Retail sales posted a surprising increase in February as consumers did not let major snowstorms stop them from storming the malls. The advance, the biggest since November, provided hope that the recovery from the Great Recession is gaining momentum.

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President Barack Obama intends to nominate Janet Yellen, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, to take over as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, a person familiar with the selection said Friday.

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Chevron Corp. wins a round in the long legal fight over oil-field contamination in Ecuador, with a U.S. judge ruling that the company can pursue arbitration in the case. David R. Baker

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Bottom Line: More bitter pills for the state's pension funds to swallow. The California Public Employees' Retirement System pulls out of an $800 million Boston condo and hotel complex. Andrew S. Ross

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Video game publishers have worked hard to plunge players into beautifully constructed realities. But a new wave of titles is leveraging augmented reality technology to set games in the most immersive environment yet. Ryan Kim

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•  Tech Chronicles: Twitter locates you

Net Worth: Chris R. of San Francisco wants to know why the U.S. Census Bureau bothered sending him a letter telling him to expect a census form in the mail in a week or so. Kathleen Pender

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