Oil giant Conoco is preparing to cut as much as $10 billion from its capital expenditures, which amounts to a 12 percent cut to its 2010 capital expenditures, in order to draw investors back to purchasing Conoco’s lagging stock. So far this year, investors have not taken much faith in Conoco’s stock, forcing the company to take measures such as increasing its dividends in order to lure investors.
Conoco hopes that by restructuring, investors will flock to Conoco’s stock because of the possibility that Conoco’s renovations will result in financial success. However, the instability of the market, especially in light of …read more

Sara Lin, a writer for the The Wall Street Journal’s online edition, found something good about the current housing slump: It’s easier, and cheaper, to find contractors to either build a house or renovate one.