still be available for customers who choose to conduct their banking transactions in person.

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Dan Porter, head of OMGPop, leaving Zynga

NEW YORK — Dan Porter is leaving Zynga a year after the online game maker bought his company, OMGPop, for $183 million.

Zynga Inc. said Tuesday that Porter has left Zynga's New York office. Sean Kelly has been named as the studio's head.

OMGPop, a mobile game maker, created "Draw Something," a once-popular, Pictionary-like mobile game that has since fizzled. Porter's departure comes as Zynga gets ready to launch the game's successor, "Draw Something 2."

"We thank Dan Porter for his efforts in making the Draw Something franchise a success and wish him well in his future endeavors. We're proud to see talent like Sean Kelly take a bigger leadership role as the Head of our New York studio and lead the team to the global launch of 'Draw Something 2,'" David Ko, Groupon's chief operations officer, said in a statement.

Kelly has been with Zynga since 2009, heading teams that launched games like "CityVille" and "Running With Friends."

San Francisco-based Zynga's fortunes have declined with the popularity of its games, which include FarmVille. Revenue has flattened along with its stock price.

Zynga shares fell 9 cents, or 2.9 percent, to close at $3.07. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $2.09 to $12.90.

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JetBlue will fly to Florida from Worcester Regional Airport

JetBlue Airways said today it will begin flights to Florida from Worcester Regional Airport starting in early November.

Service to the airline's 80th city will take flight on Nov. 7 daily to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, officials said. From today through April 10, flights from Worcester to Orlando are on sale from $60 one way and to Fort Lauderdale from $70 one way for travel between Nov. 8 and Dec. 17 of this year.

JetBlue's two daily flights from Worcester will be operated with its 100-seat Embraer E190 aircraft, officials said.

"The enthusiasm of the Worcester community and the warm reception with which we've been met has been tremendous," said JetBlue President and CEO Dave Barger. "The addition of Worcester to our growing network speaks to our commitment to serve the great people of New England and we look forward to a long relationship with the city of Worcester and to future growth in this region."

Gov. Deval Patrick added the announcement marked "a good day for the Commonwealth and for central Massachusetts.

Massport's Air Service Incentive Program for Worcester Airport will allow the airline to participate in cooperative marketing efforts with the Authority and receive rebates on airport fees and charges for two years. The value of the program is $150,000 for marketing and approximately $275,000 in rebates, officials said.

In November, Worcester Regional Airport Director Andrew Davis told the Herald it cost $5 million each year, or nearly $14,000 a day, to operate the Massport-owned airport, which has had no scheduled air service since the departure of Direct Air earlier in 2012.

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Hood introduces Greek frozen yogurt

Lynnfield-based dairy brand Hood said today it has jumped on the Greek yogurt bandwagon by introducing its own line of frozen treats.

Hood Greek Frozen Yogurt combines lowfat frozen yogurt with ingredients like raspberry swirls, granola crunch and chocolate chips, which also containing five grams of proteins, officials said.

"With the popularity of Greek yogurt continuing to grow, we think consumers will be eager to try this refreshing new frozen treat," said company spokeswoman Sarah Barow. "Hood's rich and creamy Greek Frozen Yogurt offers delicious lowfat flavors that are high in protein, giving New Englanders a smarter way to indulge."

Hood Greek Frozen Yogurt is now available at major grocery stores across New England. Flavors include Blueberry, Double Chocolate Chip, Honey Vanilla and Raspberry Granola.

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Renamed BIND Therapeutics strikes deal with Pfizer

Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company BIND Therapeutics said today it has entered into a global collaboration agreement with Pfizer Inc. to develop and commercialize its Accurins therapies.

Under terms of the agreement, Pfizer will have the exclusive option to pursue development and commercialization of the Accurins selected by its team. Both companies will work together on preclinical research, and if Pfizer exercises its option, Pfizer will have responsibility for developing and commercializing the selected Accurins.

