Swiss mining giant Xstrata seeks ‘merger of equals’ with rival Anglo-American

September 24th, 2009 Huge hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure found in UKLONDON — British archaeological experts say an amateur treasure-hunter has uncovered one of the largest caches of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever found. An Anglo-Saxon expert formerly with the British Museum's Department of Prehistory and Europe, Leslie Webster, says the 1,500-piece find is on par with the Book of Kells, one of the best-known illuminated manuscripts in the world.

September 22nd, 2009 Rio Tinto sells building materials unit for $349MMELBOURNE, Australia — Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has advanced its debt reduction plans by selling building materials manufacturer Alcan Composites to Swiss machinery producer Schweiter Technologies for $349 million, the two companies said Tuesday. The sale of Alcan Composites, which is based in Sins, Switzerland, will be completed by the end of the year, the companies said in statements.

September 1st, 2009 Heineken cracks down on tiny Swiss "Keineken"AMSTERDAM — Swiss police have seized 1,000 bottles of locally made "Keineken" beer after the Dutch beer giant Heineken NV complained its brand was being infringed. The name "Keineken" appears to be a pun in German meaning "No Heineken." Heineken spokesman Jeroen Breuer said Tuesday a judge in the Swiss canton of Obwalden ordered police to seize the brew after agreeing Keineken infringed the Heineken brand.

August 20th, 2009 Swiss banker, lawyer face US tax charges in probeMIAMI — A Swiss banker and a lawyer are the latest to face U.S. criminal charges in a wide-ranging international tax evasion investigation.

August 4th, 2009 Xstrata posts 77 pct fall in first-half profit GENEVA — Mining company Xstrata PLC said net profit fell 77 percent in the first six months of the year as a result of lower commodity prices, and reiterated that its merger offer to rival Anglo American PLC would be "highly compelling" to both sets of shareholders. Xstrata's profit tumbled to $643 million, compared with $2.78 billion in the same period last year.

August 1st, 2009 US seeks Swiss help with missing Americans in IranWASHINGTON — The State Department says it's aware of Iranian media reports that three American citizens have been detained in Iran. Spokesman Robert Wood says the U.S.

July 31st, 2009 Anglo American H1 profit down 31 percentLONDON — Mining company Anglo American PLC said Friday that net profit in the first half of the year fell by 31 percent as both the prices and volumes of its sales slumped amid the global recession. The company said net profit for the period was $2.97 billion, compared to $4.28 billion a year earlier.

July 10th, 2009 Mining major Anglo American picks Sir John Parker as chairman LONDON — Mining company Anglo American PLC said Friday that Sir John Parker has been chosen as its next chairman of the board, resisting pressure from the South African government to appoint a black executive. Parker, whose appointment is effective on Aug.

June 22nd, 2009 Stocks pull back as global economic worries riseNEW YORK — Lowered expectations for the global economy are giving investors more to be wary about. Stocks are retreating in the first minutes of trading Monday after the World Bank predicted the global economy will shrink 2.9 percent in 2009.

June 22nd, 2009 Anglo American, Xstrata mull mergerLONDON — Shares in mining company Anglo American PLC jumped nearly 5 percent on Monday after Anglo-Swiss rival Xstrata PLC made a preliminary approach seeking a merger. Xstrata's shares dropped almost 7 percent.

June 9th, 2009 EU steel makers seek probe into BHP-Rio dealBRUSSELS — European steel makers called Tuesday for European Union antitrust regulators to probe a joint mining project between the world's No. 2 and No. 3 iron ore miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto PLC.

May 29th, 2009 Anglo Irish Bank loses $3.8 billion in 6 monthsDUBLIN — Anglo Irish Bank is reporting a massive loss of euro3.8 billion ($5.3 billion) in just six months because of widespread defaults in its loans to property developers. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan says the government, which nationalized the bank in January, plans to deposit up to euro4 billion into the bank in coming weeks subject to European Union regulatory approval.

April 30th, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - The world's largest diamond miner, De Beers, has cut production by nearly 91 percent due to a sharp drop in demand, mining group Anglo-American, which owns 45 percent of the company, reported Thursday. According to the report, quarterly production sank to 1.08 million carats in the period ending March 31, from 11.8 million carats in the same period the year before.

March 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A proposal from top international events broadcaster Neo Sports and another from the US construction equipment giant John Deere were among 26 applications for foreign investment worth Rs.1,043 crore (nearly $200 million) approved by the government. Neo Sports seeks to induct foreign equity worth Rs.258.53 crore in its Mumbai-based arm that is engaged in uplinking and broadcast of non-news and current affairs programmes.

December 30th, 2008 BHOPAL - Rio Tinto India will soon set up a project for production of diamonds in Madhya Pradesh, the state government has said. 'The company has detected a diamond deposit in Chhatarpur district and will soon set up a diamond project for commercial production of diamonds,' Minister of State for Mineral Resources Rajendra Shukla told IANS.