Venezuela state oil firm's earnings fall 4.3% in 2014

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA's earnings fell 4.3 percent in 2014, it said Monday, reporting drops in production and exports after a year of economic upheaval and sliding crude prices. PDVSA, which dominates the oil industry in the country estimated to have the world's largest crude reserves, registered earnings of $128.4 billion last year, down from $134.3 billion the year before, it reported on its website. Venezuela is struggling with a prolonged recession and chronic shortages