BP’s Still Making Bank

Photo by mechanikat, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mechanikat/2540128864/sizes/m/in/photostream/">via Flickr</a>.

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Looks like the past year hasn’t been so bad after all for BP, which today reported a 16 percent increase in profits over the first quarter of 2010. The company reported $7.2 billion in net earnings—compared to $6.2 billion for the first three months of last year.

The company sold off a bunch of assets in order to pay for the Gulf oil disaster, which is how they managed to keep the profits up. BP also hasn’t been drilling in the deepwater since that whole giant oil catastrophe it unleashed last year. But to still report an increase in income is, well…let’s just say I have a hard time feeling too bad for them because their profits weren’t as high as they could have been.

Never fear though, as the company says it expects to be back out drilling in the Gulf by the second quarter of this year.

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We don't answer to billionaires. We answer to you.

You've watched it happen in real time: corporate media cutting staff, killing stories, and bending to power. The giants of American media have owners to protect, and the truth pays the price.

None of it should surprise us. The problem with American journalism has always been that we entrusted this vital public service to for-profit companies whose allegiance could shift with the political winds and the bottom line.

That is why Mother Jones is independent from billionaires, corporations, and any other deep-pockets owner—and has been since we were founded 50 years ago. We’re only answering to our readers. To you.

We’re funded by our readers too. This week, we have a generous $50,000 match for all donations, meaning that your donation—and your impact—will be doubled. Gifts from readers like you help keep us fiercely independent and telling the truth about those in power.

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