Guardian: The world’s largest publicly traded oil company, ExxonMobil, saw its profits slump to $19bn (£11.9bn) in 2009 from $45bn as it grappled with declining margins at its refineries and weaker demand for fuel in recession-battered economies. Exxon’s profits were its smallest for seven years and amounted to a sharp return to earth after the Texas-based energy empire smashed America’s all-time record for corporate earnings in 2008. But they still amounted to earnings of nearly $53m a …