Kuwait’s cabinet may have defused a new row with parliament by bowing to calls to scrap a $17 billion deal with Dow Chemical but the move is a blow to its plans to attract investment and diversify the economy.

Oil fell more than $2 towards $34 a barrel on Monday as signs of a resolution of a gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine and after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza eased supply concerns.

European exports declined at the fastest pace in more than eight years in November as the global economic downturn throttled demand for the region’s cars, trucks and planes.

Johnson & Johnson reported higher quarterly earnings on Tuesday as cost cuts offset weak sales of its drugs, devices and consumer products amid the economic downturn, but J&J forecast 2009 earnings below expectations.

Global growth will be very weak next year, a senior European banker warned on Tuesday, and loans to companies and household in the euro zone stagnated, raising new concerns about the extent of the credit crunch.

The New York Times Co. said it will get a $250 million investment from one of the world’s richest men, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, a move that will give the company much-needed time to clear financial hurdles.

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