Market Update, with news on BP plc (NYSE:BP), DuPont (NYSE:DD), Citigroup (NYSE:C)

Embattled oil giant BP plc (NYSE:BP) continues to make headlines today.  The company confirmed the resignation of CEO Hayward, who is to be replaced by Mississippi native Robert Dudley (The first ever American to run the British-based company).  The oil company also reported its first quarterly loss in quite some time.  BP has announced it is moving to sell up to $30 billion in assets over the next year and a half, in order to increase their cash reserves.  The companies cash reserves have been seriously depleted recently, due to over $32.2 billion in estimated costs for cleaning up the spill (Which includes the $20 billion escrow fund set aside for affected Gulf residents and businesses).

In other news, the markets have continued their upswing from yesterday’s rosy gains.  The news driving stocks is the release of the S&P Case-Shiller home price index, which showed an increase in home value in the month of May, a 1.3% rise over April’s prices.  The boost is being attributed to seasonal factors, as late spring is always strong for home sales, as well as the residual effect from the expiration of the first-time home buyer tax credit.

Overall, US stock markets are up to start the day.  At the time of writing, the Dow is up nearly 22 points (or 0.21%).  The NASDAQ and S&P 500 are also up, 4.50 and 2.56 respectively (0.18% and 0.23%).  Leading the charge is DuPont (NYSE:DD), a Delaware-based chemical company.  The company is reporting a higher-than-expected second quarter profit, as sales jumped 26% to $8.6 billion for the three-month period.  Earnings have soared to $1.26 per share, or $1.7 billion total.

To wrap up our news for the day, the US Treasury Department is resuming the sale of it’s holdings of megabank Citigroup (NYSE:C).  The stock sale was suspended at the end of June for a so-called “blackout period”, which was pending resumption after the companies second-quarter sales data was released.  The government currently owns 5.1 billion shares, or 18%, of the bank, which it acquired during the bailout of 2008.  The broker of the transaction, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), has been given permission to move another 1.5 billion shares into the private sector.  The government has stated it’s goal is to liquidate it’s entire holding of the company by the end of the year.  Overall, Citi is up to start today.

That’s all for the day!  We’ll see you back here tomorrow, loyal readers!

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