Yamana (AUY) (COP) (EXC) (WNR) (GORO) (HAL) (IAG) (RDS-A) Ratings Changes

Yamana Gold (AUY), ConocoPhillips (COP), Exelon Co. (EXC), Western Refining, Inc. (WNR), Gold Resource Co. (GORO), Halliburton (HAL), IAMGOLD Corp (IAG) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS-A) had ratings on them adjusted by analysts.

Scotia Capital upgraded Yamana Gold (AUY) from a "Sector Perform" rating to an "Outperform" rating.

Goldman Sachs (GS) upgraded ConocoPhillips (COP) from a "Sell" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Citigroup (C) upgraded Exelon Co. (EXC) from a "Sell" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Goldman Sachs upgraded Western Refining, Inc. (WNR) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating.

Global Hunter Securities downgraded Gold Resource Co. (GORO) from an "Accumulate" rating to a "Neutral" rating. They have a price target of $17.50 on the company.

Global Hunter Securities downgraded Halliburton (HAL) from an "Accumulate" rating to a "Neutral" rating. They have a price target of $38.00 on the company.

Scotia Capital downgraded IAMGOLD Corp (IAG) from an "Outperform" rating to a "Sector Perform" rating.

Goldman Sachs downgraded Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Sell" rating.

Goldcorp (GG) (CAM) (CS) (HAL) (MEI) (SLB) (WFT) Had Ratings on Them Initiated

Goldcorp Inc. (GG), Cameron International Corp (CAM), Capstone Mining Corp. (CS), Halliburton (HAL), Manitok Energy (MEI), Schlumberger (SLB) and Weatherford (WFT) had ratings on them initiated by analysts.
 
Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Cameron International Corp (CAM). They placed an "Outperform" rating on the company.

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Capstone Mining Corp. (CS) . They placed an "Outperform" rating on the company.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on Goldcorp Inc. (GG). They placed an "Overweight" rating and price target of $62.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Halliburton (HAL). They placed an "Outperform" rating and price target of $44.00 on the company.

Stonecap Securities initiated coverage on Manitok Energy (MEI). They placed an "Outperform" rating and price target of $2.60 on the company.

Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Schlumberger (SLB). They placed a "Neutral" rating and price target of $66.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse initiated coverage on Weatherford (WFT). They placed a "Neutral" rating on the company.

Citigroup (C) (IM) (HAL) (CROX) (HAL) (WFC) Price Targets Changed

Citigroup (NYSE: C), Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) had price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $55.00 to $50.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Ingram Micro Inc. (IM) had its price target lowered by Sterne Agee to $22.00.

Halliburton (HAL) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $74.00 to $60.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Crocs (CROX) had its price target lowered by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) to $30.00.

Halliburton (HAL) had its price target lowered by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from $62.00 to $56.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to $32.00.

BP (BP) (HAL) (PBR) (ECA) (HES) Close Mixed on OPEC, Inventory

Shares of BP (NYSE:BP), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Petrobras (NYSE:PBR), Encana Corp. (NYSE:ECA) and Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) closed mixed Wednesday, as inventory was down and OPEC couldn't reach a production agreement.

July crude oil climbed $1.65, or 1.67 percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange, settling at $100.74 a barrel, trading in a range of $98.02 to $101.89 on Wednesday.

U.S. gasoline stockpiles jumped 2.21 million barrels last week, more than expected, and distillate stocks increased by 810,000 barrels, against a projection for stocks to remain the same, according to the EIA.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude stock in the U.S. fell 4.85 million barrels, the biggest drop since December 2010.

Hess Corporation closed Wednesday at $73.77, falling $0.76, or 1.02 percent. Encana ended the session at $32.70, down $0.13, or 0.40 percent. Petrobras closed at $32.84, gaining $0.20, or 0.61 percent. Halliburton ended the day at $47.69, dropping $0.41, or 0.85 percent. BP closed at $43.49, losing $0.51, or 1.16 percent.

