Obama Vows to Kick BP's "Ass", Shares Fall To New Lows

In response to immense public pressure, President Obama stepped-up the rhetoric today related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, saying he wanted to kick someone's "ass." BP plc (NYSE: BP), the obvious target of Obama's wrath, hit a new 52-week low today following the comments.

In an interview with the "Today" show, Obama said he wanted to "know whose ass to kick" related to the spill.

Shares of are currently 6.8 percent lower to $34.24, and down 42 percent since the spill started on April 20th.

This new low in BP comes even after the company has finally started to show some progress in containing the spill, after installing its new lower marine riser package containment cap on June 3.

Yesterday, BP siphoned a record 14,842 barrels of oil from the leaking well and is looking to add more capacity. It is estimated that 20,000 barrels per day is leaking from the well.

Even if BP can contain the spill, it has an immense clean-up effort for years to come. Analysts estimate that the total liability BP faces is $36 billion, or $23 billion post-tax. BP may be forced to cut its dividend or temporarily stop paying its dividend to meet those obligations.

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