BP's Credit Rating Downgraded

BP shares are about as good an investment now as land in Arizona: Fitch Ratings downgraded the oil company’s credit rating from AA to BBB—just one level above junk status. "The scale of today's rating action has been partly driven by the increased risk that the balance between long-term and near-term cost payments may now be skewed much more heavily toward the near term than previously anticipated," Fitch said. Indications that the oil spill may be much larger than BP has acknowledged and that the U.S. government is pressuring the oil company to delay dividends were the main factors in the decision. BP lost 10 percent of its share price in New York on Monday and has lost 45 percent of its value since the April 20 oil-rig explosion.