Reuters exclusives on BP oil spill

Reuters put out a Special Report on how Wall Street and the City had dropped the ball on flagging the risks of the oil spill to BP investors: Too few downgrades, too late. Reuters was first to report that BP will likely deduct a big portion of the costs of cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The story noted Exxon took tax breaks after the Valdez oil disaster two decades ago, and was roundly criticized for it. CNBC, the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette picked up on the Reuters story, which was not immediately matched by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Bloomberg. Reuters was first on June 14 to take an in-depth look at Anadarko and conclude the 25-percent owner of the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well may not face the billions of dollars in liabilities that investors had feared. The stock rose 6.4 percent the day after the Reuters story, which quoted lawyers, analysts and a bullish investor.