bhp

BHP warned on Monday that China was slowing down but it said that it had no intention of cutting back any production or capital spending.

BHP's efforts to acquire Rio might, like the mining business itself, turn out to be cyclical.

He said yesterday that BHP Billiton would "not sign any new [traditional annual] contracts. "

Southeast University Law School Professor Zhang Malin that merit, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have long to realize that this point.

It is owned 50-50 by Rio and BHP, but the companies propose to make the venture mostly autonomous as if it were a third-party contractor.

People familiar with BHP said that it was not uncommon on a deal of this type to make contact with a range of interested parties.

BHP and Rio reckon this is unfair and that they should be awarded a bigger piece of the "freight differential" between them and Vale.

Some analysts suggested at the time that BHP would have had a better chance of success if it had raised its bid.

Yesterday analysts said the appointment of Mr Kloppers might herald a more aggressive strategy at BHP Billiton, including more acquisitions.

Given the decline in iron-ore prices and demand, it isn't clear how easily BHP would be able to sell so much production capacity.

Potash may be tempted to bulk up its balance sheet with debt to make it a more expensive deal for BHP.

Chinalco's move came just as BHP's top management, in Australia for a board meeting, were leaving the office for the weekend.

BHP, although a smaller player in the iron ore market than Rio, is just as keen to see the old model of iron ore pricing break down.

BHP's Kloppers, 48, has said he will walk away from the biggest acquisition deal this year if it's not in the best interest of shareholders.

It had already bent: Rio, like BHP, confirmed 50 per cent of its iron ore had been sold on the spot market in the first half.

For its part, BHP Billiton sees Potash Corp as one of the few takeover targets that would make a difference to its long-term growth.

People close to Rio said yesterday that the offer "isn't even close" to a level that would tempt the company into a friendly deal with BHP.

It reported BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers said the deal's completion was hampered by a proposed new Australian tax on mining profits.

Even before BHP and Rio decided to team up, China had been trying to undermine the pricing power of the big iron-ore firms.

Another large investor also voiced concerns that BHP could be lured into overpaying due to the hostile nature of the deal.

"Speaking from an Agrium point of view, we're going to stay and we think BHP would be crazy to leave it, " he said.

Potash said the BHP bid 'grossly undervalued' the company; BHP has said the offer is full and fair.

Potash urged shareholders not to tender to the BHP offer, which may well turn out to be the biggest takeover deal in any industry this year.

When BHP refused Mr Forrest's request for commercial access to its railway line, he built his own line next to it.

Rio plans to team with BHP in iron-rich Western Australia in a joint venture the steelmakers fear could turn out to be monopolistic.

Uncertainty in global markets and a promise to spend up to $30bn on a buy-back after a deal is consummated may play into BHP's hands.

And the company is expected to announce it is in advanced talks with BHP over a sale of some of Rio Tinto's Australian iron-ore assets.

Goodyear was one of the team that spearheaded BHP's merger with Billiton of South Africa in 2001 .

If BHP is going to raise its bid, analysts do not expect it to happen until after it declares its fiscal 2010 results on Wednesday.

He criticized BHP for not renewing a share buy back in August, when the company reported record profits of A$23. 6 billion.

It also confirms the growing market power of a few big mining companies, including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto PLC and Vale.

But by seeing this through, BHP may lose the principal advantage of low gearing: that of options.

The heart of every Boxster is its engine, with 245 bhp.

When BHP asks that the pill be struck down in the weeks ahead, it is likely to win the request, say Canadian lawyers.

On the basis of the key parameter on the length of annular pseudo gas column, BHP(bottom hole pressure)can be calculated.

Mr. Wall said he told BHP executives last week he's worried about what a change in sales tactics would do to the province's income.

Rio, which has a bigger share of production, relies more on traditional benchmarking once a year, while BHP favors a spot price.

BHP also told shareholders that market conditions had improved in the month since it held its annual meeting in London.

BHP Billiton is trying to free up markets by breaking this cartel, observers say.

"It certainly gives them a platform to negotiate with BHP, " said one source close to the company.

