ArcelorMittal claims productivity gains
As ArcelorMittal weighs up the future for its plant network in Europe, the company is keen to point out that it has taken steps to improve its competitiveness in a…
Steel industry fears demand has plateaud
Has the age of “peak steel” – in which world steel annual output and demand reaches a plateau at about its current level of 1.5bn-1.6bn tonnes – finally arrived? A…
Forestry panel urges improved public access
Forests will stay in public hands after an expert panel said the 258,000 hectares of English woodland should not be sold off. Instead of selling off forests, the experts recommended…
Dreyfus plans IPO for Brazilian sugar unit
Louis Dreyfus Commodities on Friday said it would raise up to $550m from the flotation of a stake of its Brazilian sugar unit, the latest sign that the publicity-shy commodities…
Felda defies market to jump on trading debut
Shares in Felda Global Ventures, the world’s third largest palm oil estates operator, jumped on their debut on the Malaysian stock exchange, defying global market uncertainty for big ticket listings.…
Robust demand for GM corn lifts Monsanto
Strong demand for genetically modified corn seeds from farmers in the US, Latin America and eastern Europe helped Monsanto, the world’s biggest seedmaker by revenues, report quarterly revenues well ahead…
Doubts creep in about Felda’s prospects
Malaysia is set to become a rare focus of capital raising when the country’s largest operator of palm oil estates, Felda Global Ventures, lists on the stock exchange on Thursday…
S Africa steelmaker braced for change
In the years leading up to the 2010 football World Cup, ArcelorMittal South Africa’s operations worked flat out as hotels, stadiums and other infrastructure were built across the country. AMSA,…
China: Dug in too deep
©AFP Chang Zhenming, chairman of Citic Pacific, is unambiguous about the significance of his company’s Sino Iron mine in the desolate, red-soiled Pilbara region of Western Australia. “The whole of…
Rio Tinto: time to splash out
Location, location, location. Rio Tinto’s new investment in the Pilbara project in Western Australia ticks all the boxes for Chinese steelmakers. Even with China’s managed slowdown, the country’s appetite for…
Deripaska turns his focus to organic growth
©Colin Beere Oleg Deripaska chief executive officer of Rusal It’s been nearly four years since the 2008 financial crisis almost wiped out his vast business empire and Oleg Deripaska, the…
Mittal to reduce China steel ambitions
Lakshmi Mittal has signalled a dramatic scaling back of ArcelorMittal’s ambitions to expand in China’s steel industry through an agreement to cut the company’s stake in one of the country’s…
China warns on lending to steel plants
©Getty China has warned its banks of rampant illicit borrowing by steel companies, a development that underscores the financial dangers for the country as the government mulls a new stimulus…
Alufer Mining pulls Aim flotation
Alufer Mining has become the latest company to pull plans for a London flotation after poor demand for the shares prompted a scaled-back private fundraising. The decision to pull plans…
Romney talks tough on China in appeal to workers
From his office inside a red brick warehouse in Cleveland, Ohio, Dale Fellows – whose company prints everything from business cards to billboards – exudes satisfaction at Mitt Romney’s aggressive…