Wall Street remained pessimistic about the U.S. economy Friday morning, as stocks opened lower thanks to another disappointing indicator.
The Empire State Index, a report on business conditions, fell sharply in February--to -11.7.
Meanwhile, oil prices are on a steady march back toward $100 a barrel, climbing to $96.54 Friday morning. A potential OPEC production cut and geopolitical issues regarding Venezuela are fueling the bull run.
On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Financial Guaranty Insurance notified New York insurance regulators that it wishes to split into two separate companies. The move comes a day after privately held FGIC saw its AAA financial strength rating dropped six notches by Moody's Investors Service due to its weakened capital position.
Bond insurers Ambac Financial Group (nyse: ABK - news - people ) and MBIA (nyse: MBE - news - people ) were both trading in the red Friday morning.
On a brighter note, Kraft Foods (nyse: KFT - news - people ) gained over 5% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (nyse: BRKA - news - people ) raised its stake in the company. Berkshire announced it has taken an 8.6% stake in Kraft.
In a separate Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Berkshire said it increased its stake in Wells Fargo (nyse: WFC - news - people ) to 9.4% and reported it has lowered its stake in Ameriprise Financial (nyse: AMP - news - people ).
Wells Fargo and Ameriprise were both trading less than 1% higher.
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