BP ( BP.L ) cut its dividend for the first time in a decade after a record $6.7 billion second quarter loss when the coronavirus crisis hammered fuel demand and it sought to win over investors by speeding up its reinvention as a lower carbon company. Its shares rose 6% in early trading on Tuesday. All major oil companies suffered in the second quarter as lockdowns to contain the new coronavirus limited travel and oil prices LCOc1 fell to their lowest in two decades. Several, including Royal Dutch Shell and Norway’s Equinor, cut their dividend in response. Looney, who took the helm in February, avoided a dividend cut in the first quarter despite worsening market conditions and as rivals reduced their payouts. But Tuesday’s 50% cut by BP to 5.25 cents per share, which was larger than the 40% forecast by analysts, appeared inevitable given a […]