BHP has also noted that there seems to be a slight recovery in iron ore demand in China.

But now that Rio is the subject of a hostile takeover bid from BHP, it has taken the lead on aggressive pricing.

This outcome is possible if BHP is willing to substantially raise its bid for Potash.

However, BHP bid faces an obstacle -- formal approval by its own shareholders -- if it sweetens its offer by more than 22 percent.

Indeed, it is still not clear what Mr Xu's motives were in talking publicly about such plans, other than to sow confusion in the BHP camp.

He declined to say whether Sinochem has talked to the Canadian company since the BHP bid.

It is part of a wider investigation " primarily " involving mineral exploration permits that BHP either owned or applied to own .

BHP and Rio estimate that the joint venture will save at least $10bn from production and development synergies.

BHP has always known it would have to raise a little, but it does not need to chase the dragon that far.

In addition, Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton will not see any big expansion in supply for the next two years.

Rio and BHP have said the JV will be "production-only" , combining infrastructure and budgets but not pricing power.

Potash Corp. , the biggest fertilizer producer, has rebuffed Melbourne- based BHP's $130 a share offer and said it was seeking suitors.

BHP had been expected to launch an offer of three BHP shares for each Rio share on Wednesday, the deadline set by the UK Takeover Panel.

They get a stake in the assets they really want. And BHP didn't rule out a merger further down the track.

Marius Kloppers, chief executive of BHP Billiton, said the takeover, valued at about $127bn, made "more sense than ever" .

With food prices soaring, pushing up the demand for fertiliser, Mosaic may make an attractive takeover target for the likes of BHP Billiton.

But China has never been comfortable with any coziness between Rio and BHP.

Chinalco's original 2008 investment strengthened the company's defence against the hostile approach from BHP.

The credit crunch would have made it hard for BHP to service Rio's debts in addition to the ones it would acquire during the takeover.

"We can only assume that BHP Billiton's purpose is to sow seeds of doubt and confusion about the future of PotashCorp, " he said.

Australia's Bluescope Steel has such a pricing deal with BHP Billiton.

This culminated in a bid by one of the world's biggest diversified miners, BHP Billiton, for another, Rio Tinto, in November 2007.

However, BHP's Spence mine, also in the Chilean north, is now in the midst of a labor strike which has dragged into its 39th day.

Chinese companies have been talking about taking a stake in miner Rio Tinto, the target of a bid from BHP Billiton.

So, too, will the deal on tax that she struck with BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata, Australia's three biggest mining companies.

Rio is currently the subject of hostile takeover interest from rival BHP Billiton, meaning voting interest on Rio's shares could be crucial.

Vale's shift, which follows BHP Billiton's, is crucial because its price-setting role has always been pivotal.

PotashCorp also attacked BHP's plan to break away from the cartel-like marketing group it uses to sell its production overseas.

BHP Billiton's bid for Canada's Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan isn't the only big thing happening in fertilizer these days.

A few months after Rio bought Alcan, BHP approached Rio with an audacious takeover bid worth some $135 billion.

BHP Billiton will supply the raw materials for the winning designs to be produced into gold, silver and bronze medals.

BHP said it would continue to pursue its Jansen potash project in Canada, which would be the world's biggest single potash mine.

Both companies have been on a charm offensive with investors, regulators and customers since BHP's interest in PotashCorp became public.

In all, BHP's smart dealmaking has made it not just the biggest but the most influential and the best-positioned of the big mining firms.

Potash said that BHP had made unsolicited contact with its customers as part of BHP's $39bn hostile bid for the Canadian company.

If that's the case, a BHP-Rio deal would be but an opening act in a world-wide competition for resources for which there are few precedents.

BHP Billiton pressed the case for its proposed takeover of rival Rio Tinto as it unveiled record full-year profits yesterday.

Shareholders still grumbling about the collapse of the earlier Rio-BHP merger process might also be appeased.

This week, BHP said that it settled some contracts through a hybrid of annual, quarterly, spot and index pricing.

But Alcoa's involvement suggests that it and Chinalco are playing for a piece of the action if BHP and Rio agree a deal.

