Oil futures settled lower on Friday, with prices for U.S. and global benchmark crude posting their largest weekly percentage decline since early February. Prices took

Stocks are rising on Wall Street, erasing the market's losses for the week, after the government reported a cooldown in hiring last month.

Asian Shares Advance Ahead of US Jobs Report Asian shares were mostly higher Friday ahead of a report on the U.S. jobs market, while several major markets including Tokyo and Shanghai were closed for holidays.

It turns out that Apple’s buybacks have had quite a positive effect on its earnings per share. When a company repurchases stock, the share count is lowered, which boosts EPS. But if the company has been shoveling new shares to its executives at the same time, the buybacks might only serve to mitigate the dilution to nonexecutive investors.

Apple shares jumped 7% on Friday as the iPhone maker's record stock buyback plan and promise of sales growth brought back investors who have shunned the stock on concerns over weak demand and increased competition in China.

Apple Inc. shares jumped the most in almost a year-and-a-half after the company posted stronger-than-expected sales last quarter and predicted a return to growth in the current period, sparking optimism that a slowdown is easing.