Chevron (CVX) (COP) (XOM) (PBR) (APC) Close Down as Oil Rallies Late in the Session

A late rally for oil prices wasn't enough to bolster giant oil stocks like Chevron (NYSE:CVX), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) and Anadarko (NYSE:APC), which all closed down on Tuesday.

Other energy giants like BP (NYSE:BP), Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) did manage to close in positive territory.

Crude for July delivery settled at $99.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the first positive close in three days, gaining 8 cents. Earlier in trading the contract was down as low as $97.74. Oil is up by about 39 percent over the last year.

Brent crude for July delivery jumped $2.30, or 2 percent, to $116.78 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

The U.S dollar weakened against the euro, with the euro reaching $1.4696. The dollar also fell against the Swiss franc to 0.8327. Against a basket of major currencies the dollar declined to 73.506.

Even with the collapsing dollar it wasn't enough to have a significant impact because of the offsetting effect of the assumption OPEC will boost production, and an anemic economy is expected to reduce demand.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 19.15 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 12,070.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 1.23 points, or 0.10 percent, to close at 1,284.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.00 point, or 0.04 percent, to end the session at 2,701.56.

Anadarko closed Tuesday at $73.74, down $1.01, or 1.35 percent. Petrobras ended the day at $32.64, falling $0.34, or 1.03 percent. Exxon Mobil closed at $80.00, declining $0.29, or 0.36 percent. ConocoPhillips ended at $70.87, dropping $0.05, or 0.07 percent. Chevron closed at $99.47, losing $0.21, or 0.21 percent.

Halliburton's (HAL) Improved Outlook Bodes Well for Sector

Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) have been getting a nice bump after the company announced its business in North America is strong and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) boosted its rating on the company.

Chief Financial Officer Mark McCollum said at the UBS Global Oil and Gas Conference that its North American business is “very robust” and is continuing to grow stronger.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) responded to the comments by upgrading Halliburton from an "Equal Weight" to an "Overweight." They have a price target of $85 on the energy giant.

Other analysts responding included those at Tudor Pickering Holt, which said the comments appear to point to a solid second quarter and should give some of the smaller companies in the sector a solid upward push, especially those that are "relatively cheap."

Halliburton was trading at $49.20, gaining $1.70, or 3.58 percent, as of 12:53 PM EDT.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Cement Used on BP (NYSE:BP) Well Ordered to be Tested

The controversial cement mix used by Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) in the BP (NYSE:BP) oil well, and labeled as unstable by several sources, has been ordered to be tested by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier.

Barbier said the components of the mix could be "deteriorating over time" and the tests should be done as soon as possible on it.

According to Kenneth E. Arnold, who advised the U.S. Department of Interior, and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, it may be too late for the cement test to do much good, as "The samples are old now," Arnold said. "Whatever tests they do now are going to be open to interpretation."

As Halliburton also claims, it's difficult to simulate the exact formula under laboratory conditions which was used inside the Macondo well, added Arnold.

This was all started from the release of results from the oil spill commission that siad the test performed on the cement mix before the accident found the mix to be unstable, bringing the actions of Halliburton into question.

Halliburton continues to claim the test done on cement formulas found to be unstable aren't the exact mix used to seal the oil well. They do acknowledge that several tests on the cement mix were unstable, other than one test result which showed the mix to be stable.

The result of this will probably be my expert against your expert thing, and in court, it's a toss-up as to who will ever win one of those.

BP (NYSE:BP) Starting to Escape "Gross Negligence" Label?

With one of the two key pieces of the failure of BP (NYSE:BP) in relationship to the Gulf oil spill having come to light - the poor cement mixture used by Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) to seal the Macondo oil well - BP could be one step closer to saving billions in fines connected to the Clean Water Act.

The second piece of the puzzle, the blowout preventer, which was provided by Cameron International (NYSE:CAM) is next to be decided upon, and once that is completed, BP will probably be exonerated as far as being considered grossly negligent, as the failure will end up being from contractors rather than BP itself.

That of course doesn't excuse BP from its oversight in the matter, which is where in fact it did fail.

