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RehabCare Group Inc. said late Tuesday that it promoted James Martin to senior vice president and chief human resources officer, effective Monday. (RHB)

In a plan submitted to Congress on Tuesday, General Motors Corp. said it will focus product development and marketing efforts on its Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands, and “explore alternatives for the Saturn brand.” (GM)

ExxonMobil has signed an agreement with Petrom SA to help explore deepwater portions of the Neptun Block offshore Romania.

Petrobras has notified the country's National Petroleum Agency late Monday of a gas find in the Espirito Santo basin, according to the ANP's website.

Following a steady decline in oil prices from a hefty $147 in July to less than $50 this week, the Obama camp has decided to nix plans to implement a windfall profit tax on oil companies.

Petrobras expects to receive proposals to build two oil platforms to be installed at the Papa Terra field in the Campos Basin.

Funding for small to medium-sized oil and gas companies will remain scarce in 2009 and when capital does begin to flow it will be expensive, say senior energy bankers.

MMS reported that personnel are still evacuated from a total of 51 production platforms. Currently, 14.9% of oil production in the Gulf is shut-in.

Schlumberger's fiscal year profit for 2008 will be below analysts' consensus estimates due to the worldwide economic slowdown and its effect on oil and gas exploration and production spending.

OPEC, which supplies 40% of the world's crude oil, admitted its limited influence on the price fluctuation trend in the international crude oil market.