Ternium SA to turn over majority stake in steel maker Sidor to Venezuela for $1.97 billion

September 17th, 2009 CARACAS - Chinese and Russian companies have agreed to invest a combined $36 billion in oil projects in the Orinoco Belt, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said. The president said state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.

September 9th, 2009 MUMBAI - Indian steel producer Uttam Galva Wednesday made an open public offer to acquire 29.4 percent of its shares on behalf of global steel giant ArcelorMittal at Rs.120 per share amounting to Rs.422.71 crore ($87.26 million). Earlier this month, ArcelorMittal had inked a deal with Uttam Galva to become co-promoters of Uttam Galva and picked up a 5.6 percent stake.

September 1st, 2009 AK Steel to raise pricesWEST CHESTER, Ohio — AK Steel said Tuesday it will raise prices for all new steel orders. The West Chester-based steel maker said base prices will increase by $40 per ton hot-rolled products, $50 per ton for cold-rolled products and $60 per ton for coated products.

August 5th, 2009 Chavez: Venezuela to buy more tanksCARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez says his government plans to buy dozens of tanks because Venezuela feels threatened by pending deal to increase the U.S. military presence in Colombia.

July 31st, 2009 CARACAS - Venezuela and China signed a $7.5 billion agreement Thursday that includes the construction of a 468-km railway in the country with Chinese support, officials said. Public Works Minister Diosdado Cabello told reporters that the railway - which will run from the town of Tinaco, in the northwestern state of Cojedes, to Anaco, a city in the northeastern state of Anzoategui - is the biggest project Venezuela is undertaking outside of the oil industry.

July 29th, 2009 Rights groups: Venezuela punishing protestersCARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan rights activists said Wednesday that President Hugo Chavez's government is using the courts to stifle protests. Marino Alvarado of Provea, a prominent rights group, said more than 2,200 people, including dozens of labor union representatives, have been indicted on criminal charges stemming from their participation in protests over the last four years.

July 20th, 2009 EMC takes majority stake in Data DomainHOPKINTON, Mass. — Data storage company EMC Corp.

July 4th, 2009 Venezuela assumes control of Spanish-owned bankCARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez's government assumed control of Venezuela's third-largest bank on Friday — making the state the largest player in the nation's banking system. The purchase of the Spanish-owned Banco de Venezuela gives Chavez's socialist government control over more than one-fifth of bank deposits as he tightens his grip over the economy.

July 1st, 2009 KOLKATA - Despite the current uncertainty in the global steel industry, Japan's Kobe Steel has set up a subsidiary here to market machinery and related equipment, a senior company official said. "We planned this project two years back.

June 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Tata Steel, India's largest steel producer, Thursday reported 60 percent fall in its consolidated profit for 2008-09. The steel major's net profit stood at Rs.49.51 billion ($1 billion) in 2008-09, down from Rs.123.5 billion recorded the year before, the company said in a regulatory statement.

June 8th, 2009 Tata Steel downgraded on weakness of UK unitMUMBAI, India — Moody's downgraded the company rating of India's Tata Steel Ltd on Monday because of weak performance at its U.K. Corus unit — sign of how troublesome Tata's ambitious overseas acquisitions have become since the global financial crisis hit.

May 30th, 2009 MUMBAI - Tata Steel has reached an agreement with lenders of Tata Steel UK for resetting the covenants on the 3.7 billion pound loan raised for the acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus. This comes two days after group company Tata Motors announced a revision in the maturity deadline on the bridge loan for its acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

February 12th, 2009 KOLKATA - Steel major Tata Steel will not focus on any acquisition 'for the time being', a top company official said here Friday. 'We will go slow on acquisition plans.

January 26th, 2009 MUMBAI - State-owned steel manufacturer, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Tuesday announced its net profits had declined in the third quarter by 56.4 percent to Rs.8.43 billion (Rs.843.34 crore) from Rs.19.35 billion (Rs.1,934.66 crore) in the year-ago period. The company's net sales were down 7.14 percent to Rs.88.52 billion (Rs.8,852.26 crore) for the period under review, against Rs.95.33 billion (Rs.9,533.3 crore) in the corresponding previous quarter.

January 5th, 2009 RAIPUR - The country's largest steel maker Tata Steel Tuesday reported a 14 percent fall in sales in the October-December quarter over the corresponding period uin 2007. According to an official statement, the company's total sales during the period stood at 1.07 million tonnes.