The oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has damaged BP's reputation will they manage to avoid a share collapse to 350p.?



472p to buy this morning.

she's like a little thrush then!

spotty & itchy??

the old ones are the best ones!

looks as though 400 will be broken tomorrow, and perhaps quite substantially

I think tomorrow BP will dive to 350p...and to 100p by August. Sell at all costs.


BPs future as a global concern was at stake tonight after the US Attorney General, announced that he was launching a criminal and a civil investigation into the Louisiana oil spill.

As Eric Holder made his announcement, the British companys chief executive fought to halt a headlong slide in its stock price.

After losing a third of its value in just six weeks, BP is expected to promise shareholders their full annual dividend in a last-ditch bid to retain their loyalty. More than 12 billion was wiped off the companys value today alone, as Mr Obama dispatched his top prosecutor to Louisiana and vowed to bring to justice those responsible for what he called the greatest environmental disaster of its kind in our history.

Shares in what used to be Britains biggest company endured their worst days trading in more than two decades, dragging down the FTSE 100 index and with it the value of dozens of leading pension funds.

In Washington, Mr Obama stepped up his efforts to assert control over the disaster response with his second televised address in less than a week. If our laws have been broken leading to this death and destruction, my solemn pledge is that we will bring those responsible to justice on behalf of the victims of the catastrophe and the people of the Gulf region, he said.

Mr Holder announced that he was launching a criminal and a civil investigation into the oil spill. Earlier, he met Louisiana law enforcement officials in New Orleans after ordering BP to preserve records that could shed light on what led to the disaster. He has also instructed US Department of Justice staff to look for evidence of malfeasance in the days and hours before the Deepwater Horizon rig blew up.

The first government attack on BP in US courts may come from Louisianas Attorney General, James Caldwell, who has received $5 million from the state government and demanded $22 million more to sue the company and its subcontractors on behalf of the disasters victims.

State and federal investigations are likely to focus on BPs relationship with the Minerals Management Service, a government agency condemned in official reports for a culture of corruption. In an unusual departure from normal procedures, the MMS granted BP three changes to its drilling permit for the Deepwater Horizon rig in a single day a week before the rig sank, a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed yesterday.

Separate congressional investigations have focused on two critical decisions, both blamed on BP by its main subcontractors, to replace heavy mud with water in the riser pipe leading from the well head to the surface; and to use a high-tech but relatively untested type of concrete in the well casing.

BP said today that its latest effort to cap the well a hood placed over the failed blowout preventer at the bottom of the riser could be in place as soon as today. But the failure of every tactic tried so far combined today with an increasingly hostile US Administration to produce fears for the future of the company.

This situation has now gone far beyond concerns of BPs chief executive Tony Hayward being fired or shareholder dividend payouts being cut, said Dougie Youngson at stockbroker Arbuthnot.

Its got the real smell of death. This could break BP. Given the collapse in the share price and the potential for it to fall further, we expect that it could become a takeover target, particularly if its operating position in the US becomes untenable.

BP is the most important company on the UK stock market by a considerable margin. Roughly 1 in every 6 received in dividends by UK pension funds comes from BP, so a cut would severely impact almost every saver in the land. Such is the companys size, the fall in its share price was yesterday sufficient to knock 57.5 points from the value of the FTSE-100, although the index actually finished 25.13 points lower due to rises among other blue-chip stocks.

Any cut in BPs dividend would be a traumatic event for the company. It last cut its payout to shareholders in August 1992 after reporting its first-ever quarterly loss.

With much of todays share price fall being attributed to fears that the company may have to cut its dividend, BPs chief executive, Tony Hayward, is expected later this week to assure investors that the payout will be maintained.

The companys share price fell to as low as 412.25p at one stage today before a partial rally. That followed an admission from BP that the cost of its repeated failed bids to stem the flow from the blow out, the clean-up operation, and early payments of claims by affected American and by states around the Gulf has already topped $1 billion. BP is privately putting the total cost of the disaster at $4 billion by the end of the year.

would increase my short position, but suspect now a bit late, but never mind .... certainly 350 looks on the cards ..... not sure what happens below that from a charting viewpoint

Off subject.

Can anyone tell me the epic re BP.
I have several sites saying the epic is BP, but when I put that into MoneyAm company zone, I get the message Not Found.

Greek.

BP.

No position, just making sure you can see a shorter chart than the one at top thread

                                          5 days chart                                                             &nbsp3 month chart


link to BP. futures on the US BP. futures

Thanks Skinny,

I missed out the .

The 2 year chart is more clear.

I don't think the chart (S/R) has much meaning atm.

Won't be long before the US realises this is a long-term source of energy - the current difficulty is a consequence of the great depth and a failed safety-valve. Maybe it was faulty, or incorrectly installed....maybe this needs attention for any new-drill . . . . but it's easy to be wise AFTER the event. I presume the Regulators approved the pipework and work-schedule, etc. so it's hardly BP's "fault" despite any knee-jerk reaction. Try telling an American they can't use their SUV, due to a shortage of home-based oil.

However, the unlimited "cost" is creating fear for Investors, hence the sp slide....but just as they fall away, there is an Opportunity for those who see the LT picture.

I suspect we are close to "value" - all we need is the dividend to be suspended and I'll BUY after the dust settles . . . . . 3.50 might happen
I hold a few.

There's the rub. It looks (atm) as if the dividend will be maintained. 1 in every 7 of pension dividend in this country comes from the BP dividend.

On edit:- that particular article says - BP is the most important company on the UK stock market by a considerable margin. Roughly 1 in every 6 received in dividends by UK pension funds comes from BP, so a cut would have a severe impact on almost every saver in the land.

Up on the day (pre auction)!

-0.25p

It will have the odd spike here and there - every share does ! Its heading one way, down. Mind you so is everything else.

Tony Craze on wake up to money BBC 5 live this am again saying the fall is overdone and BP is a raging buy at the moment..eh hangon a minute I remember him saying the same re Marconi when they were 120p and a year later..1p.

Nothing is a raging BUY at the moment, Helmets on and get ready for the second 'crash' - This one could be worse than the last.

I agree nord the banks are due another crash anytime now bringing the whole market down with them.

Hammer formed today...eat your heart out Tony.