Mark Brooks

In New York benchmark crude for March fell $1.45 to finish at $95.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The G-20 is meeting this weekend. The officials are expected to discuss how economic policies are affecting currencies.

The Houston-based company said in its weekly report Friday that 1,337 rigs were actively exploring for oil and 421 for gas.

Moody's lowered McGraw-Hill's senior unsecured rating to "Baa2" from "A3." Both ratings are considered to be "medium grade," but Baa-rated investments are considered by Moody's to have some speculative elements.

Citing an unnamed source who was briefed on the matter, The New York Times reported Friday that the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking at "unusual trading" surrounding the deal for Heinz to be purchased by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital.

Carl Icahn has taken a 13 percent stake in Herbalife, a supplement company that Pershing Square Capital Management's William Ackman shorted heavily, calling it a massive pyramid scheme.

Putin was hosting financial ministers and heads of central banks of the G20 group of nations ahead of their key meeting this weekend.

March silver dropped 51.60 cents to $30.3530 an ounce. Gold for April delivery fell $9.60 to $1,635.50 an ounce.

Figures Thursday showed that output in Germany, Europe's largest economy, contracted by more than anticipated in the last three months of 2012.

Hubs aren't just civic icons -- think Chicago's O'Hare or New York's John F. Kennedy Airport -- they are also major economic engines.

Many of the president's more ambitious State of the Union proposals are already generating sparks among lawmakers back in the nation's capital and face an uncertain future -- and not just from Republicans.

The Statistics Agency said unemployment increased from a rate of 26.6 percent in October and 20.8 percent in November the previous year. More than 30,000 people lost their job in November, the agency said, with the jobless rate accelerating from earlier in the year.

In morning trading in New York, crude rose 52 cents to $97.53 per barrel. Brent crude, which is used to price oil that many U.S. refineries buy to make gasoline, was unchanged at $117.88 in London.

The legislation set to be revealed Thursday is sure to die at the hands of Republicans opposed to new tax hikes when a vote is called the week of Feb. 25.

U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo accepted Transocean's plea and imposed the agreed-upon sentence during a hearing Thursday.

The ketchup company says it's the largest deal ever in the food industry.

Both metals have been rising for most of the year. That's partly because traders believe the economy and auto industry are improving. Palladium and platinum are used in manufacturing, including for catalytic converters in cars and trucks.

Benchmark oil for March delivery dropped 50 cents to finish at $97.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The official publication of the verdict doesn't forbid Apple from using the name in Brazil. It only makes it clear the rights belong to the Brazilian company, said Marcelo Chimento, spokesman with the national patent office.

The president followed up his call for the increase from $7.25 to $9 an hour in Tuesday night's State of the Union address with a trip to North Carolina, attempting to reach voters outside Washington on the plan.