oil

BP has raised its dividend by 12.5% to 9c a share, but reported a fall in profits in the third quarter.

One of the key positive aspects of equity investment is that you can buy and sell stakes in small and larger companies, safe in the knowledge prospective and existing owners of a business are being treated equally.

BP's shareholders have called for a cash payout to be made if the sale of its 50% stake in TNK-BP goes through, as talk it is poised to offload its holding imminently picks up.

Oil prices dropped yesterday as economic data from China and Europe renewed concerns about a slowdown in global demand.

BP has moved to offload a chunk of its oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico in a deal worth $5.5bn (£3.4bn), as the oil major continues to raise cash to cover the cost of the catastrophe in 2010.

Shares in Royal Dutch Shell fell almost 4% this morning as the weak oil price and North American gas prices dragged on profits in the second quarter.

SVM's Colin McLean is poised to sell out of the largest and most profitable holding in his £43m UK Growth fund after a drawn out battle by bidders.

Brent crude oil prices could drop by almost 50% to $50 a barrel within the next three months if the eurozone crisis escalates, Credit Suisse has said.

Mark Holden has lifted the £107m UK Focus fund out of the bottom quartile by concentrating the portfolio into just 21 stocks.

Oil major BP saw profits fall in the first quarter of the year, led by its downstream business, but has held its dividend at 8 cents per share.