BP spill sinks British pensions

Barack Obama is holding "his boot on the throat" of Britain’s pensioners,headlines the Daily Telegraph. This extraordinary accusation come in the wake of scathing criticism by the US president of British petroleum company BP, whose Deepwater Horizonoffshore rig that exploded on 20 April continues to leak crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Before the accident, “BP was Britain's biggest company, with a stock market value of £122 billion (€148bn). Since then, £49 billion (€59bn) has been wiped off its value.” City analysts are blaming Obama. “BP's position at the top of the London Stock Exchange means it is a bedrock of almost every pension fund in the UK,” notes the conservative daily “meaning its value is crucial to millions of workers.” BP has committed to pay out £7.2bn dividend to its shareholders, a measure the US government violently opposes while the well continues to leak up to an estimated 30,000 barrels a day.