Third day of red as miners and banks lose their appeal May 13, 2009 THE FTSE 100 dropped 2.1 per cent yesterday, succumbing to disappointing US retail sales figures, profit-taking in the banking sector and mining stocks weighed down by weak commodity prices. The index retreated for the third day in a row, closing at 4,331.37, or 94.17 points down. “Despite the change of tone, markets have more room [...]
Why equities have further to fall before they eventually recover September 5, 2008 Despite a strong August, investors must remain very cautious, warns Abigail Townsend For the City’s dwindling band of optimists, August was a surprisingly good month. After hefty falls for most of the summer, the FTSE 100 rallied from lows of below 5,100 in early July to close at 5,362 yesterday, a 5.14 per cent gain [...]
Profits at Rio Tinto jump on high demand August 27, 2008 Bid target miner Rio Tinto posted a better-than-expected 55 per cent rise in first-half profit yesterday, boosted by its takeover of aluminium producer Alcan and strong Asian demand for commodities. The company, which bought Canada’s Alcan, for $38bn (£19bn) just over a year ago, said its pre-tax profit to the end of June rose to [...]
Rio loses key mine rights August 5, 2008 Bid target Rio Tinto has lost control of one of its most important iron-ore projects that could generate annual sales of more than $10bn (£5bn), it was revealed yesterday. The Government of Guinea has told Rio that its licence to mine Simandou, one of the world’s largest undeveloped iron-ore deposits, has been rescinded. The company’s [...]
Don Argus raises the stakes with Rio July 31, 2008 BHP Billiton chairman Don Argus issued Rio Tinto shareholders yesterday with a stern warning that their firm’s share price would lower without BHP’s £75bn takeover offer. Argus said that his group’s bid, which if successful would create the largest miner in the world and would be one of the biggest takeovers of all time, would [...]
Rio Tinto hit by slump in copper yields July 17, 2008 Bid target Rio Tinto said yesterday its second-quarter refined copper production plunged 18 per cent from a year ago, as the miner saw lower yields at some of its mines. But chief executive Tom Albanese said iron ore output rose 13 per cent on sustained demand from China. Production of iron ore increased to 41.9 [...]
Kazakhmys dismisses reverse takeover talk July 16, 2008 Copper mining giant Kazakhmys, which is in talks with fellow Russian miner Metalloinvest, has denied a deal would involve a reverse takeover. A reverse takeover would have involved privately owned Metalloinvest acquiring the FTSE 100 Kazakh miner and keeping the list on London’s benchmark index of leading shares. But yesterday Kazakhmys rejected this. One of [...]
Dial M to turn the wheels November 2, 2005 The new BMW looks fabulous, goes like a dream and costs £80k, but you need a computing degree to drive it. There are few cars that cook tarmac as well as those engineered in BMW’s “M” division, and the new £80,000 M6 is no exception. With a 500bhp V10 stuffed under the bonnet it’s been [...]
Show Stoppers November 2, 2005 Bored and want somewhere to go, then vroom along to these car events There is plenty to quench the thirst of parched petrol heads this week, whether their tonic be car, motorbike or truck. First up is the International Motorcycle and Scooter Show which will involve a trip out of the capital and up to [...]
BHP to boost production October 21, 2005 BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, will invest $1.3bn (£735m) to boost iron-ore production in western Australia in the face of rising demand by Asian markets led by China. The move comes just 24 hours after Rio Tinto said it would also commit $1.35bn to increase the iron-ore production of its mines in western [...]