Gulf Coast Disaster: Afternoon News Roundup, July 1

Day 73

Highlights in this issue:

- Navy blimp to be added to oil spill arsenal
- A new plan in event of a hurricane
- GOP Senators back different panel to investigate oil spill
- Is ExxonMobile a good suitor for BP?
- Should BP say good-bye to its US operations?
- Emeril Lagasse makes donation to Gulf disaster charity
- Adm. Thad Allen hangs up his uniform, wears a suit to work

This afternoon’s summary:

There’s plenty of buzz out there right now about the future of BP. With its numbers in the stock markets at historic lows, analysts say the company is ripe for a takeover. What better timing and what a good deal? At the top of the list for companies that may be willing to weigh in is ExxonMobile. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that Exxon bought Mobile. The company does have the cash, the know-how and the hunger for a deal. However, bigger problems remain for BP. The leak is not yet plugged. The company is on tap to pay $20 billion or more in damages. BP’s reputation has been soiled beyond repair, and the Gulf of Mexico ecology may not be repaired for years. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says it’s a myth that the US refused foreign help for the oil spill. Gibbs said the oil spill rescuers have been getting help from other countries at least since May 11 when Japan and other countries began providing extra boom to the region. BP denied rumors it had plugged the leak, a rumor that managed to spike its stock on the London market on Thursday morning

Quotable Quote:

"I think if you're going to buy BP, you have to buy it before the well is capped, and that's what some people are thinking right now," said Mark Coffelt, chief investment officer of Empiric Funds in Austin, Texas.


National News

AP: Where’s Hurricane Alex? Nowhere near the Gulf, that’s for sure
The Atlantic season's first hurricane largely spared the Gulf of Mexico before heading to northern Mexico. Nevertheless, the strength of this Category 2 hurricane could be felt along the Gulf coast which is trying to dig itself out of the worst oil disaster in U.S. history.

Read more:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100701/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/tropical_weather


CNN: Navy blimp to be added to oil spill arsenal
The Coast Guard is adding a blimp overhead to scout out and help direct oil skimming operations. The Navy blimp can carry a crew of up to 10 and will be mainly used to direct oil skimming operations.

Read more:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/01/gulf.oil.spill.blimp/


CNN: A new plan in event of a hurricane
Stung by criticism that BP did not have a plan to deal with a hurricane in the Gulf Coast, the Coast Guard has quickly cobbled one together for the next one. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who’s in charge of the government’s oil spill response, said a plan has been hashed together to deal with the hurricane season which ends on Nov. 30.

Read more:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/01/hurricane.oil.plan/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn


Houston Chronicle: GOP Senators back different panel to investigate oil spill
Senate Republicans on Wednesday advanced legislation that would create a congressionally appointed panel to investigate the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, based on complaints that a competing presidential commission has an environmentalist tilt.

Read more:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7088938.html


Business

The Week: Is ExxonMobile a good suitor for BP?
BP stock is about 62 percent undervalued right now, and thus ripe for a pickoff. The rumors are flying all over the place, and ExxonMobile is high on the list of takers. Exxon has the cash, and the experience absorbing a big rival (Mobil). Plus, BP's natural-gas assets would  "complete Exxon’s global jigsaw,” analysts say. BP is on its knees right now, but not flat out. So the coming weeks will be an interesting time to see what the future holds for this oil giant responsible for the biggest ecological disaster in US history.

Read more:
http://theweek.com/article/index/204609/should-exxon-buy-bp

Check this one out, too
http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/01/news/companies/bp_merger_talk/a


The Globe and Mail: Should BP say good-bye to its US operations?
The goodwill needed to operate in America is gone. Selling the division will at least open an avenue for the company’s long-term survival, writes Eric Reguly.

Read more by Eric Reguly:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/bp-should-say-goodbye-to-its-us-operations/article1624904/

Politics

Politico: Should members of Congress be allowed to visit the Gulf?
Let’s face it: Visiting the Gulf oil spill is a perfect picture opportunity and a good chance to rap or those fighting the disaster. The anticipated stampede may be why the Department of Homeland Security is asking that Congress organize trips through committees of jurisdiction, to avoid having to cater to a ton of individual lawmakers in a disaster zone, Democratic aides say. Needless to say, that leaves a few unhappy congressmen who want to use the spill to their own partisan advantage.

