by Ryan D. Jaeger
BP, the oil giant, saw its stocks take a dive on Monday, as the company continued to face the wrath of world leaders for one of the biggest oil spills in history.
CEO Tony Hayward will testify before the US Congress this week and will face tough questioning regarding the company's role in the Gulf of Mexico disaster.
In the meantime, as with all major world events, betting markets have opened across UK bookies concerning the future of BP as a company, of Hayward as CEO in particular, and of the wildlife that was destroyed as a result of the spill.
Odds of 4/1 are currently being offered that BP will file for bankruptcy before the end of 2010. Considering the vast sums of money that Congress is demanding that BP put aside to deal with the spill, it is anyone's guess whether the global giant will weather this storm or not.
The future of Tony Hayward as CEO of the group seems clear if the odds are anything to go by.
Odds of 8/11 are being offered that he will not be CEO of BP by the end of the year, while evens are being offered on a 'yes'.
As for the next CEO of BP after Hawyard, the favourite to replace him is Iain Conn (executive director) at odds of 3/1, followed by Sir John Browne at 7/2.
Tony Blair and Gordon Brown share odds of 100/1 that they will head the group after Hayward.
Markets are sadly also offered on the first animal to become extinct following the ecological disaster.
These were listed as follows:
Kemp's Ridley Turtle 4/5
Bluefin Tuna 6/4
Leatherback Sea Turtle 8/1
Brown Pelicans 8/1
