Gold mining in Greenland is smarter than it sounds 3 Jul 2020 Canada’s AEX Gold wants to raise 45 mln pounds via a UK listing to reopen a mine on the North Atlantic island. The tricky location and fickle bullion prices are obvious risks. The potential returns and scope to gain a head start in a local resource scramble are opportunities.
Norilsk Nickel underlines funds’ ESG blind spot 2 Jul 2020 The Russian miner had a bad pollution record even before it leaked 21,000 tonnes of fuel in the Arctic Circle. Passive investors like BlackRock have pledged to engage more closely with ESG miscreants. But when the company is controlled by oligarchs, they may just be ignored.
Tesla kills three birds with one Congolese stone 17 Jun 2020 The electric car giant is buying 6,000 tonnes of cobalt a year from Glencore’s mines in the chaotic African state. With China corralling 69% of the metal’s production, Elon Musk gets to guarantee supplies while minimising child labour worries. It may even squeeze Western rivals.
Norilsk Nickel hits investors when they’re down 11 Jun 2020 The miner’s biggest shareholder Vladimir Potanin wants to cap 2020 dividends at 25% of forecasts. ESG-conscious foreign investors will have blanched after it leaked 21,000 tonnes of fuel. They’ll be even less keen on cutting payouts by a lot more than the apparent cleanup costs.
Corona Capital: Travel companies, Oil 18 May 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Travel companies have sunnier days; oil traders have triumph of hope over experience.
Vedanta minorities can exact a better exit 14 May 2020 Tycoon Anil Agarwal wants to buy out a cash cow of his mining empire for $4.3 bln. True to form, the bid is opportunistically timed after a stock slump. Other shareholders have a route to improved terms but the group’s wider debt issues will limit how hard they push for more.
New normal will demand new gold-standard portfolio 6 May 2020 Parking 60% in equities and 40% in fixed income is the traditional balanced approach. That’s off kilter if bonds are going to offer less and less income and are sometimes almost as volatile as shares. The solution may be to hold more stocks and cash, and possibly gold, too.
Global central bank stimulus presages gold surge 31 Mar 2020 Worldwide central banks have maxed out monetary stimulus. That makes all safe havens less safe except one. Gold’s growing supply scarcity and rising production costs make it solider than bitcoin, real estate or stocks. The 19th century asset is having a renaissance in the 21st.
Hadas: Trillion-dollar platinum is uber-real money 23 Mar 2020 Two precious coins can skirt any U.S. debt limit. The ingenious idea demonstrates the absolute power of governments to create money, for good and for bad. In the coronavirus crisis, extra money is the best way to ration available production. Later, it could cause problems.
Markets confront world economy’s viral unknowns 28 Feb 2020 The spreading coronavirus has knocked over 10% off U.S. and European bourses so far this week. The immediate question is the depth and length of any demand slump. The longer-term one is whether the crisis permanently alters global supply chains, dragging down corporate earnings.
Animal spirits temper gold miners’ virus appeal 25 Feb 2020 An outbreak of the coronavirus in Italy boosted the price of bullion. While producers of the yellow metal stand to gain from higher prices, a global pandemic could hit some production. The bigger risk is CEOs squandering the windfall on unprofitable ventures or expensive M&A.
Vale dam cleanup hints at miners’ rising ESG bill 21 Jan 2020 The world’s top iron ore producer faces criminal charges for a deadly 2019 dam collapse. It has spent billions on reparations and safety upgrades, and seen its share price stumble. The total financial hit is yet to become clear, but other resources firms will face reckonings too.
Iran will decide if oil bulls outdo gold bugs 7 Jan 2020 Middle East tensions have boosted crude prices more than that of the precious metal. Tehran could yet attack Saudi oil fields or disrupt the vital Strait of Hormuz. Anything less than that would see gold, which was already in high demand, outperform.
Gold M&A takes a penny-pinching path 12 Dec 2019 The $30 billion-plus in gold-mining deals this year is the most in almost a decade. Premiums are modest, because miners have got the message that investors want cost discipline. But all this parsimony means little is being spent on exploration, something mergers alone don’t fix.
Gold diggers may find growth is copper-bottomed 5 Dec 2019 Rising prices have filled coffers for bullion miners. Now some, like $31 bln Barrick, are arguing future growth may come from a more modest metal: copper. Using safe-haven returns to bet on a similar, underperforming, material has logic, despite tarnished M&A precedents.
Thyssenkrupp CEO exit will help its elevator pitch 25 Sep 2019 Guido Kerkhoff is on his way out at the German industrial conglomerate after 14 months, a 40% share price drop and various U-turns on strategy. His interim replacement backs a plan to sell the lifts business. Just as well since this offers the best chance of boosting valuation.
Canadian miner gives copper a belated deal patina 25 Sep 2019 China’s biggest producer of the metal may have built a nearly 10% stake in $6 bln First Quantum, and is negotiating to invest in its Zambian assets. The low price of copper, and depressed industry valuations, make it a good time to do more. It puts Rio Tinto on the M&A spot.
Hong Kong’s first UK exchange foray clouds second 20 Sep 2019 Its 2012 takeover of the London Metal Exchange promised to preserve the institution and expand in China. Hong Kong’s bourse honoured the first, but Beijing made its own way in commodities. Returns have been poor too. That history informs its $37 bln London Stock Exchange bid.
Gold would shine brighter in thick of currency war 21 Aug 2019 Trade and geopolitical tensions have heightened demand for safe havens, but with policymakers trying to keep currencies down, the dollar, yen and Swiss franc offer only partial protection. The yellow metal is different. No one will push back if its price keeps rising.
Russia’s En+ swaps one U.S. headache for another 16 Aug 2019 The Rusal holding company escaped punitive Washington sanctions in the first half. But Donald Trump’s trade war pummelled aluminium prices, leading to a sharp drop in EBITDA. Investors face a long wait to get anywhere near their 2017 IPO price.