Other major oil companies have noted the same thing, that they will have to be much more diligent in managing contractors than in the past, as that would probably have saved BP from even having experienced what they're now going through.

Will Market Punish Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Over Potential Liability in BP (NYSE:BP) Cement Job?

Some analysts are attempting to circle the wagons around Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) after the devastating conclusion from the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, concluded the cement mixture used to seal the Macondo well of BP's was unstable.

Questions as to whether or their indemnity agreement with BP will hold is being bantered about, along with potential exposure to lawsuits which could weigh on the company for years if Halliburton isn't able to wiggle its way out of this.

At this time there is uncertainty because of the mixed reports, with some implying the mixtures being tested were different than the actual mixture used by Halliburton, although independent tests from Chevron (NYSE:CVX) ended up with the same conclusion, that the mixture was indeed unstable and shouldn't have been used.

The worst case scenario so far is Halliburton could be on the hook for fines and/or fees as high as $2 billion. That wouldn't include paying BP anything or lawsuits which would inevitable come about from the incident.

Halliburton's job will be to counter the allegations and conclusions in order to clear themselves of wrongdoing. If they can't, there will definitely be far more liability incurred by them than just though a week ago.

What Will Halliburton's (NYSE:HAL) Failure Cost Them? What Will BP (NYSE:BP) Gain?

The narrative has changed quickly concerning the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill, as the investigation surrounding the cement job performed by Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) could drastically change the liability outlook.

So far BP has rightly been the main focus of investigations, but that couldn't have remained the case throughout the entirety of the story because of there being so many contractors and others whose equipment and actions may have led to the failure on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

Investigators from the oil spill commission have determined the cement used by Halliburton was unstable, and Halliburton has admitted the final formulation used wasn't completed checked for its stability.

While Halliburton continues to dispute whether the actual formula they used is the one being tested, it seems it is close enough or accurate enough to make a judgment over, as the commission, and an independent study by Chevron (NYSE:CVX) seems to have confirmed.

With failures to completely test the mixture, there is no doubt Halliburton will incur some liability in the matter. It's only a matter of how much liability, not if they'll face it. There is also the question of whether they're insured enough to cover the liabilities, or it'll cost their bottom line.

It has already pushed up the costs of doing business through the increase in cost of their credit-default swaps, and there will surely be more to come.

For BP, this could be helpful once liability is determined. Whether or not it comes from an insurer or Halliburton directly, it could ease the liability load for them, and release capital over a period of time.

The other major element in liability is the blowout preventer provided by Cameron International (NYSE:CAM), which also failed to do its job. That's being tested at this time as to why it failed.

Concerning liability, BP has probably seen the worst, and anything like this is positive news for them from a financial perspective, but also helps them some reputationally, as people realize they weren't the sole company responsible for the disaster, and in some cases, like with the cement mixture, was out of their hands.

That does bring up something all oil companies said they've learned from this, and that is they must keep a much closer watch on contractors, even those like Halliburton, who had had a pretty good reputation as far as quality work goes.

Halliburton’s (NYSE:HAL) Shares Hammered After BP (NYSE:BP) Cement Report

There is no way to get around the potentially devastating report from the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, where Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) had the conclusion drawn that the cement they recommended using was unstable.

An independent investigation from Chevron (NYSE:CVX) performed on behalf of the commission reached the same conclusion, as well as did an internal investigation from BP.

Credit-default swaps almost immediately rose in price for Halliburton right after the news, and their stock got hammered, and will continue to be under pressure because of the unknown liabilities associated with the findings.

Whatever it is, in the short term Halliburton is in trouble, and that isn't going to change anytime soon.

The share price of Halliburton plunged to $31.68 at close, losing $2.74, or 7.96 percent, and continued to drop after hours.

BP (NYSE:BP), Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Sued by Three Mexican States

Lawsuits have been filed by three Mexican states against BP (NYSE:BP), Transocean (NYSE:RIG) and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), asserting the alleged oil plume has reached their shores.

