CRUDE OIL

Schlumberger Ltd (SLB.N), the world's largest oilfield services company, reported a 36 percent rise in quarterly earnings, beating Wall Street forecasts, but it warned that Europe's debt crisis could hurt economic growth and trim oil demand.

Gold prices edged lower Friday as an increasingly stronger dollar made the metal more expensive for non-U.S. buyers and some investors decided to book profits on what is shaping up to be a robust start to the year.

General Electric, the U.S.'s largest industrial manufacturer, is expected to report a 22.3 percent fourth-quarter profit increase when it announces its earnings Friday, driven by strong equipment order and pricing trends and growth in the aviation and energy infrastructure sectors. It marks the seventh straight quarter of operating earnings growth.

Here are the five things you need to know about the pipeline, and why it faces such vehement opposition.

The possibility of a war against Iran is no longer in the realm of fantasy.

The Obama administration on Wednesday rejected the Keystone crude oil pipeline project, a decision welcomed by environmental groups but blasted by the domestic energy industry.

Lavrov also criticized moves by the West to tighten the economic screws on Iran.

Observers of India's economy may wonder why inflation has persistently remained high over recent years - much higher than that in many other Asian economies.

Consumer prices in the Eurozone fell more than previously expected in December, the start of a retreat from a November peak that should give the European Central Bank more room to cut interest rates as the economy heads for recession.

Gold prices jumped Tuesday after China reported fourth-quarter gross domestic product grew more than expected.

The IBT 1000 List of the fastest-growing public companies in the world -- which debuts today for what its editors hope will be yearly issuance -- is a reflection of the engines driving the world's economic growth.

European shares and the euro gradually recovered on Monday from early losses triggered by the mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign ratings last week, but they still looked vulnerable amid rising fears of a disorderly Greek debt default.

ConocoPhillips is said to be in talks with the sub-continent oil company, and could sell some of its land leases in South Texas.

He also admitted that the strike had led to the breakdown of law and order in parts of Nigeria.

Gold firmed in Europe on Monday, rising back above $1,640 an ounce, as a recovery in stock markets and the euro took some downward pressure off prices, with traders digesting last week's mass downgrade of euro zone countries from Standard & Poor's.

Iran warned its Arab neighbors on Sunday not to raise crude output to replace Iranian oil in the event of an embargo by the European Union, Tehran's governor for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was quoted as saying.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pressed Saudi Arabia to open its huge oil and gas resources to expanded Chinese investment, media reports said on Sunday against a backdrop of growing tension centered on Iran and worries over its crude exports to the Asian power.

Iran has not stored oil on tankers in the Persian Gulf, and its crude exports have not been disrupted due to mounting international pressure over its disputed nuclear program, an oil official told the semiofficial Mehr news agency on Saturday.

Lamido Sanusi, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has warned the strike is costing the nation’s economy $600-million every day.

Gold prices struggled to hold recent gains Friday as a successful Italian bond auction buoyed optimism about the direction of the Eurozone's economy.

Gold rose to a one-month high on Thursday, as comments by the president of the European Central Bank on cheap money stabilizing the region's banking system extended the metal's gain to a third consecutive day.