EMBATTLED BP is understood to be working on plans to raise $50 billion (€40bn) to cover the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill – more than double the amount previously thought.

Under-fire BP chief executive Tony Hayward went sailing in the UK today despite mounting criticism that he is not doing enough to control the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Embattled BP came under further pressure today after one of its partners said the British oil giant should shoulder all the financial burden for the Gulf of Mexico spill.

Oil from the worst spill in US history could soon end up at petrol stations, construction sites and even grocery stores when BP sells the crude taken from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico to raise money for wildlife protection.

Wall Street finished the week with a listless session today as a decline in big ticket factory goods did little to assuage investors’ economic worries and left the major indexes slightly lower.

Stocks rose smartly in the United States today as stronger-than-expected earnings from FedEx and Morgan Stanley put investors’ inflation fears on the back burner. The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 100 points.