Based in London, BP is one of the world's five super majors. Its operations are fully integrated, consisting of upstream, transportation, trading, refining, petrochemicals, marketing and renewable energy.

Stocks are lower at midday on signs that the U.S. economy is slowing faster than expected. For 1Q, consumers and businesses scooped up imports tilting the trade balance and lowering GDP. We got a big hint that this was coming in the Trade Deficit in Goods numbers out yesterday proving the rush to buy imports before expected price increases due to tariffs. The advance estimate for GDP showed a decline of 0.3%, the first contraction in 3 years. Key inflation data out this morning shows the pace of inflation is slowing. Headline PCE slowed to 2.3% in March versus 2.7% the month before. Core PCE decelerated to 2.6% compared to 3.0%. On a month-by-month basis, both measures came in at 0.0% changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is 4.16%. Oil is at $60 per barrel.

BP is an integrated oil and gas company that explores for, produces, and refines oil around the world. In 2024, it produced 1.2 million barrels of liquids and 6.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. At the end of 2023, reserves stood at 6.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent, 55% of which are liquids. The company operates refineries with a capacity of 1.6 million barrels of oil per day.

With the current stock turmoil, global stocks, and especially stocks that pay dividends, are a potential option for investors. While the S&P 500 has fallen 12% year to date, the EAFE Index of large- and mid-cap stocks based in countries other than the U.S. and Canada has gained 1%. That's quite a change from the recent record. Over the past five years, the S&P 500 has advanced 109% compared to a 50% gain in EAFE. But the underperformance has given global stocks a valuation advantage, particularly in the area of dividends. Consider that the EAFE dividend yield of 3.0% is roughly 175 basis points higher than the comparable S&P 500 dividend yield. We think global dividend stocks continue to offer opportunity, particularly given the endless speculation over the direction of interest rates in the U.S., which has created market-timing headaches for equity income investors. These investors have endured recent wide swings in prices for rate-sensitive equity groups such as utilities, REITs and MLPs. In our view, investing in international income stocks is one way to increase portfolio diversification while reducing sensitivity to volatile U.S interest rates. Investing in overseas stocks carries its own set of risks, including the impact of currency exchange and geopolitical turmoil. But there are also a number of positives in this asset class for U.S. investors, including a wide selection of companies that pay dividends, robust industry diversification, and, as we have mentioned, higher yields and lower valuations. Argus has recently boosted its global coverage, and recommends the following international dividend stocks, each of which has at least a long-term BUY rating from an Argus analyst. This list of approximately 25-30 companies offers exposure to eight of the 11 major industrial sectors, and includes companies from 10 countries.