BIND said it could receive upfront and development milestone payments totaling nearly $50 million and about $160 million in regulatory and sales milestones payments for each Accurin commercialized, as well as tiered royalties on potential future sales.

The collaboration aims to employ BIND's Medicinal Nanoengineering platform to impart tissue and cellular targeting capabilities to molecularly targeted drugs, officials said.

The company formally announced its name change this week from BIND Biosciences. BIND added its lead product candidate, BIND-014, is currently entering a second clinical testing period in cancer patients.

BIND also hired Dr. Gregory I. Berk as the company's new chief medical officer. Berk previously served as chief medical officer of Intellikine, a clinical stage company developing small molecule drugs targeting signal transduction networks.

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Halliburton worker testifies at Gulf spill trial

NEW ORLEANS — A man who worked for BP's cement contractor on the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 says he didn't believe the oil giant's employees were risking workers' safety when they didn't follow his recommendations.

Halliburton employee Jesse Gagliano began testifying Tuesday at a trial to determine what caused the blowout of BP PLC's Macondo well and assign fault to the companies involved.

Gagliano says his relationship with employees for London-based BP deteriorated amid disagreements about how to perform the cement job that ultimately failed to seal the well. But he says he said he never saw a reason to call a halt to the project before the blowout.

Gagliano invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at his 2011 deposition, but he later agreed to testify at trial.

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US factory orders up 3 percent in February

WASHINGTON — Orders to U.S. factories rose sharply in February from January on a surge in volatile demand for commercial aircraft. The gain offset a drop in key orders that signal business investment.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that factory orders increased 3 percent in February. That's up from a 1 percent decline in January and the biggest gain in five months.

The increase was due mostly to a jump in orders for commercial aircraft. Those orders rose 95.1 percent. Orders for motor vehicles and parts also increased 1.4 percent.

Orders for all durable goods, which are products expected to last at least three years, jumped 5.6 percent. Orders for nondurable goods, such as processed food and clothing, rose 0.8 percent.

Despite the gains, the report showed that a key measure of business investment plans fell. That could mean that some companies were worried in February about steep federal spending cuts that started on March. 1.

Core capital goods, which include machinery and equipment orders, fell 3.2 percent. Demand for construction machinery, turbines and generators all fell sharply. Orders for computers and electronic products rose slightly.

Economists closely watch these orders because they signal business investment plans.

Still, the decline followed a 6.7 percent surge in January, the largest in nearly three years. Analysts said that when averaging the two months, business investment orders showed a solid increase for the January-March quarter. Many expect the gains to resume this spring, helped by a stronger job market that has kept consumers spending.

Consumers stepped up spending in February after their income jumped. The gain occurred even after Social Security taxes increased in January, reducing take-home pay for most Americans.

Many economists raised their growth forecasts after the report was released. Some are predicting growth could increase to around 3 percent in the January-March quarter, up from 0.4 percent in the previous three months.

Other data show that some companies may start to pull back because of the government spending cuts.

The Institute for Supply Management reported Monday that U.S. manufacturing activity expanded more slowly in March than February, held back by weaker growth in production and new orders.

But factories did hire at the fastest pace in nine months, which was seen as an encouraging sing ahead of Friday's report on employment in March.

The economy has added an average of 200,000 jobs a month from November through February, which helped lower the unemployment rate in February to a four-year low of 7.7 percent.

Economists predict a similar level of hiring in March.

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CBS News anchor Rebecca Jarvis heads to ABC

NEW YORK — CBS News anchor Rebecca Jarvis is moving to ABC News.

ABC says Jarvis will join the network later this month as its chief business and economics correspondent.

During her three years with CBS, Jarvis reported on business and economics affairs. She also co-anchored "CBS This Saturday."

Before joining CBS, she spent three years at CNBC reporting on market news from the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.

Jarvis previously wrote for publications including Crain's Chicago Business and Business 2.0. She also has worked in investment banking and foreign currency trading.

A native of Minneapolis, she graduated from the University of Chicago.

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Foreclosure activity continues to drop in Mass.