Read more:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/39225.html#ixzz0sS6zfoqb


USA Today: Adm. Thad Allen hangs up his uniform, wears a suit to work
Adm. Thad Allen, the Obama administration’s point person on the Gulf oil spill, has retired from the Coast Guard but he still is working with the administration on the oil spill. He’s transitioning to a position at the Department of Homeland Security, has hung up his uniform and wears a suit to work from now on.

Read more:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/07/obamas-oil-spill-point-man-looking-good/1

Check this one out, too
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/06/coastguard_allen_retire_063010w/


Feature

BNET: Did a UFO cause the oil spill?
Along with the critical drama about how to stop the oil leak, there are a bunch of conspiracy theories beginning to emerge, all sounding like a Grade B movie. How about this one: BP’s drilling activity awoke a UFO, long-buried under more than three miles of sea water, sandstone and hard rock formations. Or this one: A North Korean submarine fired two torpedoes against the rig. BNET chronicles a few of them, but the best may be yet to come when an independent commission finally figures out what went wrong – for real, this time.

Read more:
http://industry.bnet.com/energy/10005099/conspiracy-theories-behind-bp-oil-spill-in-gulf-from-dick-cheney-to-ufos/


Regional

Times-Picayune:  Emeril Lagasse makes donation to Gulf disaster charity
Famed New Orleans chef Emeril Lagasse has donated four tickets to Carnival du Vin, his annual black tie charity gala, to Disaster in the Gulf, an online auction benefiting environmental charities, including the United Way's Gulf Recovery Fund.

Read more:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/07/emeril_lagasse_makes_donation.html


AP: Pepsi to the rescue
Pepsi is expanding its popular Refresh Project charitable program to help communities affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The soft drink and snack maker said Thursday it will give an additional $1.3 million in grants next month to projects that will help communities in the five-state region — Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.

Read more:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jiwRAfaadnIMIxbHOI9wZxVOswJAD9GMCF3G0


Los Angeles Times: Turtle deaths spark legal action
Appalled that turtles may be getting caught up in BP's burn-offs of surface oil in the Gulf, two environmental groups have put the oil giant and U.S. Coast Guard on notice that they intend to file lawsuits.

Read more from Geoff Mohan
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/06/gulf-oil-spill-turtle-deaths-spark-legal-actions.html

Wall Street Journal: Where on the Gulf can you vacation?
You’ve probably seen those TV ads touting Florida’s clean beaches and beautiful coastline. There are plenty of others as Gulf coast governments try to keep up a front of a tourist mecca as oil tar balls move to land. Mississippi launched its $11 million campaign this week, to trumpet non-beach activities such as its 11 coastal casinos. Meanwhile, Texas is taking advantage of the chill along the Gulf coast to attract visitors to its coastline.

Read more:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703426004575339080176276068.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond


Times Picayune: Gulf oil spill chills demand for recreational fishing licenses
Fishing in the Gulf is not just about commercial seafood. Licenses for the anglers have dropped by 48 percent at the height of the sports fishing season even through waters for recreational fishing do remain open near the Louisiana coast,

Read more from Robert Travis Scott
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/gulf_oil_spill_chills_demand_f.html


AL.com: Mabus meets with local Miss. officials to discuss recovery plan
Ray Mabus, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, met with several elected leaders in Mobile, Ala., to discuss an oil spill recovery plan for the Gulf Coast. Mabus said President Barack Obama gave him a "very specific job to come up with a plan for what we do to make the coast whole environmentally, make the coast whole economically, make the coast whole in terms of whatever health care effects this spill has had."

Read more by David Ferrara:
http://blog.al.com/live/2010/07/secretary_of_navy_meets_with_l.html

Graphic:

> New video: Visit Florida –New ads don’t pitch promise of clean beaches
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/new-video-visit-florida-what-you-need-to-728040.html

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