U.S. Stocks Open Lower as Oil Prices Resume Their Slide

U.S. markets opened lower Friday as investors turn their attention back to oil prices and away from the Federal Reserve interest rate hike this week. The free fall resumed today as West Texas Intermediate prices fell back toward their lowest levels since 2009. Blackberry (BBRY) delivered quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations. The Canadian tech company posted a third quarter loss of 3 cents a share, where 14 cents was expected. CEO John Chen said the company delivered growth in enterprise software and higher revenue across all of their areas of focus. Chen added that Blackberry has a solid financial and are executing well. BlackBerry also said its new PRIV smartphone, launched in November and the company’s first Android device, has been well received. The growing software and services business now accounts for nearly a third of the company’s total revenue. Another 31% is gleaned from monthly service access fees charged to users while 40% comes from hardware and other revenue.