Any business entity would resolve to hiring qualified people with good background and experience. Some entities process the hiring by giving series of tests, through evaluations and ratings. For some, they prefer promoting people from within the organization than hiring new ones. Read the rest of this entry »
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) – At least two top 10 shareholders in miner Xstrata plan to vote against a takeover by commodities trader Glencore, threatening the creation of a powerhouse spanning mining, agriculture and trading.
Standard Life Investments and Schroders said on Tuesday the deal, the mining sector’s biggest, to buy the remaining 66 percent of Xstrata for $41 billion, undervalued their shares.
The deal, designed to create a company to rival mining heavyweights such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, needs to be approved by 75 percent of shareholders excluding Glencore, which is barred from voting.
Standard Life, the fourth largest investor in Xstrata, and Schroders together own 3.6 percent of Xstrata, but 5.6 percent of the shares needed for approval, according to Thomson Reuters data. Their stand may persuade others to follow suit.
“I’m in complete agreement with Standard Life and we intend to do exactly the same. This is a fabulous deal for Glencore, it’s probably a great deal for the Xstrata management, but it’s a poor deal for Xstrata’s majority shareholders,” Schroders’ Richard Buxton told Reuters.
Broker Liberum Capital said in a note: “Only 16 percent of Xstrata’s register have to vote against the deal to block it, which means there is a significant risk Glencore’s proposal isn’t passed,”
Xstrata Chief Executive Mick Davis, who will be CEO of the enlarged company, admitted the two companies would have to work hard to bring some of his shareholders on board.
“We clearly have to now go to our shareholders and speak to them and take them through the transaction … we’ve got a long gestation period, we recognize that,” he told analysts.
Xstrata shareholders other than Glencore will hold 45 percent of the new company, to be named Glencore Xstrata International, even though Xstrata assets would comprise about 65 percent of the combined group’s asset value.
Terms of the deal look set to spark tensions within investment houses which hold both Xstrata and Glencore stock.
Portfolio managers at a third top 10 investor are due to discuss the merits of the tie-up and the relative value for investors in each firm before deciding whether to reject or back the deal, a spokeswoman said, declining to be identified.
MERGER CLOUT
The new group, with mining assets from New Caledonia to the Democratic Republic of Congo, is expected to use its clout to look at other deals, including potentially a takeover of Anglo American.
“MA is a space that you’d
Article source: here
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks edged lower at the open on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of discussions on a bailout package for Greece from international lenders that would help the country avoid a chaotic default.
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos negotiated through most of the night with lenders from the European Union and International Monetary Fund over more fiscal reforms as trade unions staged a national strike against more cuts.
A Greek government official said the nation is preparing the text of an agreement on a 130-billion euro bailout that must be put to political leaders for approval, suggesting Athens had largely wrapped up talks with lenders.
“Markets would love to see some certainty, and we don’t have any of that at the moment,” said Frank Lesh, a futures analyst and broker at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago.
“On the equities side, we’ve come a long way, and we are getting into overbought territory, so most of us are expecting a bit of a pullback or a period of consolidation – the depth of the pullback really depends on Greece and the European debt problems.”
A disorderly Greece debt default could lead to increased fiscal problems for weaker members of the euro zone and dampen the U.S. recovery.
European shares fell on the Greece talks and after disappointing results from investment bank UBS AG (UBSN.VX)(UBS.N) and shipbuilder Alfa Laval AB (ALFA.ST). The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 0.7 percent. .EU
The benchmark SP index had risen for five straight weeks on the back of improving U.S. economic data, punctuated by the Friday payrolls report, to lift the index up almost 7 percent for the year. A light economic calendar this week has shifted investor focus back to the euro zone.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 38.30 points, or 0.30 percent, to 12,806.83. The Standard Poor’s 500 Index .SPX.INX dropped 4.83 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,339.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped 9.72 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,892.27.
Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) edged up 0.2 percent to $68.15 after the soft-drink maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results and announced a new cost-savings program.
As earnings season winds down, investors awaited results from companies including Lincoln National Corp (LNC.N) and Walt Disney Co (DIS.N).
Emerson Electric Co (EMR.N) dipped 3.4 percent to $51.54 after it reported lower quarterly sales and earnings as last year’s floods in Thailand disrupted supply chains and weak
Article source: here
The success or failure of a sales presentation is dependent on the degree of skill being applied at the listening end of a conversation with a prospect or customer. The buyer’s reaction to the sales person’s personality, products and organization will be attained if effective listening skills are applied. Read the rest of this entry »
ATHENS/PARIS |
ATHENS/PARIS (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greece on Monday to make up its mind fast on accepting the painful terms for a new EU/IMF bailout, but the country’s political leaders responded by delaying their decision for yet another day.
Failure to strike a deal to secure the 130 billion euro ($170 billion) rescue – much of which Germany will fund – risks pushing Athens into a chaotic debt default which could threaten its future in the euro zone.
Speaking in Paris, Merkel expressed the exasperation spreading among euro zone leaders at seemingly endless wrangling in Athens that has yet to produce a definitive acceptance of the austerity and reform conditions demanded by the lenders.
“I honestly can’t understand how additional days will help. Time is of the essence. A lot is at stake for the entire euro zone,” she told a news conference with President Nicolas Sarkozy.
But leaders of the three parties in the coalition government appeared to need at least one additional day.
The office of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, a former central banker who heads a government of politicians, said that a meeting of leaders from the conservative, socialist and far-right parties due on Monday had been postponed to Tuesday.
A statement issued shortly after Merkel spoke gave no reason for the delay. However, it said Papademos would hold further talks with the “troika” of lenders – the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF – later on Monday.
The party leaders, positioning themselves for a likely general election in April, have baulked at accepting another package of deeply unpopular wage and pension reductions, job cuts and tougher tax enforcement measures.
PATIENCE WEARING THIN
Merkel made clear that her patience was wearing thin on a deal that affects not only Greece but the wider currency bloc, which fears that a default would hit much larger economies such as Spain and Italy.
In a fresh sign of mistrust, the German leader said she and Sarkozy agreed Greece should deposit revenue to meet future interest payments in a special escrow account to guarantee that creditors were paid consistently.
“We want Greece to stay in the euro,” she said. But she added: “I want to make clear once again that there can be no deal if the troika proposals are not implemented. They are on the table … Something needs to happen quickly.”
“A lot is at stake for the entire euro zone,” added Merkel, whose country
Article source: here
Subscribe to Feeds Cash Subsidy