Oil prices slip further

18/12/08 19:33 CET

markets

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The price of crude has fallen further to around 38 dollars a barrel in the US. There are technical reasons for that, but OPEC’s record cut in output also failed to stem the price decline. The latest figures showed stockpiles of oil in the US rising. After a day of choppy trading Europe shares ended just ahead with only Paris in the red.

Retailer Carrefour was a big loser after it lowered its profit forecast. Semiconductor equipment maker ASML also anticipated lower sales. Lower oil prices hit energy shares and investors sought the relative safety of drugmakers. Among the other influences, British retail sales rose unexpectedly in November, but UK public sector net borrowing rose to its highest monthly total since records began.More about: Markets, Oil market

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Syrian bloodshed spreads to Aleppo

The upsurge in violence in Syria has spread to the northern city of Aleppo, where soldiers and civilians have been killed in separate explosions, according to state TV. It said a building used by military intelligence and a security forces as a base, had been targeted in what it described as…