Potash company breaks up cartel July 30, 2013 URALKALI has dismantled the world’s largest potash cartel in a move that it expects to slash prices by 25 per cent, heralding a reshaped industry and pummelling shares of companies that produce the key fertiliser ingredient. The break-up of the Belarus Potash Company (BPC), a joint venture with Belarussian partner Belaruskali, could cause a price [...]
Global fertiliser prices forecast to plunge as Russian potash cartel breaks down July 30, 2013 The break-up of a Russian potash cartel could spark a global price war among fertiliser producers, its chief executive has said. Uralkali pulled out of the Belarus Potash Corporation (BPC) after accusing its partner Belaruskali – which controls around 47 per cent of the global potash market – of selling fertiliser outside of the marketing [...]
CNBC Comment: Ethical vigilance isn’t easy for Church July 29, 2013 MANAGING God’s money would test the patience of Job. The archbishop of Canterbury discovered this last week when his attempt to take on payday lender Wonga exposed the Church of England to accusations of hypocrisy. Justin Welby locked horns with Wonga because the company’s interest charges attract legitimate concerns. But what came next was the [...]
An SUV with style and substance July 22, 2013 People balked when Porsche released its first luxury SUV – these days its got the best on the market It was a happy coincidence that the weekend I spent with the new Porsche Cayenne S Diesel dovetailed with my cousin’s wedding hoedown on a farm, miles from anywhere, in rural Cornwall. The car was perfect [...]
Not convinced? July 22, 2013 HERE ARE THE ALTERNATIVES Audi SQ5 £44,055 Audi’s SQ5 is one of the best of the fast luxury SUVs. Strictly speaking it’s in a different segment to the Cayenne S Diesel, though it does have similar performance. In fact, the SQ5 is officially the world’s fastest diesel SUV. Powered by a 3.0-litre V6 bi-turbo engine, [...]
Copper shines brightest at Anglo American July 18, 2013 FTSE 100-listed miner Anglo American today unveiled a mixed production update for the second quarter, with copper output up 14 per cent and nickel down 22 per cent. While the surge in copper production beat forecasts, iron ore production slipped by one per cent, missing expectations of a slight increase. In contrast, both Rio Tinto [...]
BHP Billiton’s iron ore output beats forecasts July 17, 2013 FTSE 100-listed BHP Billiton yesterday said that production at two of its mines had beaten guidance this year and expansion of its iron ore division is running ahead of schedule. Yet despite petroleum output increasing by six per cent to 235.8m barrels of oil, it fell short of BHP’s 240m guidance. Total iron ore production [...]
FTSE lifted as miners report robust output July 17, 2013 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 rose yesterday, with miners cheered by a string of solid output numbers from the likes of BHP Billiton, and with the US Federal Reserve reassuring that stimulus will only be cut if the economy is strong. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke signalled plans to start scaling back bond purchases this year could be [...]
European stocks on rollercoaster ride July 17, 2013 The main European stock indices are all looking fairly similar today, with the FTSE starting strong after solid results from BHP Billiton, before following the DAX and CAC down after major downwards revisions and a contraction in eurozone output coupled with a unanimous vote from the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee to hold quantitative [...]
BHP Billiton output soars July 17, 2013 FTSE 100-listed BHP Billiton today announced that production at two of its mines had exceeded guidance this year and expansion of its iron ore division is running ahead of schedule. Total iron ore production increased by seven per cent to 170 million tonnes in the 2013 financial year, while copper increased by 10 per cent [...]