Blaming volatile and challenging market conditions, BASF reported 2015 sales fell 5% to E70.4 billion ($77.5 billion at current exchange rates). Higher earnings in the chemical sector were more than offset by declines in oil and gas. The market environment continued to be volatile and challenging. Growth rates for the global economy, industrial production and the chemical industry in 2015 all lagged considerably behind the company’s expectations. “Over the course of the year, global economi...