DEFLATING EARNINGS: India's Reliance Industries reported a 5.7 percent slide in September quarter profits from a year ago, as the company scales back investment in India's largest oil and gas fields.

REFINING RESULTS: refining margins and investment income on Reliance's $14.9 billion pile of cash helped make up for falling gas production and weakness in its petrochemicals business, which the company on the economic slowdown in China.

SLOWER OUTFLOW: Reliance plans to scale back capital expenditure on its most productive fields to $5.9 billion, down from a 2006 plan of $8.8 billion,