California’s unemployment rate hit 10.1 percent in January, the highest level in 26 years, as more than 1.8 million residents looked for work last month to no avail. A state Employment Development Department report issued Friday said California lost 79,300…

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State unemployment rate reaches 10.1%

When nature calls at 30,000 feet, is $1.40 a wee price to pay? Or could it force passengers without correct change into a whole new kind of holding pattern? The head of budget European airline Ryanair unleashed a flood of indignation and potty humor Friday…

How much will you pay when nature calls?

When Cato the German shepherd arrived at the rehabilitation and boarding center in January 2008, he had ruptured two disks, undergone spinal surgery and was unable to walk. Three days a week, physical therapists at Scout’s House in Menlo Park worked with…

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Pet therapy center tames dogs of recession

Wells Fargo & Co. suspended its performance bonus policy for top executives, citing compensation limitations placed upon companies that received money under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. The San Francisco bank,…

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Wells Fargo cuts performance rewards

Nearly six months after American International Group Inc. got its first large bailout from the government, it’s still stumbling. The big insurer keeps losing money and is unable to sell some of its biggest assets. Some Wall Street analysts have stopped…

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AIG needs more help – breakup expected

The Virgin Megastore in San Francisco will shut its doors in late April, adding a large vacancy at Stockton and Market streets to a growing number of empty storefronts around Union Square, the retail heart of the city. The music and video retailer, which…

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Virgin Megastore in S.F. will liquidate

When the Employment Development Department reports the state’s January unemployment statistics today, a grim outlook is likely to get even bleaker. The state’s unemployment rate, already at a 15-year high, is expected to jump past December’s 9.3 percent….

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Faces of the Jobless

Commerce nominee is good for the Bay Area Given everything else coming out of the Obama administration, Gary Locke’s nomination as Commerce Secretary didn’t get much play here. But assuming Obama’s third attempt at filling the post is a charm, it’s good news…

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Locke’s commerce nomination good for Bay Area

A close look at gasoline prices Crude oil is the source of gasoline, but the price of oil accounts for less than half the price of a gallon of gas, according to the California Energy Commission. Here’s a cost breakdown for gas sold at branded stations in the…

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A close look at gasoline prices

A dispute among House Democrats stalled legislation Thursday to let bankruptcy judges reduce the principal and interest rate on mortgages for debt-strapped homeowners. The measure, backed by President Obama, is the most controversial part of a broader housing…

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Democrats stall relief for homeowners

California home sales doubled from a year ago in January, even as median prices plummeted more than 40 percent, according to a report by the California Association of Realtors. More than 600,000 homes traded hands last month, crossing that threshold for the…

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California’s home sales surge as prices plunge

Health insurers and drug companies led the market lower Thursday after the White House proposed cutting payments to private insurance plans. The Obama administration’s $3.55 trillion budget plan for 2010 includes cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. Private…

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Health stocks push market downward

Each week The Chronicle tracks the latest investments, fundraising, mergers and IPOs involving Bay Area venture capitalists and startups. Some highlights for the week beginning Feb. 23: Coghead in Redwood City, whose software let companies build customized…

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Tracking Bay Area venture capitalists, startups

More than 25,000 Kaiser Permanente workers throughout California have signed petitions requesting a vote to consider dismissing the Service Employees International Union as their labor representative. That is half of the Kaiser workers in California…

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State Kaiser workers push decertification vote

LONDON (Reuters) – Lloyds Banking Group said it had not yet finalized details of its plan to put billions of pounds of assets into a UK government-backed insurance scheme, as it unveiled a massive loss for 2008.

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Lloyds slumps to big loss, in talks on asset plan