BHP’s Bid For PotashCorp Tough Call For Government

Canada’s Conservative government will put its pro-business reputation on the line when it decides whether to let a foreign firm buy up resource giant PotashCorp, and Ottawa will win enemies whichever way it turns. If it says yes it will alienate supporters in the western province of Saskatchewan, whose right-leaning government both backs the federal



Surge In Grain Prices May Force BHP’s Hand

Surging world grain markets may force BHP Billiton to raise its $130-a-share offer for PotashCorp by 25 per cent or more as a subsequent jump in fertilizer shares wiped out its initial bid’s premium to investors. The burst in grain prices late last week may herald a fresh round of food inflation that won’t disappear

PotashCorp Suit Versus BHP Allowed To Proceed

CHICAGO/REUTERS AU. S. federal judge said on Sept. 27 he would allow the discovery process to proceed in a lawsuit filed by PotashCorp to fend off BHP Billiton’s $39-billion hostile takeover bid. The lawsuit, filed last week in a U. S. District Court in Chicago, alleges that BHP misrepresented material facts related to its bid


In Brief… – for Sep. 9, 2010

Contractor dies in fall at greenhouse:An electrical contractor has died of injuries in a fall at Vanderveens’ Greenhouses, a major bedding plant and potted plant operation west of Carman, RCMP reported. The contractor, a 58-year-old man, was on a ladder propped up against a pole where he was unhooking hydro lines on the morning of

The $40-Billion Potash Pie – for Sep. 2, 2010

American farmers hardly noticed when, in mid- August, news broke that Australian-based BHP Billiton was willing to pay nearly $40 billion for the world’s largest fertilizer producer, Saskatchewan’s PotashCorp. The disinterest was honest; after all, who was BHP Billiton and what did it want with a Canadian fertilizer firm in the steady, if not dull,


Potash “Oligopoly” May Crack In Longer Term

“The oligopoly’s discipline has formed the backbone for the group’s valuation.” – DAHLMAN ROSE AND CO. REPORT Amajor U. S. investment bank following the potash sector sees a “ratcheting up” in the sector’s risk profile that may suggest a possible shift in market competition in the longer term. In a recent report on its longer-term

Mosaic Sees Potash Sales Rising In 2010

Fertilizer producer Mosaic Co. said Jan. 6 it expects shipments of potash to increase in 2010 following dismal demand for the crop nutrient in 2009. The company expects global potash shipments of 47 million tonnes to 50 million tonnes in 2010, compared with global sales of about 32 million tonnes in 2009, a company executive


Potash Slump Hits Saskatchewan

Potash sales in Saskatchewan, one of the world’s richest sources of the crop nutrient, have dropped to their lowest level in 37 years, punching a $1.8-billion hole in the province’s budget. Saskatchewan was expecting $1.9 billion in potash revenue when it set its 2009-10 budget in March, but slashed that estimate to $637.6 million in

As The World Spins

There’s an urban myth that makes the rounds every so often about the genealogist researching her own family tree. She discovers that she shares a common ancestor with a prominent politician and so, does a little more digging. It turns out the ancestor was a notorious criminal, a horse thief who escaped from prison to