30 August 2006

Corporate Malfeasance Produces Corporate Profits

Looks like the partying in the BP boardroom is about to end:

A few weeks ago, a group of shareholders sued the company over its failure to maintain the Alaska pipeline:

Shareholders have filed a lawsuit against top executives of BP accusing them of letting down investors by failing to repair a pipeline that forced a shutdown of part of the Alaskan Prudhoe Bay oilfield.

The lawsuit... alleges the British oil major's executives including Chief Executive Officer John Browne and Chief Financial Officer Bryon Grote knew about the corrosion of the pipeline and did not take any action.


And now there's this:

U.S. federal investigators are examining whether BP manipulated crude oil and unleaded gasoline markets...

BP already faces allegations from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission that it manipulated the U.S. propane market in 2004.

The separate investigations on crude oil and gasoline could intensify pressure on BP because these markets are bigger and directly affect most American households...



On top of all this, Congress also plans to hold hearings on the pipeline problem. So to recap, BP is under the glass for:

Propane markets manipulation
Crude Oil markets manipulation
Gasoline markets manipulation
Shareholder lawsuit over pipeline
Congressional hearings over pipeline

I don't have any oil stock but if I did I'd think about dumping it. As it is, I'm exploring some of the options in alternative energy mutual funds. That's where the growth is.

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