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Venezuela's 2015 budget will be based on a target oil price of $60 dollars per barrel, President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday night, but he repeated expectations that prices will recover. Venezuela routinely underestimates oil prices when planning its budget to permit more spending later with fewer budget restrictions. The OPEC country's 2014 budget proposal also put oil prices at $60 dollars. Oil has dropped more than 25 percent since June on strong supply, signs of weak demand growth and indications that key oil producers, particularly Saudi Arabia, have a limited appetite to cut output to bolster prices. U.S. November crude settled at $82.75 on Friday.

In quickly evolving events, Russia's navy on Monday was desperately trying to rescue more than 100 sailors trapped in a crippled nuclear-powered submarine on the bottom of the sea. Although it was initially reported that the vessel was forced down by flooding in the front of the vessel, the latest reports from the navy say that the submarine has marks of a "big and serious collision" -- possibly with a foreign submarine. The navy's chief said he was pessimistic about the chances of a positive outcome to the incident in Arctic waters. He did not make clear whether he was referring to the fate of the crew or the submarine, which was commissioned just five years ago.