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 sells titanium business to Rio February 1, 2012 Global miner BHP Billiton has sold its stake in a South African titanium operation to rival Rio Tinto, marking its exit from the titanium minerals industry. BHP said it had exercised an option to sell its 37 per cent stake in Richard Bay Minerals to Rio Tinto, with the final cost to be agreed by [...]
Meet the enchanting new Peugeot January 31, 2012 Hybrid cars have been on sale in Europe for a while now. Toyota, Honda, VW and even Porsche all sell hybrid versions of their cars that improve on fuel economy by supplementing their petrol engines with electric motors. Until now, such cars have made the most sense for North America or other regions that don’t [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 30, 2012 WHITBREAD Credit Suisse has cut its rating for Premier Inn and Costa coffee owner Whitbread from “outperform” to “neutral”, saying that downside risks at the company are increasing. The broker expects a two per cent decline in revenue per average room at Premier Inn in 2013, which leaves its earnings per share estimates seven per [...]
Anglo lifted by copper as diamonds dip January 26, 2012 MINING giant Anglo American yesterday posted a rise in quarterly output for its key commodities, but a dip in its diamond production, which was hit by weaker prices. The FTSE 100 company said iron ore was up five per cent at 12.4m tonnes – fuelled by the $1bn (£636m) Kolomela mine, which reaped rewards ahead [...]