US investors rush for safe havens as tech shares fall August 23, 2010 US stocks slipped in one of the lightest volume sessions of the year as investors took refuge in defensive shares after the latest corporate M&A failed to soothe concerns the recovery is stalling. Technology shares weighed on the broad market and sent the Nasdaq composite lower as a possible bidding war over data storage company [...]
BHP FACES RISING BID DISCONTENT August 22, 2010 MINING giant BHP Billiton could be left with a diplomatic crisis on its hands if it does not move swiftly to address growing investor disquiet over the cost of the company’s mammoth $40bn (£26bn) hostile bid for Canadian fertiliser giant PotashCorp. BHP will this week attempt to calm shareholder fears at a gruelling series of [...]
AUSTRALIAN MARKETS August 22, 2010 THE Australian dollar fell one per cent and bonds eased in early trade this morning after an inconclusive election appeared to have delivered investors’ worst fears — a minority government with power thrust on a handful of independent MPs. With neither of the major parties winning an overall majority in Saturday’s election to form a [...]
BHP deal to hand Potash CEO $400m August 19, 2010 POTASH chief executive Bill Doyle stands to make more than $400m (£257m) from the firm’s sale to mining giant BHP Billiton if the controversial takeover goes ahead, as BHP ramps up its efforts to persuade its shareholders a $40bn hostile bid is worthwhile. Doyle, head of the Canadian fertiliser firm, could make even more if [...]
BHP deal with Rio faces defeat August 19, 2010 Global miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto expect their $116bn iron ore joint venture will fail to gain regulatory approval. Mining executives involved in the process said yesterday that competition regulators in various jurisdictions had rejected the two miners’ arguments that the venture would not have price-setting power. “It’s dead and the coffin’s being lowered [...]
Temasek hires BoAML high-flyer August 19, 2010 Singaporean investment group Temasek has hired Gregory Curl a former top executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch to oversee its holdings in the US. Curl retired from the bank in March but was respected for his work on its investments in China. He is one of several high profile hires in recent months as [...]
Temasek hires BoAML high-flyer August 19, 2010 Singaporean investment group Temasek has hired Gregory Curl a former top executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch to oversee its holdings in the US. Curl retired from the bank in March but was respected for his work on its investments in China. He is one of several high profile hires in recent months as [...]
FTSE falls to lowest level in a month on US jobless figures August 19, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index fell to its lowest close in a month yesterday, as weak US labour and other data cast further doubt on the strength of the global recovery and as oil stocks fell on lower crude prices. The FTSE 100 fell 91.58 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 5,211.29 points, the lowest close [...]
Potash on hunt for a white knight August 18, 2010 CANADIAN fertiliser firm PotashCorp yesterday signalled its intention to court potential “white knight” bidders, after mining giant BHP Billiton turned hostile with its own $40bn (£25.6bn) offer. PotashCorp has roundly rebuffed its suitor’s preliminary overtures, describing the $130-a-share offer as “grossly inadequate”. Sources close to the Canadian firm yesterday indicated it would now actively seek [...]
Oz mining tax under threat August 18, 2010 MINING groups are nervously awaiting the results of a closely fought election in Australia, as current Prime Minister and mining tax enthusiast Julia Gillard fights to keep her job. Gillard travelled to Western Australia yesterday, where the 30 per cent mining supertax is set to come into force in 2012, to appeal to voters ahead [...]