It hasn’t been a great week for Big Oil. BP reported an 80 percent decline in earnings, and ExxonMobil lost its coveted AAA credit rating , which it has held uninterrupted for more than eight decades. Low oil prices are still wreaking havoc on the industry, hollowing out profits and forcing companies to cut back on spending and personnel. It is a sign of the times that BP’s $532 million net profit – which excludes nearly $1 billion in fresh charges from the Deepwater Horizon disaster way back in 2010 – beat analysts’ estimates and was considered a very positive result. BP’s share price jumped more than 5 percent on April 26 following the results. But the oil majors are still hurting. And it is unclear whether or not they can maintain their generous dividend policies. BP’s dividend yield now exceeds 7 percent and Royal Dutch Shell has a […]