BP oil spill compensation increased by $5 billion

An announcement was made by Patrick Juneau that $5 billion had been paid out so far to the affected people and businesses of the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Patrick Juneau, BP plc administrator said, UK oil giant had paid out more than $5 billion in reimbursement claims to the victim of the biggest oil spill that happened in Gulf of Mexico.

An outburst on the Deep water Horizon penetrating rig, in Macondo near Gulf of Mexico, took the lives of eleven rig workers and spilled almost 4.9 million barrels of crude oil more than three months during the year 2010.

Mr. Juneau said in a statement issued on his website that that almost 62,162 people who claimed on the company had received $5.037 billion up till now as according to the part of the compensation agreement which was signed in 2012. The agreement stated that the company was required to pay around $7.8 billion in order to meet the claims arising due to the oil spill disaster.

However, later, the UK based oil major company said that it was not able to provide an exact calculation of the total cost of agreement. Earlier in February, BP said its forecast of the total settlement cost had extended to $9.9 billion.

The oil company has criticized that Mr. Juneau was not able to understand the   requirements of the deals and had paid the businesses that were not affected by the oil spill. However, the argument by the company was not accepted by the courts. Although, the company is no longer trying to dismiss him from his current position as he had made significant efforts to overcome fraud in the company.

As per the company, it has already spent approximately $28 billion in payments to the claimants that includes the early restoration work, the cleanup and response of the oil spill disaster.

In the meantime, BP is waiting for the Federal Court decision on the amount of penalty the company has to pay for breaking the Clean Water Act. On 20th April it will be fifth year of oil disaster.

It has been Five years since the oil spill incident took place in Gulf of Mexico. The incident resulted in more than 3 billion barrel of oil spill into the marine for almost three months.  Over 5 years has passed by, while the accurate cost of damages has still not been determined by anyone.

Earlier in January, it was estimated that the District Judge Carl Barbier can fine the oil company up to $13.7 billion.

BP plc. Stock closed at $42.55 after increasing by 0.31% on April 16.

What Does Frank Shrontz Makes Of His Successors At Boeing?

 

Former CEO gives his take on how his successors have maintained the foundation that he laid in the 90’s

It is quite rare for a former CEO of a company, where he initially worked, to keep track of its operational performance, let alone figure out what is happening behind the boardrooms. However, that is what Frank Shrontz has been doing, keeping track of his former employer’s fortunes since his retirement.

Mr. Shrontz served as CEO of Boeing (BA) from 1986 to 1996, and is acutely aware of the inner workings of the company, as well as the people who are running the show in the Puget Sound region’s largest employers.

In an exclusive interview with Steve Wilhelm, writer for the Puget Sound Business Journal, Mr. Shrontz talked about his time there, union leadership, and the future of Boeing in terms of the challenges and market opportunities on the horizon. The analysis given by him might give some weight as to how the performance of various Boeing CEOs have left a financial impact on the aerospace companies and, based on that, what should be taken into account when a new successor has to be chosen.

First consideration was Phil Condit. He served Boeing from 1996 till 2003. He was deemed a high potential candidate, as he oversaw the acquisitions of McDonnell Douglas, Rockwell Aerospace, and Hughes Space and Communications, shifting of the company’s headquarters from Seattle to Chicago, and proved his class by overseeing the complex projects of developing the 757 and the 777.

Next up, Alan Mulally! Though he worked as the CEO of Ford Motor Company, which he was credited for turning around, he did serve in Boeings Commercial Aircraft division from 2001 to 2006. Mr. Mulally was considered as a great sales person with great technical mind, who made the proposal of coming up with a prototype of creating a long-range aircraft that turned in a reality in the form of the 787.

There was a debate on whom to select between Condit and Mulally, and the latter got sidelined as experience and age, which the former possessed, got the better of him. The current CEO, Ray Conner, has been with Boeing for a very long time since he started working on the 727 line as union mechanic. Mr. Shrontz claims that he does not know Mr. Conner very well, but he is secretly serving as his mentor.

Therefore, the question remains that which of the above CEOs, apart from Mr. Connor, is better, if they were given another chance to run better than before. Mr. Shrontz says all of them are equally great in their own strengths, and there is no standout amongst them, at least from their technical point of view, and not from an investor’s view who can deliver better rate of returns from their investments. Boeing’s stock price ended at $153.21, a fall of 0.02%.

UnitedHealth First quarter earnings surpassing analyst expectations

 

The health insurer company announced its first quarter 2015 earnings of $1.41 billion and $35.76 billion in revenue

The state’s biggest health insurer, UnitedHealth Group has announced its January to March 2015 quarter results on April 16. The company was able to surpass analyst’s estimation with its quarter outcomes determined by increasing growth in its Medicare and Medicaid customer base and robust revenue from its subsidiary “Optum”.

UnitedHealth posted earnings of $1.41 billion in the quarter, or diluted earnings of $1.46 per share, which is more than$1.1 billion or $1.10 a share in similar quarter last year. Analysts surveyed by Thomas Reuters had forecasted earnings per share of $1.35.

Company was able to post $35.76 billion in revenue for the quarter, more than $31.71 billion of previous year quarter.

The revenue from Optum subsidiary increased by 15% to $12.8 billion for the 1QFY15. Optum consists of OptumCare, which is responsible to manage people’s health for 3rd party payers like employers, OptumInsight, which offers health care software and products; last OptumRx, which is pharma benefits subsidiary.

The health care company projected fiscal year 2015 revenue of around $143 billion, increased by $2 billion from its prior viewpoint, because of robust growth of the company in the quarter. UnitedHealth estimated earnings to be around $6.15 to $6.30 a share, which is also increased compare to previous projection of $6 to $6.25 a share.

UnitedHealth Care enhanced its customer base regarding health insurance from 44.67 million to 45.77 million as of 31st March.  The company witnessed utmost growth, in programs funded by government, Medicare and Medicaid, and on percentage basis.

The joined customer base in Medicaid and Medicare, Medicare advantage, supplement plans rose to 12.18 million compared to previous year customer base of 10.9 million.

The commercial membership of the company, that consists of insurance sold to employees through their employers and TRICARE coverage for military retirees and their families funded by government, stood at 29.4 million till the end of March 31, compared to 29.1 million last year.

 The health care company declared that it will be acquiring Catarman Corps, which is pharmacy Benefit Company for $12.8 billion.

UNH stock was 3.65% up yesterday to $121.60 after the announcement of 1QFY15 results.