BP Won't Pay Dividend, Apologizes for Spill

BP is suspending its dividend through the rest of the year in the wake of the Gulf oil spill. "This tragic accident ... should have never happened," said board chair Carl-Henric Svanberg, who used a news conference to "apologize to the American people." He also noted that "we care about the small people." Svanberg spoke after a meeting with President Obama in which the company agreed to set up a $20 billion fund for victims. The meeting stretched more than 4 hours, with Obama darting in and out of the room.

The amount is "not a cap," said Obama. "This is about accountability. At the end of the day, that's what every American wants and expects." He also announced that BP had voluntarily agreed to establish a $100 million fund to compensate laid-off oil right workers affected by the president's 6-month drilling moratorium.
(More Gulf oil spill stories.)