Capital Calls: Sports versus the Trump slump 26 Mar 2021 Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Political news startup Axios may merge with sports site The Athletic.
Retail silver punt brings real-world distortions 1 Feb 2021 The metal’s price leapt more than 11% to an eight-year high after online investors gave it the GameStop treatment. Unlike gold, consumption of the commodity is mainly driven by industrial usage. Volatility has potential for global consequences. It may also be harder to regulate.
Russian mining IPO comes with sanctions noise 21 Jan 2021 Nord Gold is planning a $5 bln listing in London, the WSJ reports. Severstal billionaire Alexey Mordashov only has a minority stake, but his sons own most of the rest. Investors need to consider the risk that the new U.S. administration decides to take a tougher line on Moscow.
Rusal’s Deripaska discount makes partial return 21 Dec 2020 The aluminium group’s Hong Kong shares fell after a Bloomberg article claimed former controlling shareholder Oleg Deripaska still exerts influence. Rusal and holding company En+ deny that he does. So far, investors are not taking fright like they did in April 2018.
Ominous iron ore seam opens in Aussie trade row 18 Dec 2020 Chinese state buyers are griping about how the steel ingredient is priced as officials Down Under debate an export tax. Beijing already has targeted wine and other imports. The idea that miners BHP and Rio might get dragged into the spat can no longer be discounted.
Rio’s new CEO reflects its lack of wiggle room 17 Dec 2020 Finance director Jakob Stausholm is the surprise choice to lead the $126 bln miner. Rio’s self-imposed difficulties in Mongolia and Australia meant an outsider might have been preferable. But given Rio may feel the need to soon replace its chairman, continuity is also important.
Glasenberg-less Glencore is surprise green champ 4 Dec 2020 Gary Nagle is the miner’s new CEO. The South African inherits a different firm to the one compatriot Ivan Glasenberg led. Running down coal mines to hit zero CO2 emissions by 2050 and boosting copper and cobalt pitches Glencore as an unlikely centrepiece of the green transition.
Thyssenkrupp is acid test of German green resolve 19 Nov 2020 The ailing giant’s steel arm lost 950 mln euros last year and is a major carbon dioxide polluter. Right now it would cost a bomb to convert the division into a hydrogen-powered, low-carbon star. Still, extending subsidies would chime with Berlin’s commitment to a green recovery.
Corona Capital: U.S. tests, UK loans, Man U groans 21 Oct 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Abbott Laboratories has a bumper third quarter; UK banks look at a workaround for their Covid-19 loan problem; and Manchester United reveals a predictably ropey set of annual results.
Aussie gold miners make deal wishes come true 6 Oct 2020 Northern Star is acquiring smaller rival Saracen for $4.1 bln. They’ll share a heap of promised synergies without a premium to pay for using a structure touted by an industry shareholder group. The buyer’s track record also should mitigate some typical merger concerns.
Copper bulls may bust through China shop 5 Oct 2020 The metal’s price has jumped around 40% since March, hitting multiyear highs. Increased Chinese demand, tight supply and a weaker dollar played a part. Higher inventories could bring a reversal. But with a boom in renewable-energy infrastructure, optimists have the right idea.
India’s gold jeweller IPO peddles platinum quality 5 Oct 2020 Demand for bling has some resilience against shocks in a wedding-obsessed nation that sees the yellow metal as an investment. That will help the Warburg Pincus-backed Kalyan’s market debut. Next to hotly-valued rival, Tata’s $14 bln Titan, though, it looks a touch less shiny.
Corona Capital: Kraft Heinz, U.S. poverty 15 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The food giant is boosting advertising outlays, even as it continues cutting costs; and the poverty rate in the United States hit a low at the end of 2019, according to new data, only to run into a Covid reversal.
De Beers’ rocks are in an increasingly hard place 3 Sep 2020 Even before Covid-19, the Anglo American-owned diamond giant’s lunch was being eaten by Russia’s Alrosa and cheaper man-made stones. De Beers still has access to Botswana’s high-quality gems. But lockdowns are blunting the edge its quirky sales method has enabled.
Corona Capital: Davos delay, Political TV ratings 26 Aug 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The World Economic Forum’s annual winter meeting becomes a summer gathering; and in the U.S., the Democrats’ online spectacle leads TV ratings over the Republicans’ more traditional convention.
Mali’s gold miners are used to political upheaval 20 Aug 2020 President Keita quit after soldiers seized him at gunpoint. His exit from the helm of a hollowed-out Saharan state changes little for foreign firms like Resolute Mining. But with no clear government and Islamists controlling half its territory, Mali is a geopolitical problem.
All sides could gain from $42 bln NorNickel reset 28 Jul 2020 An agreed management shakeup would protect the role of CEO Vladimir Potanin, who holds 35% in the Russian miner, and dodge legal disruption. Rusal, with 28%, could eke out more control. Other investors would get a better-run company, and a lower risk of ecological catastrophe.
Silver rally may have a bright, green future 23 Jul 2020 The white metal’s price is up more than gold's so far this year. Silver’s industrial uses mean it shines when lockdowns lift, but there’s a political dimension too. As an ingredient in solar panels, it could benefit from U.S. presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s clean-energy plan.
Crisis forces Australia and China closer 21 Jul 2020 Despite diplomatic tension, miners BHP and Rio are cashing in on Beijing's infrastructure stimulus. Supply disruptions in Brazil and weak global demand have left the two trading partners even more dependent on each other. Politics can’t change facts under the ground.
Gold’s enduring high gives miners room to be bold 10 Jul 2020 Bullion has breached $1,800 per ounce amid fears of a viral surge. Mine bosses’ enthusiasm to develop lower grade reserves that only make sense at exalted price levels is usually dampened by worries of a sharp snapback. An extended Covid-19 tail means more will take the chance.