The now infamous Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster has sent millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and threatens to destroy the once-pristine beaches and wetlands of much of the Southeastern United States. This disaster could not have come at a worse time for the struggling region, which has seen higher-than-average unemployment figures and anemic growth levels. This trend looks likely to continue as thousands of fishing and tourism jobs disappear from the Gulf due to the spill and fears over the safety of eating products from the region or visiting the coast. In fact, some studies believe that the cost to the Gulf, in terms of lost tourism dollars, could approach $23 billion and last for three years. While this disaster has had a devastating impact on the environment and local businesses, it has also dealt a heavy blow to a variety of multinational companies involved in the oil industry as well [see Energy ETFs: Six Very Different Ways To Play].
BP
While reports of the company going bankrupt or being bought out by the likes of ExxonMobil
Despite the disaster and the offshore oil ban hovering over the company, BP looks to report solid earnings for the most recent quarter later today. The embattled giant looks to post profits of $1.39 a share and revenues of $72.6 billion, which represents a 28% spike over the past year's revenue numbers. Due to this crucial earnings report and the fact that the S&P 500 International Energy Sector SPDR
IPW tracks the S&P Developed Ex-U.S. BMI Energy Sector Index which represents the non-U.S. energy sub-industry of developed countries included in the S&P Broad Market Index. The Global BMI Index captures the full universe of institutionally investable stocks in developed and emerging markets with float-adjusted market capitalizations of at least $100 million. In addition to a 8.5% weighting in BP, the fund has a heavy allocation toward Total
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