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Another 189 million reasons why Florida should be praying BP doesn’t go bankrupt

in Statewide by

Despite some progress over the weekend to slow the flow of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, BP is still struggling to find a meaningful bright spot since the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded more than a month ago. The London-based oil and gas producer recently announced it won’t be until possibly August before crews can permanently stop what has become the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. (Fortune Nin-Hai Tseng, June 7, 2010)

The event has all the makings of a corporate nightmare: BP (BP) shares have plummeted. Lawsuits have already emerged. The U.S. government has launched criminal and civil investigations into the Gulf Coast oil spill. Its credit ratings have been cut. And the reputation that BP built as being an eco-friendly oil company has been severely tarnished, if not destroyed.

Well, the state of Florida has at least 189 million reasons why the state of Florida should be praying that BP doesn’t go bankrupt.  According to Dennis MacKee of the State Board of Administration, the state has considerable investments in BP stock and debt — $189,401,313 worth of investments — although MacKee pointed out that the percentage of its investment that the state holds is relatively less than many other indices.

Florida’s British Petroleum Holdings
As of May 31, 2010
Equity $                  171,066,809
Debt $                    18,334,504
Total $                  189,401,313
Total as % of FRS + Chiles + CAMP-IE 0.17%
In Basis Points 17

1.)    Foreign Equities: UNDER weight 28 bp vs. Index

  1. [ie, BP of 68 bps vs. 96 bps in the Index (the Florida State Board ACWI ex US ex Iran/Sudan IMI)]

2.)    Global Equities: OVER weight 98 bp vs. Index

  1. [ie, BP of 148 bps vs. 50 in the Index (the customized FSB MSCI ACWI ex Iran /Sudan IMI of 50bps)]

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.

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