, compared with the £2.9bn it made a year ago – confirmation of boss Bernard Looney's earlier boast that BP is 'a cash machine' in the current climate. Though the figure is slightly worse than the previous quarter because of falling oil prices, the company still managed to smash City forecasts of £5.3bn, following an 'exceptional' result by its gas trading arm. American presidents are certainly not averse to targeting British companies to win elections. The Obama administration was dogged in its pursuit of the UK's big banks in the wake of the financial crisis as it sought to clean up the industry. RBS ended up paying out a staggering £9bn in US penalties for mis-selling of mortgage securities in the run-up to the global financial crash. The threat of enforcement hung over the bank and its share price for years before it finally settled the cases against it. HSBC was eventually forced to pay a £1.7bn fine to settle money-laundering charges after a US Senate investigation said the lender had been a conduit for "drug kingpins and rogue nations". Standard Chartered was hit with an £800m fine for violating US sanctions against Iran, a case made all the more fascinating for a quote attributed to – and strenuously denied by – a senior executive, who allegedly asked i){kind=link}
US President seizes on Big Oil to shore up flagging support ahead of midterms
With the US midterm elections just days away, and the Republicans on course to take back the House of Representatives, it is no surprise that Joe Biden is obsessing more than ever about the cost of gasoline. Pump prices can determine who gets into the White House.
No wonder then, in a year when the price of petrol in the US has soared as high as $5 per gallon in a country more used to paying about $3, that Biden has belatedly leapt aboard the windfall tax bandwagon.
Calling on the oil and gas industry to “stop war profiteering”, Biden said: “The oil industry has a choice. Either invest in America by lowering prices for consumers at the pump and increasing production and refining capacity. Or pay a higher tax on your excessive profits and face other restrictions.”
Shell meanwhile, only has itself to blame for being name-checked in his speech after boss Ben van Beurden performed a screeching U-turn on a windfall tax last week. Having said as recently as February that he was not convinced by the need for government intervention, the Dutchman conceded last week that it was “a societal reality” “to help the most vulnerable in society”.