Oil Price Hikes?

OPEC ministers will meet today to ratify a plan to cut world oil supplies. No one knows if the cuts would be big enough to boost oil prices, now at $15.50 a barrel, or about half 1997’s peak price. Even if OPEC members approve the plan, hammered out in meetings this month, they are unlikely to fully comply with its terms.

Boeing 737 Safety: Transportation safety officials could recommend sweeping changes to Boeing Co.’s 737 when they consider the cause of a 1994 crash near Pittsburgh, one of two fatal accidents that have raised questions about the 737’s rudder system. A hearing begins today in Springfield, Va. The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to determine a probable cause and make safety recommendations.

Social Security Reform: Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan appears at a closed briefing before the House Budget Committee’s Social Security Task Force on the need for structural reform to the Social Security program.