The market can't count on a Chinese rescue as prices fall

The markets are desperate for some good news. The oil price has fallen further and faster than nearly anyone thought possible a couple months ago

Wall Street can't cut its forecasts fast enough. Oil companies are laying off workers by the thousands and taking the axe to their budgets. Hard times have hit the oil patch once again. China, with its seemingly insatiable thirst for oil, has been a reliable source of good news for oil markets for years. Over the last decade, China has accounted for about half of new global oil demand, sucking in barrels from all corners of the globe, and helping to fuel an unprecedented bull run for the oil price. After the 2008 financial crisis, it was strong Chinese demand growth that helped to drag oil prices up off the floor. But China isn't going to ride to the rescue this time. The country's economy g