BP shares fall 4% after $1.4bn loss

BP shares fell almost 4% in morning trading as the cost of litigation following the US Gulf oil spill led to sharp losses for the group in Q2.

The British oil company revealed a loss of more than $1bn in Q2, due to falling oil and gas prices and further provision for the Gulf of Mexico disaster. However, it had nothing new to say about its dispute with the co-owners of TNK-BP, who on Monday blocked the payment of dividends from the business. Dividend payouts for BP, which is a stalwart of many income funds, were retained at 8c per share. BP shares fell 3.78% to 428p this morning after the group booked nearly $5bn in accounting charges linked to its US shale gas fields and suspended its offshore Liberty oil project in Alaska....