Oil Closes Below $50, Lowest Price Since May 2005
After rising to dizzying heights this summer, the oil market is suffering a hair-raising drop with no apparent end in sight.
Oil prices fell to their lowest level in more than three years, falling below $50 a barrel on Thursday, after shedding close to $100 in four months [...]

As the Price of Crude Plunges, Venezuela Is Poised to Face a Lot of Pain
BOGOTA, Colombia — Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has delighted in the economic meltdown in the United States, mocking the Bush administration for its bailout plan and predicting the end of American economic dominance.
“The U.S. model of capitalism is collapsing,” Chávez, a [...]

Gregory Meyer
CRUDE oil futures ended down overnight after notching a fresh intraday low for the year on perceptions demand will slow.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery settled down $US1.11, or 1.2 per cent, at $US88.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday.
Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled 30c lower at $US84.36 [...]