BP agrees to $20 billion claims fund; amount not a liability cap

BP Plc Wednesday agreed to a demand by U.S. President Barack Obama to pay $20 billion into a special fund to handle claims from its huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill and said it was suspending payment of dividends this year. Obama announced the deal on the special fund after White House officials held four-hour talks with BP executives on the 58-day-old oil spill crisis. He said the money would go toward making the Gulf Coast "whole again.''