Report Says BP Will Sell Assets MoneyWatch News 07/12/2010

Report Says BP Will Sell Assets MoneyWatch News 07/12/2010 According to a British newspaper, BP is in talks with Houston base Apache about possible selling $18 billion worth of assets. The move is expected to help BP raise cash to covers its liability for the oil spill in the Gulf. A spokes person for BP said the company would not comment on market speculation. The oil giant has agreed to set aside some assets as security, while it builds up a $20 billion compensation fund. Toyota is inviting four outside experts to help with the automaker’s quality controls. Toyota says it's addressing a number of improvements including analyzing each accident and consumer complaint more thoroughly. Toyota’s reputation has been tarnished since October, after recalling more than eight and a half million vehicles worldwide due to defective gas pedals and other problems. European officials are under pressure to setup a bail-out fund for financially struggling nations before next week’s publication of bank’s stress test results. Those tests could reveal new financial strains. The bank’s stress tests are expected to be released by July 3rd. And Bank of America has admitted hiding billion of dollars in debt. In a letter to the SCC, the bank said it misclassified six transactions from 2007 to 2009 that added up to $10.7 billion, but says it did not do so intentionally. The disclosure suggests that trades maybe an example of so called “window dressing”, a practice where banks juggled debt to hide their real risks from public view. That’s your MoneyWatch. For more, stay with CBSMoneyWatch.com. In New York, I'm Ashley Morrison.