Oil prices rose Friday following a better than expected employment report from the government, boosting optimism about recovering fuel demand.

Stocks rose Friday after the government’s employment report showed fewer jobs were cut in February than expected. The Labor Department’s monthly report is closely watched by investors and is seen as the most important measure of the economy’s health.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday as data showed U.S. employers cut fewer jobs than expected last month, offering relief to investors braced for bad labor market news.

SALT LAKE CITY—-The cities of UTOPIA applauded Governor Gary Herbert today for joining their effort to encourage Google to bring its experiment in fiber optics to Utah.

The government jobs report for February that came out Friday raised hopes that the economy may slowly be healing. It also raised oil and wholesale gasoline prices closer to their highs for the year.

Treasurys fell Friday as investors shifted into riskier assets, like stocks, which rallied following a jobs report that showed the pace of job losses abating.

Shares of Ciena Corp. rose Friday after an analyst upgraded the stock, saying he believes that its revenue growth prospects will improve once the company completes its purchase of Nortel’s optical networking and carrier ethernet businesses later this month.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday as data showed U.S. employers cut fewer jobs than expected last month, offering relief to investors braced for bad labor market news.

Coca-Cola Co , the world’s largest soft drink maker, said it awarded Chairman and Chief Executive Muhtar Kent compensation worth $18.8 million for 2009, 16 percent below the $22.4 million he received in 2008.

A better-than-expected employment report from the government boosted shares of payroll services providers on Friday. The Labor Department said the unemployment rate in February was 9.7 percent, unchanged from January.