Brad Potter, Head of Australian Equities at Nikko AM Australia recently visited China, primarily to find out what has been driving recent increases in iron ore and coal prices and whether they can be sustained. It appears that supply side reforms are taking place in the materials sector and there... Show More
The widely observed slow down in China’s property and infrastructure sectors has meant that the 839 million tonnes of steel being produced in China annually is not being absorbed by the construction industry. In fact residential property construction (which demands the highest proportion of steel), commercial and industrial have all... Show More
In July 2011 shares in junior iron ore miner Atlas traded as high as $4.34 valuing the company in excess of $4billion. Today the shares sit suspended at 12cents. The company’s directors are now hitting the streets in an attempt to convince investors that a new look and lower cost... Show More
"Market Bites" brings together quick links to news and articles for our clients, which we think they may not have read, and will hopefully find of interest. Click for the last edition to take a look http://bit.ly/1J1tjJf Show More
Matthew Kidman hosts Steve Johnson from Forager Funds and Tim Carleton from Auscap Asset Management in our regular thematic video discussion. Iron Ore continues to defy expectations and move lower. BHP, RIO, Vale and FMG have all opened the production floodgates and, combined with the slow down in China, the... Show More
Vale cuts dividend more than forecast. Vale SA, the world's largest iron-ore producer, will reduce dividends more than analysts estimated this year as prices for the steel-making ingredient are expected to hover near six-year lows. The Rio de Janeiro-based company will pay at least $2 billion in dividends this year,... Show More
Iron-Ore has plunged 40% this year, but we still feel BHP will fall ~30% further. RIO was +6.6% overseas, as it considers a merger with Glencore to create the world's largest Iron-Ore producer. Iron-ore prices have plunged 41% this year, I see no short/medium term change in this trend. Vale, the largest... Show More
The iron-ore oligarchy of Vale, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have been boosting supply even as prices have been declining. You don't do that if you wish to sustain high prices. Rather they are attempting to drive high cost producers out of business in an effort to maintain market share... Show More
A golden age for Brazilian iron ore? With the football World Cup in full swing in Brazil, it is worth mentioning another large contributor to the Brazilian economy - iron ore. Brazil remains the second largest seaborne supplier of iron ore to China (behind Australia) and is home to the... Show More
Every cloud has a silver lining and for iron ore heavyweights BHP and RIO, falling prices are driving Chinese competitors out of business. As the lowest-cost producers in the world, the 'big three' iron ore producers - Vale, RIO and BHP - are able to utilise recent price weakness to... Show More
While China's steel mills are enjoying lower iron ore prices, the downside for China is that high-cost domestic miners are struggling. This year's sharp drop in iron ore prices to below $90 a tonne overnight could force China to close up to 80 million tonnes of domestic mine production, more... Show More
Word has spread that one of the most popular features in the UBS research universe this month has been an attempt to calculate breakeven production prices for all Australian iron ore producers. UBS analysts have subsequently followed-up with a broadened exercise, including major international producers as well. First observation is,... Show More
