CFOs STAYING ON THE JOB: Even professional money counters are worried about their piggy banks.

In a recent random survey of American chief financial officers of companies with 20 or more employees, 27 percent said they plan to work more than they did five years ago. Another quarter said the current climate is so uncertain they can't predict when they will retire.

However, 43 percent said the recession isn't affecting their retirement timeline.

Most of the CFOs who said they are pushing back their retirement age goals cited the state of the economy and the tumbling stock market, especially its effects on their savings. Another 11 percent cited Social Security concerns, while 10 percent said health care costs are prolonging their working years.

The survey was developed by Robert Half Management Resources, a unit of staffing company Robert Half International Inc. It polled 1,426 CFOs in US companies by telephone from December 17 to January 14.

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WALLETS STILL CLAMPED SHUT: Neither post-holiday sales, nor a new president made Americans confident enough to spend seriously in the new year.

A monthly reading of Americans' spending intentions, the Discover US Spending Monitor, edged up to 77.8 in January from 76.6 in December, which had been its lowest point ever. But that was still down 8.2 points from last June, before the massive market meltdown in the fall.

More Americans continue to say they plan on spending less in the next month — 29 percent — compared with 17 percent who say they will spend more. A year ago, the position was switched: more consumers planned to "shop 'til they dropped" than curtail spending.

Two-thirds of those surveyed said they think the economy is going downhill, slightly better than the 70 percent who were pessimistic last month, but 52 percent said their finances are deteriorating. Only 49 percent said they have money left over after paying bills.