News round up: BP plc, ExxonMobil, Rosneft, Vince Cable, Bank of America, PPI and US consumer confidence.

BP plc's (LON:BP) last remaining hopes of resurrecting a joint venture with Rosneft (LON:ROSN) to expand in the Arctic have been dashed after the Russian oil explorer signed a $3.2bn (£1.97bn) deal with US major ExxonMobil Corp (NYSE:XOM).

The agreement, which sees BP frozen out of one of the world's last unconquered drilling regions, is likely to heap further pressure on chief executive Bob Dudley at a time when many investors and analysts are arguing the UK company should be broken up.

The tie-up between Exxon and Rosneft comes seven months after the embarrassing and acrimonious collapse of a £10bn agreement between BP and the Russian group. The new deal, like BP's failed agreement, was signed in the presence of Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin and involves assets that the UK company had hoped to exploit.

The potential losses to BP were highlighted as Mr Putin said the value of investments under the joint-venture could rise to as much as $500bn, writes the Telegraph.

Vince Cable attacks UK banks

Vince Cable has attacked Britain’s banks for attempting to use the euro crisis as an excuse to delay reform, describing lobbying as “disingenuous in the extreme”. In an interview with The Times, the Business Secretary criticised the “special pleading” of bankers who claim that the summer of economic and financial turmoil is reason to shelve efforts to toughen bank regulation, says the Times.

US bank regulator blocks BoA settlement

The main US bank regulator has moved to block an $8.5bn (£5.2bn) settlement by Bank of America with investors who lost money in mortgage-backed securities. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures US bank deposits and is one of the main bank regulators, filed an objection to the settlement with a New York court, saying it did not know enough about the deal to allow it to proceed, the Telegraph reports.

PPI payouts

Firms that mis-sold hundreds of thousands of payment protection insurance (PPI) policies paid a total of £215m in compensation to consumers in the first half of 2011, according to the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

But at least one major provider may still miss today's deadline for settling complaints. Payouts by 16 major financial services companies totalled £102m in May and June alone, after a legal challenge by the British Bankers' Association against the decision that forced providers to compensate victims was dismissed, according to the Independent.

Fall in US consumer confidence

Shares in Wall Street plunged on Tuesday afternoon after figures showed that US consumer confidence had fallen to a two-year low. The benchmark Dow Jones industrial average dropped 71 points after the figures showed that consumers were more pessimistic than at any time since April 2009 as they grappled with rising inflation and uncertainty over jobs. By lunchtime the Dow had recovered some losses and was down 25 points, the Guardian reports.