Stock market is back where it started...Oil finishes higher for the month... Judge: BP can't see documents

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

NEW YORK (AP) — After two months of trading, the stock market is back where it started. The S&P 500 index rose 4.3 percent in February. But investors spent the month making up the ground they lost in January. The S&P 500 yesterday rose five points to 1,859. It was the second straight all-time closing high for the index. The Dow climbed 49 points to 16,321. The Nasdaq lost 11 points to 4,308.

UNDATED (AP) — Investors are pleased the price of oil finished the month with a gain of 5 percent. Yesterday, benchmark crude for April delivery rose 19 cents to $102.59 a barrel in New York. Oil gained $5.10 a barrel in February. And the price of gasoline rose 17 cents for the month as refineries prepare for the driving season. The average price of a gallon of regular rose a penny Friday to $3.45.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that BP isn't entitled to see confidential documents used by a court-appointed investigator who alleges some attorneys acted improperly in the claims process arising from the 2010 Gulf oil spill. The investigator says some private attorneys improperly used a lawyer who once served on claims administrator's staff to expedite a $7.9 million claim.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Goldman Sachs says federal regulators are examining how it divides up newly issued bonds among investors. The Wall Street Journal reports the Securities and Exchange Commission is examining how Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and other Wall Street banks allocate new corporate bond issues and whether they unfairly favor some investors over others.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Warren Buffett's company says fourth-quarter earnings rose 10 percent to nearly $5 billion as its insurance, rail and energy businesses generated major profit gains. Berkshire Hathaway's insurance companies, which include Geico and General Reinsurance, reported a $394 million operating profit for the final quarter of 2013, compared with a $19 million loss a year earlier. The Omaha, Neb., company also benefited from a surge in pretax earnings at its "Powerhouse Five," a group of non-insurance companies that include Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad and electric utility MidAmerican Energy.