BP to Suspend Stock Dividend

BBC News reports that BP’s directors plan to suspend the company’s dividend payment—the portion of corporate profits the company pays out to stockholders—because of intense pressure from the U.S. government to pay for the clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. While there hasn’t been a formal announcement yet, it is expected after negotiations are made with President Obama next Wednesday. According to estimates from the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), U.K. pension funds’ exposure to BP is about 1.5% of their total assets, which are worth more than £800 billion ($1.16 trillion). Joanne Segars, chief executive of the NAPF, believes that the impact on pensions would be “relatively diluted.”