The talks between BHP and Rio were advanced by Mr Kloppers when he sensed Rio's deal with Chinalco was in danger.

However, Rio's and BHP's shares have moved almost perfectly in tandem since the day following BHP's first approach.

BHP's timing was also unfortunate, coming amid mounting public discontent with the outcome of other high-profile foreign take-overs.

But one mining banker said yesterday that BHP could only get involved if Rio shareholders voted down the deal with Chinalco.

Mr Kloppers says the Gulf of Mexico is typical of the high-tech, high-margin environment in which BHP's petroleum division likes to operate.

BHP spent $2. 2 billion developing Ravensthorpe but the mine operated for little more than a year.

BHP declined to comment on whether it would take Rio's price as a benchmark, but indicated it would decide shortly.

China may yet invoke clauses in its new anti-monopoly law over the $115bn production joint venture Rio announced with BHP Billiton.

Stung, Rio backed off, opting instead for a $15. 2 billion rights issue and a joint venture with BHP Billiton (BHP).

In the end, BHP is likely prepared to accept whatever regulatory conditions Canada chooses to impose under the Investment Canada Act.

BHP Billiton wants to eliminate the current 12-month system and would like prices to be set by the spot market or some other index.

But it is more of a prophylactic, putting the onus on BHP to come up with a bigger sum.

That deadline is expected to be set as early as tonight or tomorrow, giving BHP until late January or February to show its hand.

The remaining respondents showed a preference for BHP to expand its own operations, buy back shares or increase its dividend.

Fundamentals are again solid but BHP will not accept peak commodity bubble valuations as a benchmark.

BHP's June-end fiscal year masked the benefits it is now receiving from the new system for pricing iron ore, its most valuable commodity.

'We are much larger than BHP in terms of iron ore, ' said Sam Walsh, chief executive officer of Rio Tinto's iron-ore division.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto slid at least 1 percent after scrapping an iron-ore joint venture.

And a long time, tends to divide, sub-long-BHP!

BHP executives were last week in Canada, meeting antitrust authorities and regulators to convince them of the merits of their bid.

Analyst warned however, that betting solely on onshore gas producers based on the BHP takeover today would be a flawed strategy.

From the survey, five said mergers and acquisitions should be a priority for Melbourne-based BHP Billiton.

Some BHP shareholders this week called on Mr Kloppers to hold off on attempts to make transformational acquisitions.

Traditionally, Vale of Brazil would negotiate a price and Rio and BHP Billiton would agree later to a similar increase.

Reporter noticed BHP, wait for large iron ore dealer in January will also raise prices, it may cause subsequent continue to rise in price.

Australia-based BHP Billiton says it has reached an agreement with China's Baosteel on prices for iron ore deliveries.

The mining giant BHP Billiton has announced record annual profits for the seventh consecutive year on the back of surging commodity prices .

BHP, whose Queensland operations make it the world's biggest coking coal exporter, has been tight-lipped on the effects of the floods.

But time is running out for an agreement with Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, with an informal deadline of June 30.

BHP has already indicated that the annual contract prices should be linked more closely to the spot market rates.

Rio and BHP must give some ground if they are to show that their plans do not carry too high a price tag for rivals and customers.

BHP and Rio are dealing with a huge number of demanding shareholders.

During the downturn BHP's profitability was bolstered by its major presence in oil and gas, a commodity that no other mining peer produces.

The consortium would have to raise a huge amount of money to beat BHP's offer, and Potash Corp.

But an extended timeline would be a double-edged sword for BHP Billiton.

However under British listing rules, they would have to vote on a deal if the offer is raised to 25 percent of BHP's total market value.

Investors, most notably BHP's, have called for share buybacks or special dividends to hand the spare cash over to shareholders.

BHP, Rio Tinto and Brazilian mining company Vale are the top three suppliers of iron ore to China.

The model of the diversified mining giant was Rio's but its upstart competitor beat it at its own game.

Something for Mr Kloppers to consider as he mulls over the $290m paid to BHP's panoply of high-octane advisers over the past 18 months.

