Business focus [News Business]

THE DROP in petrol prices at the pump is great for consumers, but it will undoubtedly lead to major job cuts at oil companies as they scale back on their development projects. The bad news will come thick and fast, as several corporations line up to report their fourth-quarter 2014 (Q4) financial results. Royal Dutch Shell said at the end of January that its spending plans will be slashed by $15bn. The company reported that Q4 profits fell to $3.26bn from the previous quarter???s $5.85bn. Despite this recent downward tendency, profits in 2014 saw a 14 per cent rise to $19bn, compared with 2013.