India never halts buying Iran oil - Mr Reddy

Sunday, 04 Mar 2012

Tehran Times cited Mr S Jaipal Reddy oil minister of India as saying that government is not facing any external pressure on buying crude oil from Iran and will abide by UN sanctions only not those imposed by any bloc of nations.

Mr Reddy said that rejecting US and European sanctions against Iran we respect UN sanctions but will not honor any other sanction. We have cordial relations with Iran and we continue to import oil from them.

US have imposed sanctions that deny access to the US financial system to any foreign bank that conducts business with the central bank of Iran. Besides, European Union has agreed to ban oil imports from Iran starting July 1st 2012 as part of measures to ratchet up the pressure on the Persian Gulf nation's nuclear program.

Mr Reddy rejected US President Mr Barack Obama's statement that demand in China and India was responsible for spiraling international oil prices and said that India's per capita consumption at 442 kilogram of oil equivalent was much lower than world average of 1,715 kilogram. Geo political reasons are to be blamed for spike in global oil prices.

He said that India is currently world's fourth largest consumer of energy accounting for 4.4% of world's annual energy consumption. USA, China and Russian federation are the top 3 energy consumers. Almost 40% of the primary energy consumption is by USA and China.

Mr Reddy said that the energy sector has witnessed major volatility in crude oil prices, scarcity of services and economic meltdown globally in the past few years. Global demand for energy is oscillating in tandem with the economic condition of the world. Economics in the energy sector is also being affected by the dynamics in global political scenario and economic sanctions regime leaving an adverse impact on the demand supply situation.

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Currently, the domestic energy supplies are limited and the import dependence is as high as 80% for crude oil and 25% in case of natural gas. The situation may not change much in the 12th Plan period as the demand for oil and gas is increasing. The share of oil and gas in Indian energy basket is about 40%.

He said that with the projected demand and supply gap, it is imperative for US to enhance energy security for the country for which intense efforts in exploration activities in India as well as abroad are being made.

(Sourced from Tehrantimes.com

Italy, Spain, Portugal Among Six Cut by Moody's

Tue, Feb. 14, 2012

(Bloomberg) -- Moody's Investors Service cut the debt ratings of six European countries including Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta, and said it may strip France and the U.K. of their top Aaa ratings, citing Europe's debt crisis. Caroline Hyde and Mark Barton report on Bloomberg Television's "First Look." (source: Bloomberg)

NTPC likely to exit JVs with Alstom - Report

Tuesday, 06 Dec 2011

Live Mint reported that India’s biggest power generation utility NTPC Ltd may wind up one affiliate and exit a joint venture with European company Alstom SA as part of a restructuring exercise suggested by consultant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd.

People familiar with the situation said that the state owned company is considering closing NTPC Hydro Ltd and leaving NTPC-Alstom Power Services Pvt. Ltd, as suggested in a draft report submitted by Deloitte.

NTPC Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station at Shaktinagar in Sonbhadra District of Uttar Pradesh.

In addition, the report recommended a timed exit by NTPC from equipment manufacturing joint ventures such as NTPC BHEL Power Projects Pvt. Ltd, BF NTPC Energy Systems Ltd (BFNESL) and NTPC-Telk, a tie-up with Transformers and Electricals Kerala Ltd.

(Sourced from Livermint.com)

Zimbabwe Hwange Colliery plans to ship coal through Maputo

Friday, 21 Oct 2011

Bloomberg cited Mr Oliver Maponga Business Development Manager as saying that Hwange Colliery Ltd Zimbabwe largest coal miner plans to ship 30,000 to 50,000 tonnes of coal a month through Mozambique’s port of Maputo.

Mr Maponga said Hwange is in talks with port authorities after starting to use Mozambique central Beira port last year. The company which produces 400,000 tons of coal a month is studying markets in India China and Western Europe.

(Sourced from Reuters)

Occupy action turns to U.S., Canada

October16, 2011

NEW YORK – Demonstrations motivated by the Occupy Wall Street movement that started Saturday in New Zealand and then headed west to European cities were being followed by protests in North America, with marches held in cities in the U.S. and Canada.

