BP share price recovers on take-over talk

Besieged BP's share price soared 9% this morning as markets weighed up its value as a takeover target as the current oil spill debacle subsides.

Shortly after 10.00am BP was trading at 331p, up 28p or 9.2% from Tuesday's close. Yesterday, a JP Morgan analyst said BP could be worth as much as 473p a share to a potential buyer such as US oil major Exxon Mobil. However, despite the pick-up in its share price, more bad news is in store for BP as Hurricane Alex threatens to hamper clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane, upgraded from tropical storm status, is expected to hit the coast of Mexico and Texas later today, with 12ft waves likely to interrupt plans to install a system to capture more oil. Atlantic hu...