Economics / Markets

Embattled oil major BP saw its share price dive below 300p on the FTSE earlier today after the estimated cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was revised upward to $2.3bn (£1.57bn).

BP has spent $2.35bn (£1.5bn) so far cleaning up the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, and has paid out $126m in compensation.

The FTSE 100 index has clawed back some of the previous session's sharp losses this morning.

Europe must focus on growth as well as cutting spending to reduce national deficits, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says.

With the BP crisis and a slowing UK economy further compounding an already delicate situation, investors are nervous.

The FTSE 100 opened higher, up 0.35% or 18.22 points to 5,196.74 following Wall Street's late rally.

George Osborne's "unavoidable" increase in VAT, the single largest revenue raising measure in Tuesday's Budget, could have been avoided if the Chancellor had not decided to cut other taxes.

OMAM's Simon Murphy explains the differences between economic and market cycles and why they are both important to investors

Buyout vehicle Resolution has bought Axa Life for £2.75bn in a deal part-funded by a rights issue of approximately £2.05bn.

This will go down as one of the most controversial Budgets of modern times...but it could have been even more dramatic