Energy--BP oil spill cleanup work hampered by hurricane- US Sen panel votes to end oil spill liability cap

  Energy

· BP oil spill cleanup work hampered by hurricane – Hurricane Alex is slowing containment efforts at BP’s spill site as a peromanent fix remains weeks away. The bad weather also threatened to push more oil-polluted water onto the shore, halting the spraying of disperstants for clean up efforts. Reuters

· BP oil spill a gusher for lawyers – Litigation for the BP spill is being likened to the asbestos litigation a few decades ago, which cost between $250-300B. Although the amount may not be as high, analysts are still projecting costs ranging from $30-40B. Reuters

· Hurricane Alex hits Mexico, avoids oil rigs – Hurricane Alex hit Mexico and Texas very hard on Thursday, but the U.S. oil rigs were unharmed so far. Reuters

· BP may sells its 60% stake in Pan American Energy – An article in the Daily Mail says industry insiders believe BP could sell its stake, which is worth around 6.3B pounds. The article also says a BP source is confident APC will have to pay 200M pounds for clean-up costs. Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1290970/BP-eyes-sale-Argentinian-stake.html

· BP – the co is returning to its banks to raise more money according to the FT; the co could raise an incremental $5B (a similar story has been reported in other press sources in recent days)   FT  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b8d84dbe-8470-11df-9cbb-00144feabdc0.html

· US Sen panel votes to end oil spill liability cap – In a major step to hamper offshore drilling practices, a Senate panel voted to lift all caps on liabilities in oil spills and another made a move to deny offshore leases to companies with poor track records. It is still unclear what the liability cap will end up being, but numbers in the billions have already been thrown around, which would significantly hurt smaller drillers. Reuters

· FRO agrees to buy two Suezmax newbuildings; provides fleet update – The company announced it has entered into a deal with Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy for two 156,900 dwt Suezmax newbuildings. The vessels are likely to be delivered in Feb and May 2013. Bloomberg

· Forth Ports sees first half ahead on last year – Forth Ports said it sees earnings in 1H10 to be well ahead YoY thanks to cost cutting measures and improved efficiencies. Reuters

· Chinese firms eye Australia power assets – Australia’s New South Wales gov’t opened the door for bidders in an estimated A$6B privatization of its power assets, with Chinese firms reportedly most interested. Reuters

· Sharp says Italy solar venture delayed by finance – Sharp Corp said its JV with Enel to make solar cells in Italy is delayed due to financing problems for the project. Reuters

· Oil tumbles 4th day on China econ growth worries – Oil fell a fourth straight day on Thursday on signs that China’s growth was slowing, raising concerns about demand. China reported a PMI of 52.1 in June, less than the 53.9 reading in May, which was attributed to China’s efforts to cool the country’s property market. Reuters

· Canada urged to ban asbestos mining, exports – Canada was urged by a group of medical associations to ban asbestos mining, which would restrict the use of the material but allow it to be exported despite the health risks. Reuters

· RW Baird Upgrades – CPK (to outperform from N), NEE (to outperform from N), PNY (to outperform from N), UIL (to outperform from N), XEL (to outperform from N).

· RW Baird Downgrades – HE (to N from outperform), WEC (to N from outperform).