Mark Brooks

Benchmark crude for February delivery fell 6 cents to $92.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In all, more than 50 temporary tax breaks were renewed through 2013, saving businesses and individuals about $76 billion.

Commodities followed the stock market Thursday, which also lost some of its gains from the day before.

The auction process is not public. The outcome is expected to be filed in court Friday.

The Fed ended up approving open-ended purchases of $85 billion a month in Treasury securities and mortgage backed bonds to maintain its level of bond purchases.

Although Congress approved a budget deal this week, negotiations on the debt ceiling and spending cuts still need to happen.

The Federal Trade Commission also says Google is agreeing to license patents deemed to be "essential" for rival mobile devices such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad.

Wegelin & Co. said Thursday that under the plea deal accepted by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in New York City, the firm admits to violating American law by operating accounts for U.S. taxpayers between 2002 and 2010.

The Federal Trade Commission has scheduled a 1 p.m. EST press conference to unveil the outcome of the high-profile probe.

Benchmark crude for February delivery fell 21 cents at $92.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Here's a look at what's been resolved and what's left hanging.

Moody's has a negative outlook on the government's debt, a warning of a possible downgrade.

That's because the legislation did nothing to prevent a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax from expiring.

A bill that cleared Congress late Tuesday averted the tax hikes and delayed the spending cuts for a couple months.

Brazilian exports in 2012 totaled $242.6 billion, compared with the $256 billion one year earlier.

Microsoft laid out its arguments in a blog post Wednesday by Dave Heiner, the software maker's deputy general counsel.

Traders have been concerned that a deal would not be reached, possibly sending the U.S. economy back into a recession.

The trip would be the first by a top executive from U.S.-based Google, the world's largest Internet search provider, to a country considered to have the most restrictive Internet policies on the planet.

The July 1, 2011, spill fouled 70 miles of riverbank along the scenic Yellowstone. Exxon spent $135 million on cleanup and repair work.

A bill passed by Congress late Tuesday averts widespread tax increases and delays deep spending cuts that had threatened to return the country to recession.