OIL SPILL

Corrects spelling of 'czar' in first paragraph

Kenneth Feinberg will step down from his role as U.S. Treasury's pay car later this summer to focus on administering the BP Plc's $20 billion oil spill fund, a Treasury spokesman said on Wednesday.

Regulators updated the estimated cost of cleaning up hundreds of bank failures on Tuesday, saying the industry is seeing better earnings and a greater ability to raise capital.

BP is eyeing relatively modest new bank lending lines and is not planning bond sales or new increases in asset sales to fund its Gulf of Mexico oil spill clean-up, sources familiar with the company's thinking said on Monday.

BP is planning to raise $50 billion to cover the cost of the largest oil spill in U.S. history, London's Sunday Times reported without citing sources. The paper said BP planned to raise $10 billion from a bond sale, $20 billion from banks and $20 billion from asset sales over the next two years.

U.S. stocks have momentum on their side next week, though seesawing sentiment could roil the markets and investors will scrutinize comments from the Federal Reserve to gauge the strength of the economic recovery.

U.S. stocks ground higher in another lightly traded session on Friday, ending a nervous week with gains despite signs of economic weakness at home and worries about public debt in Europe.

BP CEO Tony Hayward may cling on after Thursday's mauling by U.S. lawmakers over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, investors and analysts said, while chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg looked less secure.

BP Plc bosses weathered a week of anger in Washington but the energy giant's financial outlook faces renewed scrutiny from investors trying to gauge remaining costs and risks from the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.

World stocks fell from this week's one-month high on Thursday and the euro and oil prices dropped as worries about Spain's public finances encouraged investors to cut back on risky assets.

Oil giant BP said it would cut four quarters of dividends, significantly reduce its investment program and sell $10 billion of assets to fund a planned $20 billion fund to pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Oil giant BP said it would not pay three quarters of dividends, significantly reduce its investment program and sell $10 billion of assets to fund a planned $20 billion fund to pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has begun to bite oilfield service companies, with market analysts now forecasting lower than expected spending on new projects in the region and pressure on drilling stocks.

Oil giant BP said it would cut three quarters of dividends, significantly reduce its investment program and sell $10 billion of assets to fund a planned $20 billion fund to pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Oil giant BP said it would cut three quarters of dividends, significantly reduce its investment program and sell $10 billion of assets to fund a planned $20 billion fund to pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Corrects to say three, not four quarters of dividends cut, in first paragraph

BP Plc on Wednesday agreed to a demand by U.S. President Barack Obama to pay $20 billion into a special fund to handle claims from its huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill and said it was suspending payment of dividends this year.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday following the previous session's strong rally, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.5 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.4 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.4 percent at 0944 GMT.

U.S. lawmakers blasted major oil companies on Tuesday for virtually worthless and cookie cutter plans to handle a deepwater oil disaster, with one top executive conceding the industry was ill prepared to handle big offshore spills.

U.S. lawmakers blasted major oil companies on Tuesday for virtually worthless and cookie cutter plans to handle a deepwater oil disaster as top industry executives testified on BP's massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.