Probably not a long-term investment... but maybe a chance to make $$$ in the short-term

British Petroleum shares plunge 15 percent as efforts to stop oil spill fail

My bet is that BP continues to drop thru end of this week... then to rebound next week.

No - I wouldn't recommend BP as a secure long-term investment, but if you've got a few spare $$$, this may be an opportunity to cash in short-term.

For what it's worth: no, I'm not the only one holding this opinion (tho' this guy seems to view BP as a long-term opportunity!):

British Petroleum Might Be a Good Buy (NYSE: BP)
Posted on 06/01/10 at 8:49am by Jacob Wolinsky
British Petroleum (NYSE: BP) is currently down 14% at $37 in the pre-market. BP's stock has been hit heavily due to the recent oil spill.

However, I think investors might be over-reacting. A quick look at BP shows the following. The stock is at 52 week low. BP traded as high as $62 per share only several months ago.

BP will surely have a huge legal fine for their role in the recent oil spill. However, their cash from operations in 2009 was $28 billion. Their balance sheetbalance sheet is not great, but decent. BP's forward P/Eforward P/E is less than 5, and the stock has a dividend yielddividend yield of over 8%.

Now, will I have the courage of my convictions???