WEATHERFORD CUTTING VENEZUELA

SA. Weatherford (WFT +0.5%) says the "serious liquidity situation" in Venezuela is causing it to reduce its operations in the country, and it expects its Russian business to grow this year.WFT provides drilling and exploration services to Venezuela's national oil company but the country's currency devaluation and economic instability have caused payment delays.WFT foresees a "very constructive year" in Russia, CEO Bernard Duroc-Danner says, without discussing how the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine could affect the company's business.Says its Q1 has been negatively impacted by bad weather in Texas and the northeast U.S.