London Report: Barclays, Bank of England and Lloyds in focus February 9, 2014 BRITISH banks will be under the spotlight this week as Barclays and Lloyds deliver their full-year results and Bank of England governor Mark Carney updates the markets on its forward guidance policy for setting rates. Lloyds has already provided an update on its progress, predicting an underlying profit of £6.2bn for 2013 compared to £2.6bn [...]
Rawlinson left red-faced after overheard lunch February 6, 2014 IT’S THE nightmare scenario we all dread. Going for a meeting with a prospective employer and getting spotted (and overheard) by your current boss. But that’s exactly what happened to mining investment maestro Michael Rawlinson when he was thinking about leaving his role as head of mining at Liberum Capital during the summer. Amid talks [...]
Mining deals to pick up in 2014 after slow year February 2, 2014 THE NUMBER of deals in the mining sector is expected to rise this year, after hitting a seven-year low in 2013, according to new research released today. The report from accountancy firm EY shows that deal volumes – excluding the $46bn (£28bn) Glencore Xstrata merger – fell 25 per cent last year to 702, while [...]
Why one bank’s watching Glencore Xstrata this year January 13, 2014 2013 was a tough year for miners, with metal prices falling and several companies suspending projects and cutting costs. What's more, the instrumental Chinese economy saw a slowdown over the year. But despite a persistently bad performance in global equities for the sector, Saxo Bank has upped its view to 'positive' on miner Glencore Xstrata. [...]
Former Glencore trader loses wrongful dismissal court case December 11, 2013 AN EX-GLENCORE trader has lost a wrongful dismissal court case against his former employer. Andrew Kearns filed a complaint after he lost his job in October 2010 but lost his case and was made to pay costs to Glencore of £150,000. It emerged during the trial that Kearns had failed to turn up to work on [...]
Glencore starts trading in Johannesburg November 13, 2013 Miner Trader Glencore Xstrata’s shares will start trading on the Johannesburg stock exchange from today, which its chief executive called “a significant step for Glencore”. This is a secondary listing for the firm, which already trades on the London Stock exchange. “It not only deepens our relationship with South Africa, it highlights our confidence in [...]
BP signs a key oil trade deal with Rosneft November 12, 2013 RUSSIAN oil behemoth Rosneft said yesterday is plans to sell about $6bn (£3.7bn) worth of refined products to BP, establishing the British firm among its biggest buyers after years without any such deal. The latest transaction comes on top of a $5.3bn deal for BP to buy crude, agreed earlier this year. Both came only [...]
Glencore posts 23pc increase in copper output October 31, 2013 GLENCORE Xstrata said yesterday that third-quarter copper production had soared by 23 per cent and that profits for its trading arm are broadly in line with expectations. The mining and trading group, which completed a long-awaited merger earlier this year, said that there had been strong growth at the Collahuasi mine, which rose 43 per [...]
Chile blocks Glencore Xstrata dam October 28, 2013 A Chilean appeals court has preventively blocked a recently approved $733m hydroelectric dam to weigh an environmental appeal, a surprise setback for owners Origin Energy and Glencore Xstrata. Opponents of the 640-megawatt Rio Cuervo project planned in the remote southern Aysen region say it would harm the environment and would be built above a geological [...]
Glencore and Sumitomo buy Rio’s Clermont coal mine stake for $1bn October 28, 2013 RIO Tinto has agreed to sell its majority stake in Australia’s third-largest thermal coal mine to Glencore Xstrata and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation for just over $1bn (£618m), pushing ahead with plans to focus on larger, core operations. Rio put its 50.1 per cent stake in the Clermont mine in Queensland on the block earlier this [...]