Occidental to slash spending after swinging to loss

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum Corp said on Monday it would slash spending on big projects by 40% next year, as it missed earnings estimates in its first results after closing its $38 billion (£29.46 billion) purchase of rival Anadarko Petroleum.Analysts and activist investors have been pushing the company to reduce expenses and pay down debt faster. It quadrupled its debt to $40 billion with the Anadarko deal.Occidental's spending on new projects next year will fall to $5.3 billion..