20100617 1428 Global Market News.

June 17 (Bloomberg) -

- BP Plc’s agreement to cut three quarters of dividend payments and set up a $20 billion fund for oil spill victims removed the energy producer from a four-hour stint among companies the bond market labels distressed. BP’s $750 million of 1.55 percent notes due 2011 rose 2.25 cents to 94.5 cents on the dollar, after tumbling as low as 87.9 cents, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The cost of protecting against default for one year rose 355 basis points to 997.25 basis points, after climbing to as high as 1,075, CMA DataVision prices show. 

June 17 (Bloomberg)

The Bank of Spain’s decision to publish the results of stress tests on the nation’s lenders may force European neighbors to follow suit as investors demand more disclosure of the risks on banks’ books. “Pressure is increasing and now European countries need to consider whether to follow Spain,” said Daniel Hupfer, who helps manage $40 billion at M.M. Warburg in Hamburg, including shares of Deutsche Bank AG, BNP Paribas SA and Banco Santander SA. “Whether they will is hard to predict. Europe isn’t really seeing eye-to-eye right now.”