When ConocoPhillips became the first of the big oil groups to announce 2008 financial results, it was with a string of bad news.

The third largest US oil company disclosed a 2008 fourth-quarter net loss of $31.8bn; a $34bn writedown; 1,300 in job losses; and a $2.8bn cut in capital spending. Jim Mulva, chief executive, predicted competitors would also announce bad news because of plunging commodity prices and the economic downturn.