The BP oil spill has all but ruined the fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico for now. But one group of fisherman that seem to be seeing an uptick in business from the spill are those in Canada – and in particular, those who harvest mussels in Prince Edward Island. An article in today’s Montreal Gazette talks about the new demand for mussels, in part because chefs across the land who built dishes around shrimp and oysters from the gulf are looking for alternative recipes, some of which are turning to mussels.
BP
The failure over the weekend by BP to plug its ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico cost investors more than $20 billion today. The company’s American Depositary Shares fell $6.43 to $36.52, resulting in a company worth about $20 billion less than when the Labor Day weekend began last Friday. In part, the stock fell on the well not being contained. But also, investors are beginning to fret over the soaring clean-up costs and likely litigation costs. The company itself now has a market capitalization of around $114 billion – which has some analysts wondering if it weakens further whether it could become takeover bait.
Posted by Neal Lipschutz
on May 27, 2010
Crude Oil, Natural Disasters, Other Alleged Schemes, Securities & Exchange Commission, Wall Street, Washington / 1 Comment
Crude Oil, Natural Disasters, Other Alleged Schemes, Securities & Exchange Commission, Wall Street, Washington / 1 Comment
Fraud is fraud, so it’s silly to try to decide on degrees of venality amongst the various types.
Still, it seems particularly loathsome to try for ill-gotten gains off the back of disasters and the tragedies of others.
Case in point: the Securities and Exchange Commission today warned investors to be wary of scams that seek to exploit the big oil spill in the Gulf and the efforts, which no doubt will be expensive and time-consuming, to clean up.
“While some of the companies touting their role in the cleanup may be legitimate, others could be bogus operations that are only looking to clean out unsuspecting investors,” The SEC and market regulator FINRA said in a jointly issued press release.
It’s ghoulish enough that some investors, upon their hearing of some unexpected tragedy, quickly turn their attention to the business, and therefore investment, implications of the disaster.
That’s the way of the world. Still, scamming off tragedy seems beyond the pale.
The SEC and FINRA provided a list of what to look for in potential Gulf oil spill-related scams. The list includes:
Company claims to have products that effectively help clean up oil spills and/or fix ecosystems. Company claims to have contracts or an expectation of contracts with BP for the cleanup. Or that claim some involvement with one of the federal government agencies on the scene.
