The daily business briefing: April 18, 2016

Oil prices drop after production-freeze talks fail, Yahoo closes bidding on its websites, and more

An oil pump works as the sun sets
(Image credit: AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

1. Oil price-freeze talks fail over Iran's absence

Negotiators from 18 major oil-producing nations failed to reach an agreement on freezing production during a Sunday meeting in Qatar. The talks hit a wall after Iran declined to send its oil minister, and regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia said it wouldn't agree to a freeze unless Iran signed on. Iran wants to boost its production back to levels seen before it was hit with now-lifted sanctions. Oil futures fell by 6.8 percent on the news, and analysts warned that the price of a barrel of crude could drop as low as $30 within days on fears that a global glut will continue.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.