The world’s largest companies have never had a reputation for showering investors with information about their financial situations and operations. The rules that might make them do so are too lax. Government authorities…
The announcement last February that Glencore International AG (OTC: GLCNF) would acquire mining giant Xstrata plc (OTC: XSRAY) has always faced one very big problem: just 17% of Xstrata shareholders voting against…
The US Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) yesterday held a lease sale for 39 million acres of US outer continental shelf open for development. The total of all…
The single most important word in world markets for base metals and steel is “China.” With the slow-motion economic recovery in the global economy, the expected 8% or so growth in Chinese…
The number of shares Facebook will sell rose 25% and the company could raise as much as $16 billion. (Reuters) Greeks take hundreds of millions of dollars out of banks there and…
From a high of around $4.60/pound in February of 2011, copper prices have fallen around $3.60/pound today, which is actually better than the price of around $3.40/pound at the beginning of the…
Sony (NYSE: SNE) says it will eliminate 10,000 jobs and retool the company for growth. (Reuters) Exports from Japan improve. (Reuters) The Fed’s Beige Book reports concern about energy costs. (Reuters) The World…
BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP) today announced the closing of its Norwich Park metallurgical coal mine in Queensland. The mine is one of six owned and operated by a 50/50 partnership between…
Paul Ausick UK-based mining giant Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) is mulling over the idea of shedding its diamond mining and production operations. The company’s review follows by two weeks reports that another mining…
The projected slowdown in China’s GDP growth to 7.5% in 2012 has dampened demand for steel. Steel prices are flattening out and the result is that investors are seeing a drop in…
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) begins staff cuts as part of an annual review process. (Reuters) The Obama Administration is expected to help U.S. solar panel makers in a trade war with China.…
British newspaper The Guardian has a blog post saying there is speculation that US coal miner Walter Energy Inc. (NYSE: WLT) could be a ripe for a takeover fight among three potential…
The Ekati diamond mind in northern Canada could be about to change hands. BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP), which owns 80% of the mine, is reportedly in discussions with several potential buyers,…
A few weeks ago Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) wrote down $9 billion on the value of its aluminum division, BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP) cancelled its plans to to build a…
The world’s largest mining company, BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP), is cancelling its plans to build a new aluminum smelter in Congo. Not only that, but BHP could be trying to sell…
