Algeria

The OPEC oil cartel plans to hold an informal meeting in Algeria this week to consider whether steps should be taken to stabilize oil prices following a slump of more than two years. Ministers of the 14 OPEC nations flirted with a similar notion earlier this year in a meeting with Russia in Qatar, but the prospect of a freeze in oil output failed because rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran refused to back off on their drives to increase market share, regardless of price. (Read more)