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benson, why was the escrow the wrong move? The issues here are pretty complex and presumably involve factors such as the ability of BP to limit liability to US entities and the possible limitation of claims in a bankrupty of the US entities and / or global entities. I don’t know, I haven’t looked into it at all, but I am certainly not in a position to question to wisdom of the escrow (and I’m a few standard deviations to the right of the bell curve on issues like this).
And if you don’t understand that his primary responsibility is to his board and to the shreholders then please refrain from further discussions about what is appropriate or not for a publicly listed corporation.
The US is about 1/3 of BPs business. they could elect to spin this off to shreholders now and be done with it….all perfectly legal. The share price would probably skyrocket.
I don’t understand why you see it as a shakedown. If anything, the escrow is just a way to guarantee the money is there. And, I’ve heard it said that that may not even be the total amount needed. So what’s the big deal to formally set it aside?
cobble, the law is the law and the strongarming to create the fund was outside the law.
yes, it’s all tragic but now foreign CEOs will think twice about setting up any investments here.
Consider this from Gartman….
We hope… we honestly hope… that the weakness in
the US dollar is because of the embarrassing nature of
the Subcommittee hearings yesterday by the House of
Representatives of BP’s CEO, Mr. Tony Hayward.
Watching these hearings and including President
Obama’s “shakedown†of BP earlier this week when he
demanded that BP be forced, under duress, to
suspend its dividend and to create a massive fund from
which damages could be extracted without due
process should be sending
shivers down the proverbial
spines of any and all
suppliers of capital in the
future to the US. What CEO
from any company from
abroad would willingly put
himself and his company in
jeopardy of such events as
we watched transpire on
television yesterday? We suspect none, and certainly
it would be few, and even more certainly it will be fewer
than were willing to do so only a day or two ago before
these hearings took place.
1) BP has accepted responsibility for the damages. They have shown no sign of aoiding claims.
2) Re: BP trying to declare bankruptcy. We can speculate all day if we wish, but I seriously doubt that one of the largest companies in the world, with substantial holdings in the US, is going to do so. If they did so, then it would be appropriate for our politicians to act. Right now, however, all they are doing is engaging in a shakedown.
“Not only do I think the escrow was a wrong move, I think it was a shakedown of yet another private industry by our government.”
So BP doesn’t have the responsibility to clean up their mess? What if they decided to go bankrupt and try not pay for it, benson? Is that fair to the fisherman and businesses that have been effected down there? Is the Fed. gov’t supposed to pay for this?
Not only do I think the escrow was a wrong move, I think it was a shakedown of yet another private industry by our government.
Do we not have courts of law to adjudicate such claims? Why was it necessary for the executive branch to intervene? I’ll tell you why: to deflect attention from the poor way they have been handling THEIR responsibility, which is the prevention of the spread of damage.
This week I had to go on a road trip in which I had to visit 3 factories in upstate NY and in Pennsylvania. I was sickened when I saw what these factories had been reduced to. Virtually empty, and all the jobs shipped to China. Folks on the coasts have NO IDEA how our manufacturing sector is struggling. And yet, this academic in the White House uses this opportunity to promote his agenda of imposing yet ANOTHER tax on our industry. He’s a disgrace – and folks in these areas are fuming.
Just WAIT until the folks in the Gulf states realize that he has destroyed one of our last strong industries: energy exploration, just to pleased the coastal elites.
benson, why was the escrow the wrong move? The issues here are pretty complex and presumably involve factors such as the ability of BP to limit liability to US entities and the possible limitation of claims in a bankrupty of the US entities and / or global entities. I don’t know, I haven’t looked into it at all, but I am certainly not in a position to question to wisdom of the escrow (and I’m a few standard deviations to the right of the bell curve on issues like this).
And if you don’t understand that his primary responsibility is to his board and to the shreholders then please refrain from further discussions about what is appropriate or not for a publicly listed corporation.
The US is about 1/3 of BPs business. they could elect to spin this off to shreholders now and be done with it….all perfectly legal. The share price would probably skyrocket.
I don’t understand why you see it as a shakedown. If anything, the escrow is just a way to guarantee the money is there. And, I’ve heard it said that that may not even be the total amount needed. So what’s the big deal to formally set it aside?
cobble, the law is the law and the strongarming to create the fund was outside the law.
yes, it’s all tragic but now foreign CEOs will think twice about setting up any investments here.
Consider this from Gartman….
We hope… we honestly hope… that the weakness in
the US dollar is because of the embarrassing nature of
the Subcommittee hearings yesterday by the House of
Representatives of BP’s CEO, Mr. Tony Hayward.
Watching these hearings and including President
Obama’s “shakedown†of BP earlier this week when he
demanded that BP be forced, under duress, to
suspend its dividend and to create a massive fund from
which damages could be extracted without due
process should be sending
shivers down the proverbial
spines of any and all
suppliers of capital in the
future to the US. What CEO
from any company from
abroad would willingly put
himself and his company in
jeopardy of such events as
we watched transpire on
television yesterday? We suspect none, and certainly
it would be few, and even more certainly it will be fewer
than were willing to do so only a day or two ago before
these hearings took place.
Cobble;
1) BP has accepted responsibility for the damages. They have shown no sign of aoiding claims.
2) Re: BP trying to declare bankruptcy. We can speculate all day if we wish, but I seriously doubt that one of the largest companies in the world, with substantial holdings in the US, is going to do so. If they did so, then it would be appropriate for our politicians to act. Right now, however, all they are doing is engaging in a shakedown.
“Not only do I think the escrow was a wrong move, I think it was a shakedown of yet another private industry by our government.”
So BP doesn’t have the responsibility to clean up their mess? What if they decided to go bankrupt and try not pay for it, benson? Is that fair to the fisherman and businesses that have been effected down there? Is the Fed. gov’t supposed to pay for this?
“You’ll be treated like a Mexican without papers in Arizona”
I realize I’m punch drunk tired today, but I thought this said “a Mexican without poppers”.
A huge cheer just went up from the pantry area. Guessing the US just scored against Slovenia.
Bradley!!!!!!
Equalizer in the 81st
Slopey;
Not only do I think the escrow was a wrong move, I think it was a shakedown of yet another private industry by our government.
Do we not have courts of law to adjudicate such claims? Why was it necessary for the executive branch to intervene? I’ll tell you why: to deflect attention from the poor way they have been handling THEIR responsibility, which is the prevention of the spread of damage.
This week I had to go on a road trip in which I had to visit 3 factories in upstate NY and in Pennsylvania. I was sickened when I saw what these factories had been reduced to. Virtually empty, and all the jobs shipped to China. Folks on the coasts have NO IDEA how our manufacturing sector is struggling. And yet, this academic in the White House uses this opportunity to promote his agenda of imposing yet ANOTHER tax on our industry. He’s a disgrace – and folks in these areas are fuming.
Just WAIT until the folks in the Gulf states realize that he has destroyed one of our last strong industries: energy exploration, just to pleased the coastal elites.