The lawsuits were filed by Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Quintana Roo in a San Antonio court. The beaches of the three Mexican states are popular with tourists and locals.

Damages sought from the Mexican states weren't specified.

There was no comment from BP on the lawsuits. Halliburton said through spokeswoman Teresa Wong that the allegations were without merit, and Transocean said they'll let their position be known during the legal process.

Goldman (NYSE:GS) Bumps Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Price Target Up

Goldman Sachs raised their price target and earnings per share estimate on Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), while maintaining a "Buy" on the oil company.

Although Goldman already has an earnings per share estimate on Halliburton above consensus, they raised it again from $0.56 to $0.59. Consensus has EPS at $0.54.

Oppenheimer analyst G. Scott Burk also raised his earnings estimate on the company, increasing it by 22 cents to $1.94 for the full year. For 2011 he added 18 cents to EPS to $2.58.

Burk based his decision on an expected surge in drilling in the third quarter and on, which will increase demand for drilling materials. That will be beneficial to companies like Halliburton which provide services to the industry.

Halliburton closed Monday at $32.41, falling $0.32, or 0.98 percent.

Goldman upped their price target from $35 to $37.

BP (NYSE:BP) Claims Can be "Bundled" says Barbier

U.S. Disrict Judge Carl Barbier has given the go ahead to allow claims against BP (NYSE:BP) to be placed in what are being called "pleading bundles," which both the defense and plaintiff lawyers agreed to.

Another agreement was made concerning the complaint process itself, which will be simplified in order to make the filing go quicker.

How that will work is the lawyers of the oil companies will put together a "master" complaint which includes all the causes of action brought against Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and BP, or other oil companies connected to the oil spill.

After the plaintiffs file the master complaint, defense attorneys will be able to respond with a "master" answer.

From there, anyone who wants to file a lawsuit can simply check off every cause of action against the oil companies they want to go after.

An example of what a pleading bundle would entail is a grouping of those claiming economic losses, such as hotels and restaurants.

BP (NYSE:BP) Should Have Managed Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), and Weatherford (NYSE:WFT) Better Says Hayward

Among the numerous comments made before a hearing of British lawmakers, BP (NYSE:BP) outgoing CEO Tony Hayward said the company should have been more aggressive in managing contractors like Transocean (NYSE:RIG), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), and Weatherford (NYSE:WFT).

According to FT, Hayward said, “What we have is a lack of rigour and a lack of oversight of contractors. The contractors here were world class and you might have thought they wouldn’t have needed that level of oversight, but it was clearly something that was found wanting.”

With few significant incidents in deepwater drilling over the last 20 years, Hayward added it left the industry unprepared to respond to a major accident like the one they experienced with the Deepwater Horizon, which had the added challenge at being at a depth of about 5,000 feet.

When asked about reported violations in the North Sea from the Financial Times, Hayward said the news outlet offered no revelation of any fundamental problems related to their operations there.

BP's (NYSE:BP) Outgoing CEO Tony Hayward Denies Cutting Safety Corners

Giving testimony before a British parliamentary committee, the outgoing CEO at BP (NYSE:BP) said concerning safety at UK North Sea operations that the company hasn't cut corners.

Being pressed by committee chair Tim Yeo, who reminded Hayward that he said three years ago that he was going to focus "laser-like on safety,"
and that "On your watch as chief executive, in that three years, now we've had the biggest ever oil spill in U.S. waters," Hayward responded, saying that the record of BP was "better than the industry average."

Hayward added that the oil industry will be better concerning safety as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, especially in regard to the testing of blowout preventers.

He said they will "significantly enhance the testing protocols of blowout preventers."

Concerning the calls by some for deepwater drilling to be banned, Hayward implied that was an over-response to the situation.

He added that there were failures on the part of all parties involved, including Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Transocean (NYSE:RIG), who owned the rig.

