Oil market collapses under $50

At about 1630 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for February delivery tumbled to $49.95 per barrel, touching the lowest level since May 1, 2009. London's Brent North Sea crude for February dropped to a similar nadir at $52.66 a barrel. "Greek problems may spell trouble for the eurozone (and) may impact energy demand out of Western Europe -- especially with press suggesting German politicians are talking about Grexit," said Ransquawk analyst Anthony Cheung. The single curre