VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Saudi Arabia has suffered from the oil price collapse, and needs to plan a diversified economic strategy. The country has called $30 per barrel oil price is not rational, and aiming to encourage foreign investment to enter the country.

The economy of Japan struggled last month according to a wave of data released by the Bank of Japan. The industrial production was down 1.4% over the prior month.

Global investors are withdrawing from Russian stock markets as volatility is high in equities and currency Ruble. The continuous drop in oil price is impacting the Russian economy much as it's the main revenue source for the country. The gap between onshore and offshore traded equities is narrowing down as foreign investors are selling off.

Freeport-McMoRan said that it has planned to trim up to $10 billion debt through earnings from joint venture transactions and asset sales. The mining group also reported a loss of $4.1 billion for the fourth quarter.

As China crisis deepened, global stock market dropped on Tuesday and London's FTSE 100 experience a big loss of £20 billion ($28.5 billion). The market bounced back yesterday following the gain of Sage and oil price.

The report estimated India's economic growth to be at 7.3 percent in 2016, and the growth would increase even more in 2017. India is already one of the world's fastest-growing economy last year, benefiting from the sharp decline of oil, metals, and food price.

Schlumberger Ltd, on Thursday, reported a net loss of $1 billion for the fourth quarter and also said that it has axed 10,000 additional employees, as an effort to adjust its resource and cost base.

Vietnam warned China against drilling an oil rig in borderline waters in the South China Sea. Vietnam's anxiety over the rig develops subsequent to a recent flight testing carried out by China on a fake island in Spratly archipelago.

Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali al-Naimi said that stability in the oil market will be attained only through the cooperation amid major manufacturers and this would take time. Ali al-Naimi added that although the worldwide oil market has been experiencing an instability for over 12 months, he is hopeful regarding the return and future of the oil market.

With the lifting of international sanctions from Tehran, India would be able to recommence its unobstructed oil import from the Persian Gulf country. Iran is anticipated to boost its oil export of 1.1 million barrels per day by 500,000, according to the Indian Oil Cooperation.

Oil price fell below $30 a barrel on international market for the first time since 2004. The $30 mark is both a psychological and financial threshold. Brent crude, used as an international benchmark, fell as low as $29.96, but bounced back to trade at $30.22

The continuous drop in oil price for the past 18 months may impact $125 million real estate-backed securitized loans in North Dakota. The oil drillers in North Dakota have reduced their activity in the wake of lower oil prices. The reduced activity in shale hubs is poised to dampen the property market in North Dakota.

The steep fall in oil price is impacting Russia's foreign trade more in a negative way, while the financial markets are witnessing renewed interest from overseas investors and fund managers as well.

The continuous oil price fall is one side of the coin. The other side is showing rosy picture as six major oil companies have more than enough funds to snap up competitors. It's estimated that world's top six listed oil companies have over $0.5 trillion in stocks and cash enough to fund takeovers plans. ExxonMobil lead the pack, while Chevron, BP Plc, Shell, ConocoPhillips and Total are in the top-six positions.

The oil drilling activity in Canada is taking a hit as crude oil price is still hovering at $50 a barrel. The current situation is forcing Canadian oil companies to lower drilling activity in 2016.