Glencore close to sealing Bakrie rescue deal October 13, 2011 Glencore, the world’s biggest commodities trader, is expected to sign a deal within days for a $800m (£508m) loan to Indonesia’s Bakrie Group to help it refinance a $1.35bn facility that became unexpectedly due, sources said on Thursday. In return, Glencore will be given the right to sell more coal produced by Bakrie-controlled Bumi and [...]
Glencore in Bakrie talks over shares October 11, 2011 MINING giant Glencore is pressing the Bakrie group for more rights to sell coal and an option to buy shares in the Indonesian coal company Bumi, in exchange for refinancing a $1.34bn (£860m) short-term loan. The mining giant, which has in the past come to the rescue of cash-strapped firms in exchange for equity stakes, [...]
FTSE solid as Eurozone pledge boosts confidence October 10, 2011 The FTSE 100 opened steadily this morning as investors eyed the news that Franco-Belgian bank Dexia has been rescued while Germany and France pledged to unveil a Eurozone debt crisis plan by the end of the month. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after talks in Berlin on Sunday that their [...]
Rothschild in Bakrie shares sale drama October 9, 2011 FINANCIER Nat Rothschild faces further uncertainty over the Bakrie family’s stake in Bumi, the London-listed mining company he created, as the troubled Indonesian shareholder looks to repay or restructure its debt. The Bakrie family, which owns a 47 per cent stake, could be forced to sell a significant stake in Bumi, after shares fell below [...]
Gold-related groups might bring markets to life October 3, 2011 GOLD has been one of the few winners of the recent downturn because of its safe haven status, so it should come as no surprise that companies involved in the production of the precious metal should be first in the queue to bring a ray of sunshine to the nearly dormant new issues markets. Polymetal, [...]
Short sellers aim for Next and Glencore on FTSE 100 October 3, 2011 FASHION retailer Next was the most shorted stock on the FTSE 100 in September as investors bet its share price would be dented by further pain on the high street, data from Data Explorers yesterday showed. Investors, primarily hedge funds, borrowed close to eight per cent of Next’s shares to take short positions as retail [...]
Qatar invests $1bn in Greek gold mining October 2, 2011 THE QATARI sovereign wealth fund is investing $775m (£497m) in European Goldfields, the London-listed company behind one of the biggest gold-mining projects in Greece, in a move that marks a major boost for the debt-laden country. Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the Qatar Investment Authority which also owns Harrods, will provide a $600m loan [...]
Kazak miner plots to oust chairman October 2, 2011 HEADHUNTERS have been called in to find a new chairman for the Eurasian Natural Resources Company (ENRC), despite confirming the incumbent Johannes Sittard in the role in its corporate governance review last Wednesday. The FTSE 100 Kazakstan mining company last week said it was “fully supportive” of the board-level reshuffle that kept Sittard at the [...]
Trafigura moves closer to IPO for subsidiary September 29, 2011 TRAFIGURA, one of the world’s largest commodities traders, has sold a 20 per cent stake in its oil storage business Puma Energy to Angola’s state-owned oil company, as it prepares to bring the $3.5bn (£2.2bn) subsidiary to market. The Geneva-based company said it may float Puma within the next 18 months, reducing its role to a [...]
Torrid summer boosts LSE September 29, 2011 LONDON Stock Exchange chief Xavier Rolet highlighted the group’s diversification agenda yesterday as he said equity trading volumes were up 12 per cent due to the market turmoil over the past five months. The LSE Group made £190.2m in revenues in the three months to the end of June, 14 per cent higher than a [...]