Taking responsibility is hard
11 June 2010
I really believe that BP has a responsibility for clearing up the worst environmental oil disaster that has ever happened. Probably the sell off of the shares has been overdone, though today they were rallying back towards the 400p mark.
No one can guess where the bottom for the shares will be though having lost so much of it's value, it is tempting to think that despite the likely huge costs of clearing things up, it cannot be far off.
Even if the chief executive did the honourable thing and indicated his retirement now – to take effect as soon as the crisis is past and a worse case $120bn of costs, (half its gross assets / roughly half its pre-spill market value). Like some others I would imagine that BP's shares should roughly recover around 30 per cent or more to around 450p – even after they have sorted this horrendous disaster that will affect wildlife for decades to come and as we know is much worse than Exxon Valdez.
I'm no investment expert, but think today’s share price for BP may not last long.
The wildlife and their environment has been absolutely devasted, thousand of creatures have/will die because of this, the least BP can do is suspend their dividends until everything is resolved.
Though I think the shares are cheap at 350p, I really think BP should do more to clear up its huge mess.
Remember as 2008 has shown, shares and other financial assets can go up and down at frightening speed. Don't buy any, unless you know what you are doing and can afford to lose the money.
Marabese