BHP’s bid provokes poisonous reply August 17, 2010 JUST as the markets were drifting into the final few days of summer – traditionally one of the quietest times of the year for corporate news – up pops mining giant BHP Billiton with a near $40bn proposal to takeover the Canadian fertiliser and animal feed group Potash. Although all sorts of things are possible [...]
Banks and miners push FTSE to its highest close in a week August 17, 2010 FINANCIAL stocks and commodity companies pushed Britain’s top share index up for a third session by the close on Tuesday, as fears about a global economic slowdown abated and raw material prices gained. The FTSE 100 ended up 74.45 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 5,350.55, its highest close in a week. Miners were firmer, [...]
US results season ends on a high note August 17, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday after earnings from Wal-Mart and Home Depot and a $39bn takeover bid in the agriculture sector bolstered confidence in the corporate outlook. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 103.84 points, or 1.01 per cent, at 10,405.85. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 13.16 points, or 1.22 per cent, [...]
A very grown up car indeed August 17, 2010 Like an ageing playboy, this Lexus has a handsome face, but is let down somewhat by its rather bloated rear end, inflated no doubt by the installation of its excellent folding tin top roof. Maybe an ageing playboy is the target buyer for the IS250C. Not me then. Yet there’s no doubt that the inside [...]
Potash rejects $39bn BHP Billiton bid August 17, 2010 THE world’s largest fertiliser producer Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has rejected a $39bn (£24.9bn) takeover approach from mining giant BHP Billiton. Canada-based PotashCorp said BHP offered US$130 a share in cash – equivalent to a 20 per cent premium on the company’s share price on 11 August. However, Canadian Potash dismissed the proposal as “grossly [...]
Vedanta buys into Cairn’s Indian oil firm August 16, 2010 MINING group Vedanta said it will take a majority stake in oil firm Cairn’s Indian operations yesterday, in a cash deal worth up to $9.6bn (£6.1bn). The London-listed miner ended weeks of speculation and confirmed it would take control of the second largest oil firm in the country, Cairn India, by purchasing between 51 and [...]
Cairn August 15, 2010 CAIRN’S Indian assets are certainly attractive. The sites bought for a mere $7m (£4.5m) from Shell in 1997 now trade on the Mumbai exchange at a market value of $14bn. Cairn’s flagship oilfields in Rajasthan are predicted to churn out 90,000 barrels a day in 2011, rising to 125,000 barrels the year after. Vedanta is not [...]
Base metals can still shine in an uncertain environment August 8, 2010 THE global economy is at an important crossroads; economic data from the US has been patchy and signs of a slowdown in China are causing bouts of volatility in risky assets. However, base metal prices have held up well. The question is, will they continue to do so? The recent surge in base metal prices [...]
Hallelujah: Peugeot’s latest car really, truly makes sense July 27, 2010 OK, I’m going to come clean. I distrust crossover cars, or crossover utility vehicles (CUVs). In the past when I’ve driven them I’ve tended not to like them. Neither one thing or another, they have always seemed to me to be the mongrels of the car world, compromised and with an identity crisis. Despite a [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 22, 2010 RECKITT BENCKISER Execution Noble rates Reckitt Benckiser as “sell”, with a fair value of 3,106p. Execution believes the SSL deal makes strategic sense, but cites the timing of the deal as evidence of increased competition in the company’s core categories and expects continued evidence of this in second quarter results next week. MORGAN STANLEY JP [...]