Anglo American, Xstrata and BHP agree mine expansion August 18, 2011 Anglo American, Xstrata and BHP Billiton have approved a $1.3bn (£787m) expansion of the Cerrejon mine, home to one of the world’s largest coal deposits, in Colombia. The diversified miners said they would invest equal amounts in the project that will increase production and export capacity by 8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 40 [...]
Eco-warrior pipe dream gets real August 16, 2011 LEONARDO DiCaprio has one. In fact, diCaprio has the first production Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid sports car ever built. And he paid for it. That one of the world’s biggest film stars is driving the world’s most eco-friendly sports car is perhaps not so surprising. But the man that built it is car designer Henrik [...]
Evoquative: the ultimate all-rounder August 9, 2011 ITS heart may be in the country, but Range Rover – for so long the preferred transport of the country set and most naturally at home on rural lanes – has a new sibling, and despite being created for city living, the new Evoque is the greenest Range Rover yet. Available as a three-door coupé [...]
FTSE takes a battering on recovery fears August 3, 2011 Energy companies took a hammering in London today as a renewed investor focus on global economic fragility saw a flight to safety across Europe. The FTSE 100 retreated more than 133 points or 2.3 per cent to close at 5,584.51, levels not seen since November 2010, after confidence in sovereign debt fell again and investors [...]
Beauty’s in the i of the beholder August 2, 2011 LAST week BMW flew hundreds of journalists from around the world into Frankfurt to show them the future of motoring, as illustrated by its new sub-brand ‘i’. And the future looks pretty impressive if the near-production cars BMW revealed are anything to go by. The German manufacturer showed the first two of its ‘i’ branded [...]
Cooper drops takeover bid for rival Laird August 1, 2011 LAIRD shares plunged 15 per cent yesterday after Cooper Industries announced it was withdrawing its bid for the electronics components firm, saying it is unwilling to proceed at Laird’s asking price. Cooper Industries’ two-month battle to take over the smaller British rival came to a deadlock this weekend after the two companies were unable to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BHP BILLITON DIGS IN AGAINST STRIKING MINERS BHP Billiton has declared force majeure on exports from the world’s biggest copper mine, as a mineworkers’ strike entered its eighth day. The strike at BHP’s Escondida mine in Chile, which supplied 7 per cent of the world’s copper last year, comes in a month of [...]
FTSE up but GDP data casts shadow July 26, 2011 Investors were apparently gaining in confidence that the US would break its deadlock over a debt deal as the FTSE 100 opened on the front foot today. The US is under pressure to rescue its Triple A credit rating by upping its debt ceiling – a controversial move which has driven a wedge between Republicans [...]
LSE bats away deal talk with strong results July 20, 2011 THE London Stock Exchange reassured investors of its financial clout at its shareholder meeting yesterday but refused to be drawn on any potential partners following the collapse of its merger with Canada’s TMX Group. LSE chairman Chris Gibson-Smith blamed the breakdown of the £2.4bn merger firmly on TMX for failing to marshal its shareholders to [...]
BHP Billiton coal output rises – but flood still takes toll July 20, 2011 BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest miner, has reported a rise in coal output but said that flooding continues to hit production. Production of coal rose 19 per cent in the three months to 30 June compared to the previous quarter, it said. However, coal output is still down 28 per cent from the same period [...]