BOSTON — The number of foreclosure petitions filed in Massachusetts has remained below 1,000 for the fourth month in a row after the petitions marking the first step in the foreclosure process fell more than 38 percent in February when compared with a year ago.

The Warren Group, an independent publisher of real estate data, reported Tuesday that lenders filed 856 petitions in February, down from 1,394 the previous February. The Boston-based publisher says there were 1,796 foreclosure petitions filed so far this year, which is a 34 percent decline from 2,727 recorded during the same period last year.

The decline is fueled by improvements in the job market, a booming real-estate market as well as lenders' willingness to do short sales and modify loans, said Warren Group CEO Timothy Warren.

"More personal income makes it easier for people to catch up on delinquent mortgages," Warren said in a podcast published on his group's website. "And more confidence in the economy and the real estate market helps borrowers to avoid feeling helpless."

"Seeing four consecutive months of petitions below 1,000 is a promising sign," he said.

Lenders filed 240 foreclosure deeds in February, the final step in the foreclosure process. That marks a 69 percent decline from 767 filed a year ago. A total of 532 foreclosure deeds have been filed so far this year, representing a 66 percent decline from 1,384 recorded at the same time last year, the group said.

The boom experienced in the real-estate market over the last months — with sales volumes and median prices soaring — is also fueling the trend, he said.

"Homes that are owned by lenders after foreclosure must be finding offers to be purchased, and homeowners who are in distress are finding potential buyers beating a path to their door," Warren said. "Whether it is investors or first-time homebuyers, there is a ready market for owners who are ready to sell."

Auction announcements dropped 76 percent to 330 over the last year. The total number of announcements stood at 669 at the end of February, a 77 percent decline from 2,960 recorded during the same period last year.

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Gunmen raid 4 newspaper offices in Baghdad

BAGHDAD — Gunmen in military uniforms burst into the offices of four independent newspapers in Baghdad, stabbing and beating employees, staff and officials said Tuesday.

One editor said he recognized the attackers as members of a Shiite militia, saying the raids came after his newspaper published an article criticizing a prominent hard-line cleric. It underscored the dangers facing the media in Iraq, one of the most dangerous places in the world for reporters.

Also Tuesday, gunmen killed two men and kidnapped another in a trailer camp on a remote gas field near the Syria-Iraq frontier. Iraq intelligence officials say al-Qaida militants are growing stronger in the border region, taking advantage of the lawlessness on the edge of Syria's civil war.

In Baghdad, some 50 assailants participated in the coordinated, brazen Monday evening attack, said Bassam al-Sheikh and Ali al-Daraji, two editors of newspapers whose offices were attacked.

The raiders attacked reporters with batons and knives and smashed computers and furniture in the offices of al-Sheikh's newspaper, al-Dustour al-Jadida, the editor said.

Al-Daraji said the attackers who came to his newspaper, al-Mustaqila, smashed windows and set fire to a car. "It was so horrifying that we could not do anything," he said.

A health official said four newspaper staffers were hospitalized with stab wounds and another was badly beaten. A police officer said an investigation was under way.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media.

Al-Sheikh said that he recognized the attackers as militant Shiites belonging to a hardline group headed by cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi. He said during the attack they berated him for publishing an article in his paper accusing al-Sarkhi of trying to dominate the holy city of Karbala.

Al-Sarkhi's office was not available for comment.

The city, 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Baghdad, is home to two revered Shiite shrines. In the last decade it has witnessed power struggles between Shiite militias.

"The message of the assailants was to shut mouths," al-Sheikh said. "This is a dangerous precedent," he said.

Al-Daraji said they had run a similar story, but also published a response from the Shiite cleric's office. He said the assailants did not say anything during the raid, and he did not know why the newspaper was attacked.

The two other attacked offices belonged to al-Parliman and al-Nas.

The four newspapers are considered medium-sized to small. The largest, al-Dustour, claims a run of 12,000 copies daily.

