But the vice-like downer that rising costs and tumbling commodity prices are exerting on the miners' bottom lines has been well flagged and, as it happens, Xstrata's $2.45bn (£1.57bn) first-half operating profit was actually better than expected, thanks mainly to making cuts and delaying investment. Of far greater interest to the City and mining communities alike was what yesterday's results meant for Xstrata's proposed £57bn mega-merger with Glencore, the world's largest commodities trader. To recap, the pair announced plans in February to create a global one-stop mining and commodity trading shop through a merger of equals deal that involved Glencore giving Xstrata investors 2.8 of its...
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