Chesapeake profit falls short, company to slash spending

(Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp on Wednesday said it would slash its 2015 spending and rig count in response to low crude oil prices and reported a fourth-quarter profit that fell short of Wall Street expectations. Crude prices have slumped more than 50 percent since June as the global oil market remains over-supplied in a time of waning demand so exploration and production companies have made deep cuts to budgets to conserve cash. Chesapeake said it expects total capital expenditures of $4 b