Top exec quits

2009-5-27 | NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE top gas executive and highest-ranking woman at Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Linda Cook, is stepping down on Monday, the company said yesterday, without giving a reason.

Cook, 50, was a candidate to replace Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer, who is retiring July 1. Instead the top job went to Peter Voser, the company's chief financial officer. Cook was a Shell employee for 29 years, joining the company in Houston when she was 21. She has a degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Kansas.

Exxon Mobil finds fuel's gold

EXXON Mobil Corp, the world's largest oil company, said yesterday fourth-quarter profit rose 14 percent amid the biggest increase in crude prices in the 148-year history of the petroleum industry. Net income climbed...