In response to the attacks Tuesday, blue-khaki clad police set up checkpoints through the middle-class Karradeh neighborhood, snarling traffic. Other security forces in drab beige khaki, masked faces and heavy weaponry deployed on a main Baghdad thoroughfare.

Government officials were not available to comment.

Iraq is ranked among the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Hundreds were killed in the country since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

But such attacks have been less common of late. The last major attack on reporters was the slaying of a television presenter Ghazwan Anas in July 2012, who worked for a channel in the predominantly Sunni northern city of Mosul.

Also in Iraq, a provincial official said gunmen attacked workers at a remote gas field near the Syria border, killing two men and kidnapping one.

Farhan Farhan, the mayor of the western town of al-Qaim, said the gunmen set fire to workers' trailers at a camp near the gas field, killing an engineer and a manual laborer. The kidnapped man is the brother of the head of the Iraqi company building the camp site.

Farhan said the attack took place on Monday. He says the Iraqi company was contracted by South Korea's KOGAS to build the trailer camp before developing the gas field. No KOGAS employees were on site.

Al-Qaim is about 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Baghdad, just across the border from Syria. Iraqi officials are taking advantage of Syria's turmoil and the porous border to rebuild their strength in this region.

____

Diaa Hadid contributed reporting from Baghdad. Follow Salahedddin at twitter.com/sinansm

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The Ticker

Consumer issues, 
tips forum set

Members of the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation will join leaders from the Attorney General's Office, Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau to announce each agency's top five consumer issues of 2012.

The agencies also will offer tips to consumers to avoid similar issues in the future. The event will be held tomorrow at 1000 Washington St., Hearing Room 1E.

TOMORROW

• The Institute for Supply Management releases its manufacturing index for March.
• The Commerce Department releases construction spending for February.
• Harvard Law School hosts Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, David Souter and Kenneth Starr for a panel discussion on civics education.
• A South Station expansion public meeting is held at One South Station.

TUESDAY

• Automakers release vehicle sales for March.
• Lantheus Medical Imaging Inc. hosts a conference call to discuss its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2012.

WEDNESDAY

• Natixis Global Asset Management President and CEO John Hailer addresses the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on immigration, education and global competitiveness at the Intercontinental Hotel.

THURSDAY

• An investor pitch event is held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hosted by Future Energy in partnership with the MIT Energy Club and MIT Clean Energy Prize.

FRIDAY

• The U.S. jobs report for March is released.
• The Federal Reserve releases consumer credit data for February.
• The Boston Children's Museum brings together business leaders, including Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish, John Hancock Funds CFO Charles Rizzo, National Grid President Marcy Reed and Akamai Technologies CEO Tom Leighton with policymakers and educators to discuss early learning and development of young children at a summit held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

• James McDonough has been elected president and chief executive officer of Randolph Savings Bank. McDonough succeeds Jack Doyle, who is retiring.
• Boston-based online retailer Wayfair.com has announced five executive promotions:
• Ed Macri was named senior vice president of business intelligence and marketing.
• John Mulliken was named senior vice president of strategic initiatives.
• Dave Raymond was named vice president of operations process improvement.
• Jeff Steeves was named vice president of marketing.
• Laura Scott was named vice president of supplier operations.

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Cabbies battle app services

The taxicab and limousine industry has fired another salvo in its war on certain transportation apps by releasing a list of what its members call "rogue" services that endanger the public.

The report by the Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association names three applications that operate in the Boston area: on-demand private-driver service Uber and ride-sharing apps SideCar and Tickengo.

"There's nothing wrong with technology; it just needs to comply with the regulatory structure to ensure that it doesn't take advantage of the public," said Alfred LaGasse, the association's CEO. "Some of these apps are basically 21st century hitchhiking."

Oleg Uritsky, a spokesman for Boston taxi owners, said the apps have no public oversight, including the semi-annual inspections that city cabs must undergo.

"This is not fair competition," he said.

In an email, Travis Kalanick, CEO and co-founder of Uber Technologies Inc., blasted the report, calling its accusations "baseless" and "fear-mongering."