Including BHP Billiton, including some large mining companies have said they could not finish the contract had been signed.

The best way to put pressure on BHP's board is to lift the market-implied deal ratio now.

In 2008, BHP abandoned its hostile bid for a then debt laden Rio Tinto as the global financial crisis deepened.

Vale of Brazil, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton recently began talking to Japanese customers about setting a benchmark price for the metal.

BHP has achieved its dominant position through a combination of luck and good judgment.

BHP strained every sinew to make its bid attractive to Canada and the province of Saskatchewan, where the target mines its potash.

It was not the first attempt at courtship: Rio and Broken Hill Proprietary had discussed a merger in 1999.

Its robust balance-sheet allowed it to maintain investment while other big firms slashed capital expenditure.

In the time since the case broke, there has been little discussion of Rio Tinto and BHP merging.

Would China, a beneficiary of the global trading system, really try to punish BHP for buying Rio?

BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, has also added bulk to its potash operations.

Others have suggested that rival mining group BHP BIlliton should put in a bid for some of Rio's assets before the vote.

BHP Billiton, an Anglo-Australian company that is the world's largest mining firm, is trying to do the biggest deal yet.

BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group advanced more than 2 percent as Chinese manufacturing expanded for a fourth month.

Using a landed price means BHP now has a real long-term competitive advantage over far away Vale.

Talks are continuing with customers over the remaining 47% of its iron-ore volumes, BHP said.

Methods In 170 cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BHP), transurethral resection of the prostate was performed with trial improvements.

BHP has about $16 billion of cash on hand and an undrawn $4 billion revolving-credit facility, according to its latest financial results.

BHP expressed confidence that "the offer will receive all requisite regulatory approvals in due course" .

Rio and BHP might be linked at the hip, in relative terms.

When he left, BHP was riding high on the back of surging commodity prices driven by demand from China.

BHP's then chairman, Don Argus, persuaded his new counterpart of the merits of a 50-50 joint venture of the companies' iron-ore operations.

If BHP raises its bid, but still can't win over Potash Corp's board, it may again take its higher bid directly to shareholders.

And Top miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto jumped, while Australia's biggest independent oil and gas group, Woodside Petroleum, also surged .

Most likely, Beijing would be on similarly shaky legal ground with the Rio-BHP deal.

Regulatory clearance is a precondition of BHP's formal bid, currently set at 3. 4 of its shares for every one of Rio's.

Investment bank Liberum Capital reckons BHP gravely misread from the outset the complexity of the anti-trust issue.

As large global companies, both Rio and BHP easily met the threshold to trigger a merger review for the joint venture, lawyers said.

Shareholders have been canvassed by BHP advisers, including Merrill Lynch.

But rather than promote its brand to Olympic spectators, BHP is using the deal to appeal to a close circle of clients and employees.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are already selling almost half of their supplies on the spot market, with Vale also ramping up spot sales.

Besides, Rio's shareholders are taking a risk if they wait for an offer from BHP before complaining about value.

Buying Potash Corp. would propel BHP to the top of the league of producers of potash.

Mr Kloppers spoke of BHP's woeful shortage of tyres for its huge trucks, big mechanical shovels, bearings and all manner of other equipment.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto formally abandoned their proposal to combine iron-ore production in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

A successful takeover of Potash Corp. would be BHP's biggest ever acquisition.

If BHP returns with the "big boy" price Potash's chief wants, shareholders should be realistic.

If the U. K. and Australia's bubbles look impressively big at first glance, remember two names: Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

Instead, Rio chose a rights issue and iron-ore joint venture with Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton Ltd. to pay down its debt.

The architects of the merger between BHP and Billiton reckoned most other mining companies had two big faults.

But in an alternate reality, one in which Rio's board had succumbed, BHP would now be about 80 per cent geared, rather than 10 per cent.

BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, also is optimistic in its latest assessment of key commodity markets.

He won plaudits for his stint at BHP Billiton and has a deep knowledge of commodities, in which Temasek is underweight.

