Early Tuesday morning, oil giant BP (BP) is scheduled to release its third-quarter 2010 financial results, the same quarter in which the disastrous Gulf oil spill was finally capped. So what are the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expecting?

During the three months that ended in September, London-based BP also announced post-Gulf spill changes and plans to reinstate its dividend. Its earnings for that period are forecast to come to $1.51 per share, which is about the same as in the year-ago period. But revenue is expected to be 6.8% higher year over year to $72.5 billion.

The Financial Times reported on a U.S. investigation that claims that BP (BP) and Halliburton (HAL) knew that the cement used to seal the failed well was unstable.

The lawyers suing BP and Halliburton call this evidence a "game changer" and says it opens up the companies to penalties and court awards running into the billions of dollars.

The case rests on a finding by a U.S. federal panel that the cement used may have caused the fatal explosion on the Deepwater Horizon.

Stocks were up by the end of the session, but today's direction felt more whip-saw than set in any solid direction. A record-high gold price and a falling dollar came after consumer confidence managed to come in much weaker than expectations.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

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Schlumberger Ltd (SLB), first written about on May 6, 2009 at a price of $56.09, has taken it on the chin in the past six months. Most of the slide stems from uncertainty regarding the status of U.S. deepwater offshore drilling following the massive Deepwater Horizen oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico this summer, and the consequent moratorium on deepwater drilling (note: The moratorium is scheduled to be lifted November 30, 2010.)

To be sure, global demand for oil and natural gas will increase in the years ahead, and so will demand for deepwater expertise, but the question market regarding the U.S. market represents too much risk, even given Schlumberger's substantial international business.

Today was one of those days that felt more dependent upon overseas markets than one of those 'must watch' days full of economic data. There was a larger-then-expected build in wholesale inventories that outpaced sales, although that wholesale trade data rarely moves markets very much.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 10,462.84 +47.60 (0.46%)
S&P 500 1,109.56 +5.38 (0.49%)
Nasdaq 2,242.48 +6.28 (0.28%)

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Where did they go? Why have we not heard from them? We have heard what the rig survivors had to say, as well as the government inspectors, regulators and elected officials. BP (BP) senior management has spoken out often. We have heard from Gulf coast clean-up crews, the Coast Guard, insurance underwriters and affected business people.

Perhaps I just missed it, but I do not recall hearing anything from someone whose job it is to observe and report on safety and risk at BP facilities?

On Monday BP(BP) engineers will start a procedure know as "static kill" to permanently plug the leaking Maconda oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a two-pronged procedure. Within five to seven days, mud and cement will be pumped directly into the well and via a relief well that has been dug deep in the seabed. Retired U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen will oversee the procedure. He indicated that he would know within hours if the first phase has been successful.

BP has suffered a devastating blow to its image from the spill, which has lasted 104 days and, so far, cost billions of dollars. The market value of BP's stock has fallen by 40%. The damage is great enough for BP to consider changing its station name to Amoco. BP bought Amoco several years ago. The government response to the Gulf disaster has eroded President Obama's approval ratings.

Two weeks ago, BP plc (BP) was able to stop oil from spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. The company announced today that it was time to being scaling back on the cleanup process.

Since the spill began back in April, there has been over eleven million feet of boom deployed in the Gulf, but these only last for a certain number of tide cycles, and in areas where the company feels that beaches are not in danger, the boom will be removed.

Lots of reports surrounding embattled BP (BP) CEO Tony Hayward surfaced Monday morning. Some are saying that the company's board has made up its mind on Hayward's fate while other outlets are stressing that no decision has been made.

Whatever the board's current status, it sure seems like Tony Hayward has one foot out of the door and his demise is related directly to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Moreover, it appears that the company has tapped Bob Dudley to take over. Dudley is in charge of the cleanup and would be BP's first foreign CEO (Dudley is a U.S. citizen).

Experienced investors know that investing conditions can sometimes shift quicker than the sands in the Sahara desert.

All key economic and sector fundamentals can line-up, and then...up pops the unexpected to objectively change conditions. Case in point: Oil sands.

Originally viewed as a viable source of increased oil reserves, sentiment on Canada's vast oil sands soured as it became clear that, in addition to the fossil fuel's above-average extraction/processing costs, the energy form also produced extensive land, water, and air pollution. Oil sands is cleaner than coal, but not as clean as most forms of natural gas and oil.

Nearly three months after the April 20th explosion of BP plc (BP)'s oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, it appears as though the company has finally been able to stop oil from gushing into the Gulf. But will it last?

The company is currently testing a new cap on the well, which has apparently stopped the oil flow that has been leaking into the Gulf.

Yesterday, I took a look at BP's (BP) plans to test a new cap on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Well, late yesterday, the company announced that the rather important test on the efficacy of the new cap will be delayed until today - the test was supposed to start late yesterday. The company announced that it could take at least six hours to see results, but it may take as many as 48 hours. Basically, we are in a wait-and-see mode but the Gulf Coast may not have a lot of time. If you are interested in whether or not the well is working, reports say that BP "hopes" that the well will withstand internal pressure of 8,000 to 9,000 pounds per square inch roughly six hours into the new cap experiment.

So, BP (BP) plans to test the new cap on the Gulf of Mexico oil leak Tuesday afternoon. Does anyone want to take bets on the result?

Believe me, I don't like holding a negative outlook on the whole situation in the Gulf, but it sure seems like Murphy's Law has taken over and anything that can go wrong will. Reportedly, the company will put a new cap on the leak and will test it for as long as 48 hours to gauge its effectiveness. The problem is that the two ships siphoning the oil will stop their activity and the only way to see if the new cap is leaking is to let it go.

The costs to BP (BP) associated with cleanup, containment, relief well drilling and damage claims arising from the Gulf oil spill has exceeded $3 billion, the London-based energy giant reported Monday.

This includes $147 million in payments to individuals, businesses and governments affected by the spill, which began April 20, but not the $20 billion escrow account that BP agreed on June 16 to set up at President Obama's insistence.

After the stock market's antics in May, things appear to be on the mend in June with the broader market trending upwards -- especially thanks to a bullish start of this week as the revaluation of China's yuan took center stage. But a rising tide does not lift all boats. Some stocks have been pushed down for a reason following the stock market's consolidation last month, and these picks need to be trimmed from your portfolio immediately.

Here are the three worst blue chip stocks according to my latest analysis of the market: