MSM: Gulf of Mexico spill ‘releasing twice as much oil as thought’

(Telegraph) – The Gulf of Mexico spill is releasing twice as much oil as initially estimated, it was disclosed today, as David Cameron refused to bow to City demands to defend BP.

Latest estimates indicated that the oil’s flow could exceed 40,000 barrels a day – some 1.68 million gallons.

Experts accused BP of making a “fatal miscalculation” in failing to realise the extent of the leak earlier on, saying that inaccurate calculations had prevented them from getting to grips with the problem.

The news threatens to further destabilise BP’s share price, which has dived in response to Barack Obama’s “aggressive” rhetoric against the company.

BP’s chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg has been called to the White House for an emergency meeting next week, as the transatlantic row sparked by the spill continues to escalate. Fulll article here

Economic downturn ‘twice as bad as feared’

The economic downturn in Europe will be twice as deep as previously forecast with unemployment reaching over 11 per cent, according to figures from the European Commission.