The cuts represent six percent of BHP's international work force and highlight a dramatic decline in the fortunes of mining companies.

The fertiliser industry is increasingly convinced that BHP will face little opposition from outsiders.

BHP's Jansen project is a large greenfield potash development in Saskatchewan, the Canadian province where PotashCorp is based.

The mineral rights are concentrated in BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, the international mining giant Freeport hands.

But the stock was still 12 percent above BHP's offer of $130 (84. 45 pounds) a share, with investors holding out for a higher offer.

The timing of the raid was crucial, coming days before the deadline for BHP Billiton to make a firm bid for Rio.

Rio Tinto has about $40 billion of debt associated with its purchase of aluminum producer Alcan Inc. BHP Billiton has $6. 3 billion in debt.

Like Rio, BHP has shifted its Australian iron ore sales from negotiated annual prices to quarterly spot market-based prices.

Australian commodities analyst Peter Rudd says BHP has set records for the production of key minerals.

Potash Corp. is the target of a $40 billion hostile bid from BHP Billiton Ltd. , the world's biggest mining company.

BHP Billiton provided the silver for the production of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games'silver medals.

Beijing anti-monopoly officials are understood to be paying close attention to the proposed iron ore joint venture between Rio and BHP.

To attract workers, BHP and other companies are building recreation centers, sports fields and art galleries in hardscrabble company towns.

BHP's offer for PotashCorp suggests the firm is still pursuing it.

Rio and BHP are demanding a larger price increase than Brazil's Vale because their proximity to China reduces shipping costs.

As a huge and growing consumer of commodities, China's concern about the BHP takeover is unsurprising.

But even some BHP supporters criticise the group for focusing its lobbying efforts for too long on Ottawa rather than the prairie province.

About 15 per cent of BHP's 2009 earnings will be from coal, twice that of Rio.

Tom Albanese, Rio's boss, spent a busy year in 2008 explaining in detail why the takeover should not happen, before BHP pulled out anyway.

That is the game miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have been playing since the latter proposed a merger in November.

The Ministry of Commerce said at a press conference last week that it would pay "close attention" to BHP's bid for PotashCorp.

The combination of BHP and Rio would create a dominant force in the seaborne iron ore market, a key ingredient for steelmaking .

The probe, BHP said, involves "interactions with government officials" .

That is noteworthy in its own right, and can be seen in the persistent value gap between BHP's offer and Rio's shares.

Under Canadian foreign investment rules, BHP is required to show that its $130-a- share bid is of "net benefit" to Canada.

Such is the fate of the western Australian iron ore joint venture between Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

BHP Billiton had received antitrust clearance for the bid from U. S. and Australian regulators.

China is by far the world's largest consumer of seaborne iron ore, and is the biggest customer of Rio Tinto and BHP.

With metals prices at historic highs, BHP has no need to prompt the market to buy its product.

To attract them, BHP and other companies are building recreation centers, sports fields and art galleries in hardscrabble company towns.

And BHP, in truth, has got out of the deal-making habit.

BHP's case is rather simple: reject our bid, and reject the foreign investment that has helped expand the country's natural resources.

Industry experts said Beijing could scrutinize a BHP takeover of Potash Corp. under China's antimonopoly law.

The steady investment helped BHP keep mines running at peak productivity levels and let it expand some projects.

The proposed BHP-Potash deal will be another intriguing test run for the limits of political intervention.

Companies as diverse as PetroChina, BHP Billiton and BP will have to comply.

Last month, the west Australian government approved the Rio and BHP establishment ore joint venture.

BHP said it no longer had any connection with the projects under question.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are the world's second and third-largest iron ore producers, respectively.

But he cautioned that BHP was expected to emerge from the downturn "less strongly than in previous cycles" .

The surge came as miners Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Vale of Brazil reported strong demand for iron ore and coking coal.

Nor is Chinalco's denial that the Rio raid had anything to do with the BHP bid.

Australia's Parliament passed a mining tax on companies that operate in the country, which include BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

It is now the world's second-largest miner: smaller than BHP Billiton, but bigger than Rio Tinto and other better-known rivals.

