In addition to being the birthday of Adolph Hitler, it was one year ago today that the BP offshore drilling platform in the Gulf exploded killing 11 men and starting one of the worst ecological disasters to hit an American coastal region in history.
Well is was reported during the drive-time today that the company hired by BP, whom they are paying over $1 million a day to administer the $20 billion 'relief fund', has some good news to report. After careful management of the claims process, which included detailed review of all claim applications, careful investigation of said claims and rigorous negotiations with all parties, the CEO of that firm was happy to announce today that it appears that less than HALF of the fund will need to be paid out, saving BP over $10 billion (note that there has been no report that the accounting firm is being offered an incentive above and beyond the million+ dollar a day fee, but we shouldn't be surprised if there actually is one).
And if that wasn't good enough news for all of us, it appears that the tax accountants/lawyers hired by BP in the wake of the Gulf oil spill disaster have also come through in flying colors. It seems that based on US and British tax laws, and barring losing any future lawsuits (which BP is convinced that they will win outright or will at least be overturned by higher courts where their influence is stronger), that it's very possible that BP will actually break-even financially, and if they can get what they're asking in writing off their damage claims, they might even be able to book a modest PROFIT as a result of everything that has taken place this past 12 months.
And coming off the 'success' of BP, another British company is currently in negotiations with the State of Alaska to construct the largest open-pit Copper mine in the world in an earthquake plagued region of Western Alaska, knowing that even if disaster were to strike, that their potential for profit would not be jeopardized and could even be enhanced by such events, based of course on hiring the right tax accounting/legal firm.
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