"Uber's technology platform has helped millions of consumers who can speak to the safer, more reliable transportation they have enjoyed in cities around the world," Kalanick said. "And the thousands of legal, licensed and regulated transportation companies that Uber partners with can speak to the opportunity Uber has given them, allowing for better incomes and the rapid growth of their own small businesses."

SideCar and Tickengo could not be reached for comment.

Earlier this month, the lawyer representing the Boston Cab Association filed suit against Uber and said he was also looking into SideCar, arguing that both provide taxi service without meeting hackney division standards.

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Print in another dimension

Imagine that your old inkjet or laser printer could pump out three-dimensional objects on demand — kind of like those futuristic replicator devices that exist only in the world of "Star Trek."

You could create something frivolous like a new pair of shoes or smartphone case. Or decorative, like a miniature model of the Eiffel Tower. Or something medically helpful like a dental retainer. Perhaps a replacement air filter for your car.

This is where the world of 3-D printing is headed.

Also known as additive manufacturing, or in the medical field, bio-printing, companies are pushing into what has long been the sole province of architects and professional design and fabrication firms.

From Cambridge to California, startups are using a variety of materials and methods in an attempt to bring this technology to the mainstream.

Here in the Hub, the startup c, founded by a trio of MIT Media Lab alums, is nearly ready to ship its first desktop 3-D printer, a sleek silver and orange box called the Form 1.

With nearly $3 million raised on Kickstarter and a slew of high-profile investors, the Form 1 costs $3,299 — including 1 liter of resin (think 3-D ink).

Available for preorder on formlabs.com, the printer stands 18 inches high and has a roughly 12x12 footprint. It can fabricate objects about the size of two Rubik's Cubes.

Other companies are trying to introduce 3-D printing as well.

Brooklyn-based MakerBot is already selling the second generation of its aptly named Replicator, and a group of University of California at Berkeley students are working to develop a 3-D "vending machine," a printer that can receive orders via email and then build and dispense the finished product.

The big hurdle for this industry right now is that its buyers have to know 3-D CAD software to design multidimensional objects. That basically limits the market to engineers and architects.

But one local startup is producing a device that could spur mainstream interest in 3-D fabrication. The 3Doodler claims to be the world's first three-dimensional printing pen, and it had raised $2.3 million in Kickstarter funding as of last week. It allows users to "draw" lines of quick-cooling plastic that can be used to create designs and shapes that rise off the paper. The company says the price will be under $100, and it could be the tipping point for a 3-D generation that will come to think of printing as something that doesn't just happen on paper.

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India's top court to deliver Novartis judgment

NEW DELHI — A pending Supreme Court patent decision in India could reverberate throughout the pharmaceutical industry and beyond.

India's Supreme Court is to rule Monday on a landmark patent case involving Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG.

The international drug makers have been pushing for stronger patent protection in India to regulate the country's $26 billion generic drug industry, which they say often flouts intellectual property rights. They warn that a rejection of Novartis' position could discourage new research and refinement.

At issue is a legal provision in India's 2005 patent law aimed at preventing companies from getting fresh patents for minor changes to medicines — a practice known as "evergreening."

The drug in question is called Gleevec and it's used to treat leukemia and other cancers. It costs $2,600 a month while the generic version available in India costs around $175 per month.

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Study shows Shakespeare as ruthless businessman

LONDON — New research depicts William Shakespeare as a grain hoarder, moneylender and tax dodger who became a wealthy businessman during a time of famine.

Academics from Aberystwyth University in Wales combed through historical archives to uncover details of the playwright's parallel life as a merchant and property owner whose practices sometimes brought him into conflict with the law.

He was pursued by authorities for tax evasion, and in 1598 he was prosecuted for hoarding grain during a time of shortage.

The academics argue that we can't fully understand Shakespeare unless we study his business-savvy side and the era of hunger in which he lived.

Researcher Jayne Archer said Sunday that those aspects are overlooked because many people "cannot countenance the idea of a creative genius also being motivated by self-interest."

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