Signs that China plans to do battle with BHP Billiton Ltd. for Canada's Potash Corp. are mounting.

China was opposed to this idea, fearing that a combined BHP-Rio would wield too much pricing power over iron ore supplies to Asia.

The likelihood the European Commission would require BHP to sell some iron ore and coal assets also made the deal less attractive.

But the fact remains that BHP and Rio should be pushing for even higher prices.

Under UK rules, a shareholder vote is required when the size of the deal relative to BHP's own market value exceeds 25 per cent.

The initial agreement was made six months ago following a failed bid by BHP Billiton to take over its smaller rival.

Negotiations with BHP Billiton, however, were proving thornier.

The move by Chinalco is not regarded as a blocking stake to BHP Billiton's bid for Rio Tinto.

"Our offer does not require approval from the EU, " said Ruban Yogarajah, a spokesman for BHP, the world's biggest mining company.

One of its arguments against BHP is that the latter's plan to produce flat out will lead to disaster.

The diversified mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton also curbed production.

Goodyear's tenure at BHP Billiton was bookended by the shadow of industry rival Rio Tinto.

BHP Billiton Ltd. , the world's largest mining company, retreated 2. 6 percent to 2, 292 pence as base metal prices declined in London.

Around the same time, Rio Tinto, BHP and Vale took a tougher line in the iron ore negotiations.

BHP wants to make the acquisition to diversify sales and benefit from surging demand for fertilizer as food-needs grow.

In May, asked about a potential BHP bid, Doyle said: "If anyone takes a run at us, it won't be cheap. "

Anglo-Australian mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton declined to comment.

Both deals pale in size next to BHP Billiton's hostile $39 billion offer for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, disclosed Tuesday.

Their Pilbara iron ore mines (BHP and Rio) and coal mines (all) are fantastically profitable.

"Even uncontested, they will pay too much, " said a Melbourne-based fund manager whose fund owns BHP shares.

Potash Corp has asked the court to resolve the litigation before the November 18 deadline on BHP's bid, the source said.

Santander was among a group of banks that helped BHP pull together a $45bn loan facility for the PotashCorp bid.

Rio and BHP Billiton, its Australian competitor, have yet to sign any annual iron ore contracts.

The second most important profits driver, however, was the base metals division that includes BHP's copper mines.

BHP has a cash pile estimated at $11 billion, but shareholders might complain that it is paying too much.

The strike had already forced BHP to cut output at the mine to about 40 per cent of capacity.

That might boost some commodity prices, like foods; less so the metals that Rio Tinto and BHP produce.

Other resources plays also got a boost, with Australian heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto each adding 2. 6%.

BHP may face competition from Chinese bidders, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said last month.

Spokesmen from both Rio and BHP reiterated that iron ore marketing will remain separate.

BHP's $130 a share cash offer does not currently require shareholder approval.

However, the package still requires ministerial approval, while the conditions imposed on a bid could yet prove too onerous for BHP.

Ruban Yogarajah, a London-based spokesman for BHP, declined to comment on the Daily Mail report when contacted by Bloomberg News.

Booming demand has prompted Brazil's Vale to push for price increases of 90% or more, which Rio and BHP would follow.

In sterling terms, BHP Billiton and Vale's share prices have both fallen by 20 per cent, Rio's and Anglo's by a quarter.

BHP is due to release its fourth-quarter production figures next week.

Paul Skinner, an obdurate opponent of BHP's advances, had recently stood down as chairman of Rio.

"It is not possible at this time to predict the scope or duration of the investigation, " BHP said.

In past years, Rio and BHP, the second and third-largest producers, would have followed suit within days.

'It's a tight labor market and difficult cost environment, ' said Ian Ashby, president of BHP BillitonLtd. 's iron-ore division.

The bankers are betting that China's leaders are worried enough about food prices that they will take on BHP Billiton.

Perhaps BHP and Rio are so misunderstood by the market that they are lumped together.

The steelmakers have failed to agree a 2008-09 annual contract price with Rio and BHP Billiton despite months of talks.