Bay Area has nation's two top job markets

The Bay Area boasts the two strongest job markets in the country, a new report by federal labor officials shows.

The nation's strongest employment market is the San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin region, which powered to a 4.4 percent increase in total payroll jobs during the 12 months that ended in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

The South Bay was the second-strongest job market, with a 3.5 percent increase in total jobs over the one-year period.

The third-strongest job market was the Houston-Sugarland region in Texas, which was up 3.2 percent.

The East Bay posted a one-year gain of 1.2 percent in total payroll jobs, the BLS study showed.

LeapFrog shares tumble 8.7 percent

Emeryville-based LeapFrog's stock plummeted by more than 8 percent after Toys R Us disclosed plans to push into the tablet market with a WiFi-capable offering for kids called the Tabeo.

Toys R Us said it is offering a tablet with a 7-inch display, priced at about $150, that is due to start shipping in October.

LeapFrog's tablets, with 5-inch displays, are smaller than the Toys R Us Tabeo. They also are less expensive, priced at about $80 to $100, but they have much more limited functionality.

Word of the new tablet forced LeapFrog's shares down 8.7 percent, or 80 cents a share. The stock finished at

LS9, a Chevron partner, starts biofuels plant

South San Francisco-based LS9 has begun production at a new biofuel plant in Florida, showing its technology can use agricultural waste to produce biodiesel and renewable chemical products.

San Ramon-based Chevron and Ohio-based Procter & Gamble are among the major partners of LS9.

The first production runs at the Florida plant began Monday, LS9 said. The production involved fatty alcohols, which are used in detergents.

The privately held company has genetically altered bacteria so that when they feed on farm products or other feedstocks, they excrete fuels and chemicals.

Geron cancer test fails, stock is routed

Shares of Menlo Park-based Geron plunged 56 percent after the drugmaker reported a disappointing outcome for its cancer drug.

Geron ended an experimental study of its cancer drug imetelstat. The company also said it doesn't expect that a second test of the drug will succeed.

The drug was being tested as a treatment for breast cancer. Geron, though, found that women who were treated with its drug did not fare as well as those who were treated with only a standard chemotherapy drug.

Geron fell 55.9 percent, or $1.62, and finished at $1.28.

-- Staff