Miners buoy FTSE as Greece remains on knife edge February 8, 2012 The FTSE 100 opened on the front foot this morning as investors continued to cling onto hopes that Greece could be steered away from financial meltdown. Greek party leaders were set to meet again today to hammer out a reform deal in return for the new €130bn rescue from the IMF and EU. Leaders of [...]
BHP profits slip on weaker commodity prices February 8, 2012 BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest miner, reported a rare fall in earnings, hurt by labour battles and weaker commodity prices, but the result showed it was still in a different league from its would-be rival: Glencore-Xstrata. Despite the six per cent drop in half-year profit to $9.94bn (£6.24bn), BHP made more cash profit in six [...]
Eurozone fears for BHP Billiton as profits drop February 7, 2012 BHP Billiton last night warned the Eurozone debt crisis could hamper its growth as it reported its first half-year profit drop in two years. The world’s largest miner also said longer-term demand from China would slow as it posted a seven per cent fall in attributable profit before exceptionals to $9.94bn (£6.25bn) for the six [...]
Eurozone fears for BHP Billiton as profits drop February 7, 2012 BHP Billiton last night warned the Eurozone debt crisis could hamper its growth as it reported its first half-year profit drop in two years. The world’s largest miner also said longer-term demand from China would slow as it posted a seven per cent fall in attributable profit before exceptionals to $9.94bn (£6.25bn) for the six [...]
Glencore’s deal with Xstrata faces long road to clearance February 7, 2012 GLENCORE and Xstrata’s $90bn (£57bn) merger faces a long road to reach regulatory and competition clearance. While bigger commodities tie-ins have been cleared in the past – such as the deals that formed Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton – merging a clearing house with a miner could encounter new hurdles, analysts said yesterday after the [...]
Glencore and Xstrata agree $90bn ‘merger of equals’ February 7, 2012 Glencore and Xstrata agreed an all-share merger worth $90bn (£56bn) in the mining industry’s largest ever deal, creating a commodities powerhouse spanning mining, agriculture and trading. The ratio is a 15.2 per cent premium to Xstrata shareholders compared with its share price last Wednesday before word leaked out about the merger talks, a joint statement [...]
FTSE flat as investors eye key US jobs data February 3, 2012 THE FTSE was flat in early trading as investors awaited key US jobs data due out later. US non-farm payrolls are forecast to rise by 150,000 after a 200,000 increase in December, while the unemployment rate was expected to remain static at 8.5 per cent. On the domestic data front the UK service industry picked [...]
Glenstrata: a company to reckon with February 2, 2012 THE “merger of equals” of Glencore and Xstrata will create a corporate titan worth an estimated £50bn. The firms are headquartered within 3km of each other in Switzerland, and have been the subject of speculation over a possible tie-up for months. A merger would mean a combined workforce of 127,500 with revenue of $175.5bn (£110.9bn). [...]
BHP Billiton sells titanium stake to Rio February 1, 2012 GLOBAL miner BHP Billiton yesterday announced that it had offloaded its stake in a South African titanium operation to rival Rio Tinto. The move marks the end of BHP’s participation in the titanium minerals industry. BHP said it had exercised an option to sell its 37 per cent stake in Richard Bay Minerals to Rio [...]
BHP Billiton sells titanium stake to Rio February 1, 2012 GLOBAL miner BHP Billiton yesterday announced that it had offloaded its stake in a South African titanium operation to rival Rio Tinto. The move marks the end of BHP’s participation in the titanium minerals industry. BHP said it had exercised an option to sell its 37 per cent stake in Richard Bay Minerals to Rio [...]