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U.S. Oil Price drops below $50 a Barrel  

U.S. oil prices Monday dropped below $50 a barrel for the first time since 2009 on a rocky day in global financial markets. 

Near 1630 GMT, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in February briefly dipped to $49.95 a barrel, before rallying somewhat to $50.20 a barrel.

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German New Car Sales up in 2014

New car registrations in Germany, a key measure of demand in one of the most important sectors of Europe's top economy, rose in 2014, partly reversing two previous years of declines, the VDA industry federation said Monday. 

A total of 3.037 million new cars were registered year, an increase of 3.0 percent over the figure for 2013, VDA said in a statement. 

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Oil Dives to New Five-Year Lows

Global oil prices spiraled lower Monday to strike new five-year lows as traders fretted over gloomy data, demand worries and plentiful crude supplies.

In early afternoon London deals, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February sank to $54.44 per barrel, hitting the lowest level since May 2009.

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Official: Turkey 2014 Inflation Ticks Up to 8.17%

Annual inflation in Turkey ticked up to 8.17 percent in 2014, slightly higher than 2013 and well over the central bank's medium-term target, the state statistics office said Monday.

However the figure was lower than expected by analysts, with inflation falling 0.44 percent in December from November.

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Report: China's Tencent Launches Private Online Bank

Chinese Internet giant Tencent, operator of the popular messaging app WeChat, has launched an online bank, a state-backed newspaper said Monday, as the government seeks to foster private lenders.

The online bank, called WeBank, will be fully Internet-based with no physical branches, the China Daily newspaper said.

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Euro Falls to Nine-Year Low on ECB Stimulus Speculation

The euro fell to a near nine-year low against the dollar in Asia Monday after the head of the European Central Bank hinted that policymakers would unleash fresh easing measures to counter weakness in the eurozone.

The single currency's losses added to a sell-off on Friday that came in response to the publication of Mario Draghi's interview with German business daily Handelsblatt.

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Hollande: Greece Must Stick to its EU Commitments

French President Francois Hollande on Monday urged Greece to abide by its European commitments, as the spectre of a Greek exit from the eurozone rears its head again.

"The Greeks are free to choose their own destiny. But, having said that, there are certain engagements that have been made and all those must be of course respected," Hollande told French radio.

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Venezuela's Maduro Heads to China to Seek Financial Aid

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro begins a trip to China and OPEC member countries late Sunday in search of financial support as his country reels from falling oil prices and a tattered economy.

The South American oil giant confirmed Tuesday that it has entered recession, while annual inflation topped 63 percent, exacerbating the outlook for an economy already hit by global crashing oil prices and import shortages.

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Iraq Oil Exports Soar but Low Prices Hit Revenue

Iraq's oil exports reached their highest level in decades in December, the oil ministry's spokesman said on Saturday, but vital revenues were being hit by the plummeting prices of crude.

Iraq exported 91.141 million barrels of oil in December for an average of 2.94 million barrels per day, the highest daily average since 1980, Assem Jihad told Agence France Presse, citing initial figures.

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Tycoon Prince Assails Saudi Fiscal Policy over Deficit

Billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has lashed out at the Saudi fiscal policy after projecting the largest ever budget deficit for 2015 following the slump in oil prices.

"We have reached the danger point... after starting to withdraw from the reserves," to meet the budget shortfall, Alwaleed said in a letter addressed to the finance minister.

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