The British committee is gathering information in order to make a decision on whether or not to add any more regulations for drilling off the coasts of the UK.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Transocean (NYSE:RIG), BP (NYSE:BP) Say Victims May Not Have Right To Sue

Saying alleged victims of the oil spill should go through the process of making claims through the BP (NYSE:BP) compensation fund, BP (NYSE:BP), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Transocean (NYSE:RIG) say they may not have the right to sue until that happens.

Most of this is surrounding those claiming they incurred economic losses from the disaster.

It is hard to understand why anyone would hire a lawyer before going through the claims process first, as if they're denied, they can then hire a lawyer to file a lawsuit if they choose.

Lawyers are obviously talking them out of that so they can get their piece of the action.

Most will find out they're going to get less and take much longer if they go the lawsuit route.

The oil companies say they want a decision to be made concerning whether or not some of the individuals and businesses claiming economic losses must go through the claims process first.

With lawsuits reaching the discovery stage, they want that to be determined before handing over documents and electronic communication reports to the plaintiffs.

Those making claims against the BP compensation fund can find out within a 90-day period whether or not they've been accepted or denied.

JP Morgan's (NYSE:JPM) Analysis of BP (NYSE:BP) Report

Several financial institutions responded positively to the BP (NYSE:BP) report, not necessarily to its content, but to its purpose, and JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM), along with others, believe BP made a solid move toward defining the narrative.

Morgan said, “In a stock market that has been critically short accurate information on a highly technical event, today’s report is another important step forward (along with capping the well on 15 July). We believe Chapter 1 of this event was trying to quantify the total gross liabilities. In our view, Chapter 2 is about understanding cause and apportioning responsibilities. We will then reach Chapter 3 – settlements.”

Chapter 2, as defined by JP Morgan, is where BP is at now, and if they're successful, they will have moved billions of dollars in responsibility from themselves and spread it to partners and contractors who were part of the operations leading to the failed oil rig.

The major hurdle is positioning themselves as strongly as they can to avoid being designated as being grossly negligent in the accident. The report was directly aiming at that, as well as the secondary issue of pointing the finger at others without seeming to accuse them of anything; they used the technical evidence and reports on other failures to do the job.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Transocean (NYSE:RIG) went on the offensive almost immediately, as they were specifically singled out as failing at their jobs in specific points leading to the explosion.

Chesapeake (NYSE:CHK), EnCana (NYSE:ECA) and Devon (NYSE:DVN) Up on Higher Demand from Warm Weather

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK), EnCana Corp. (NYSE:ECA) and Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE:DVN), along with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:APC) and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), on news of the warmer summer increased demand for natural gas for the generation of electricity.

Most of the companies with exposure to the commodity are up today, but there is downward pressure coming as the supply continues to grow in spite of the demand.

The increase in share price of the companies today are based on past demand, and not on future prospects.

For example, for the week ending August 20, stockpiles of natural gas in the lower 48 states increased by 40 billion cubic feet.

There also continues to be ample supply as storage levels are 6.2 percent above their five-year average, even with the recent strong demand. And the natural gas inventories have risen over the Tcf level for only the second time in 2010.

A number of companies with significant exposure to natural gas understand the threats, even in a high-demand period of time, as the huge amount of resource and increasing number of companies entering into the field ensure downward pressure on natural gas prices for some time to come.

Some have been diversifying into oil to help them maintain revenue and earnings growth.

BP (NYSE:BP) Didn't Make Claims Decision, Feinberg Says

Rumors circulating that BP (NYSE:BP) was behind the decision to force those accepting final settlements from the compensation fund were cut down by fund administrator Kenneth Feinberg, who said he made that decision and not the oil giant.

This centers around those who agree to the decision by Feinberg and his team about getting paid a one-time payment for the entirety of what is owed them from BP.

If it is accepted, those receiving the claims money will have to waive the right to sue BP in the future.

Feinberg has yet to make a decision on whether or not to extend that to other companies like Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Transocean (NYSE:RIG) and Cameron International (NYSE:CAM), who were also connected to the accident to one degree or another.

Those receive emergency funds for short-term periods will still be eligible to sue BP if they choose to.