BP's (BP) headache continues over its planned share swap with Russian-owned Rosneft. According to a report from Sky News, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) announced its concerns over the impact of the swap. ABI reportedly controls 10% to 15% of the U.K. stock market.

ABI's reservations also include a Swedish court's decision to block BP's planned venture with Rosneft in the Arctic. Perhaps most concerning of all -- and not just to ABI -- is Wednesday's report announcing that U.S. prosecutors are considering manslaughter charges against BP for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Eleven oil workers were killed as a result of the spill.

Recently Anadarko (APC) has agreed to buy BP's 93% interest in the Wattenberg Plant, located in the northeastern part of Colorado, for about $575 million. Anadarko already owns the remaining interest in the plant.

Anadarko is the largest producer of natural gas in the Wattenberg field and the deal will provide Anadarko with 100% ownership of the plant. The company relies heavily on natural gas, which we estimate accounts for nearly 40% of its stock value. It vies for business with established oil and gas producers like Exxon Mobil, (XOM) ConocoPhillips (COP), Chevron (CVX), BP (BP) and Duke (DUK).

ConocoPhillips (COP) is likely to gain in the short-term from political tensions in Libya and other Middle Eastern regions due to a rise in crude oil prices globally. However the recent news in Japan following fears of a nuclear crisis gives us some concern. ConocoPhillips and competitors like Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM), BP (BP) and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) and Chevron Corporation (CVX) are sensitive to changes in oil prices.

While we expect ConocoPhillips's price of crude oil and LNGs (per barrel) will increase to around $83 by the end of the Trefis forecast period, Trefis members forecast the price rising to $102, implying an upside of 5% to our price estimate for COP stock.

Institutional investors (IIs) have made up for lost time with Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO), first discussed here on April 20, 2009, at a price of $28.55. The shares have surged higher this winter, rising from about $35 to about $49.

Hence, it goes without saying that now would be a good time to consider taking some profits off the table with MRO, if you're in at/near $28.55.

However, those investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain their full position with MRO and go for an even bigger gain.

Tuesday was another down day for the stock market, with the Dow losing almost 180 points and the S&P falling nearly 20. Right now, this appears like a much needed and long overdue correction. No need to panic. In fact, if the U.S. economy continues to improve, the next few days could present great buying opportunities in the commodity markets.

This is because the Federal Reserve is determined to make sure that the world is awash in liquidity going forward. The sheer scope and size of these liquidity injections have an awful lot of investors concerned about the long-term stability of fiat currencies, as well as a number of sovereign bond markets. As this uncertainty continues to manifest itself, hard assets may see more substantial price increases.

Reuters quoted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as saying: "We're not in the business of trying to create inflation. Our purpose is to provide additional stimulus to help the economy recover and to avoid potentially additional disinflation, which I think we'll all agree could also be worrisome."

Bernanke claims that inflation is below the Fed's 2% target. That's hogwash! Sure if you use the "core" CPI, which leaves out food and energy, that may be the case. Not to worry.

Investors whose stock and related plays hinge on the price of commodities would be wise to pay close attention to one, key commodity, oil, which popped up $1.52 Monday to $82.95 per barrel.

Investors should also note the primary factor analysts' cited in oil's rise: word of better-than-expected manufacturing sector growth in October in China.

Further, the above refrain is something U.S. investors should get used to: stronger growth in emerging markets abroad, higher commodity costs here.

On April 26, the long anticipated Senate climate bill is slated for its debut. Climate change talking points aside, how powerful a piece of legislation will this bill turn out to be for investors, and what could be its effects on manufacturing, retail and energy stocks?

For the sake of discussion, let's just assume that the bill will pass and become law. The first thing to understand is that it's not much more than an act of taxation. That new tax will be levied against businesses large and small via carbon offsets. They'll be showing up on balance sheets everywhere. Granted, we all know that businesses hand their tax bills down line to the consumers, but for large corporations and conglomerates, it's certain that the documentation and accounting will be more than a little distracting. Of course some business giants will be able to simply buy their way out from under the mess.