In New York, about 2,000 protesters marched through the city’s financial district before a rally in Times Square planned to begin at 5 p.m. Eastern. “At the present time, Broadway matinee and evening shows will go on as scheduled,” the Broadway League said in a statement reported by Reuters.

“Wall Street CEOs are doing very well and sitting on tons of money and they’re not contributing their fair share and shared responsibility to the economy,” Ted Fang of the United Auto Workers was quoted as saying by local news station NY1.

In Washington, the March for Jobs and Justice, organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton and others, was planned as a show of support for President Barack Obama’s jobs proposal. According to a story in the Washington Post, Sharpton, referring to Congress, told the crowd: “If you won’t get the jobs bill done in the suite, we will get the jobs bill done in the street. It’s time for us to occupy Wall Street! Occupy DC! Occupy Alabama!”

Separately, others gathered in a show of support for district voting rights and the Occupy Wall Street movement, eventually joining Sharpton’s group at the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial.

About two dozen protesters were reportedly arrested Saturday in Denver, and hundreds marched in Florida’s capital in participating in “Occupy Tallahassee.” At least 500 were expected to attend a rally in downtown Miami.

A few dozen protesters have been camped out for the past week in Charlotte, N.C., not far from the headquarters of the country’s largest bank, Bank of America Corp., according to the Associated Press.

Police in Pittsburgh planned to close several streets for a march ahead of a planned rally and camp in Mellon Green, a small park owned by BNY Mellon, scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

In Canada, several thousand people gathered in a Toronto park near the city’s financial district, to protest inequality and higher taxes for the rich. Hundreds also reportedly gathered in Montreal, with demonstrators setting up tents in Victoria Park.

By Kate Gibson, Marketwatch

JFE may build a new steel plant in SE Asia

Thursday, 13 Oct 2011

FT reported that JFE Steel is preparing a plan to build a new USD 3 billion steelmaking unit in South East Asia.

If the company goes ahead with the plan, it would mark the first time since the Second World War that any large Japanese steelmaker has built a large integrated plant outside Japan.

Mr Eiji Hayashida CEO of JFE told the Financial Times that a decision over going ahead with such a plant was likely within the next two years and could possibly be with a local industry partner.

He added that "It' the only way I can see to provide for the possibility of longer term growth for JFE, since I can see the opportunities for providing more steel in the company’s main traditional markets will be limited."

The countries JFE is most likely to choose for a new site includes Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Possible collaborators with JFE could include the steelmakers JSW of India and Thailand's Sahaviriya Steel Industries.

According to Mr Hayashida, in each of these countries, the longer term growth prospects for steel seemed better than in Japan, China and South Korea, which have acted as the main growth locomotives for JFE over the past 20 years.

In 2010, JFE made 32.7 million tonnes of steel, behind the 36.1 million tonnes of steel produced by Nippon Steel, its larger Japanese rival. This year JFE’s output is likely to be down to 31 million tonnes, of which about 17 million tonnes will probably be sold in Japan.

Mr Hayashida said that manufacturing in Japan had settled into what he thinks will be a long term steady decline as a result of rising environmental regulation, the strong yen and problems over guaranteeing energy supply at a reasonable cost.

As for China, he thinks the economy is likely to grow but at a slower rate than recently, partly because of concerns by the Chinese authorities about keeping inflation under control.

The JFE head also thinks growth in demand for steel from China will be reined back due to what he feels will be a slowdown in exports of goods from China to Europe over the next two years, as a result of the eurozone crisis.

He said that "I'm very worried about the damage that I think is being done to the European economy by the economic uncertainties. In my view these problems are going to cause damage to the Chinese economy as well."

(Sourced from Financial Times Limited)

Europe warned of systemic crisis over debt

Tue Oct 11, 2011
By Sakari Suoninen and Martin Santa

Frankfurt/Bratislava (Reuters) - Europe's top financial watchdog warned on Tuesday that the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis has become systemic and threatens global economic stability unless decisive action is taken urgently.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet issued the dramatic warning as chairman of the European Systemic Risk Board, created to avoid a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, amid growing fears that Greece will default on its massive debt.

"The crisis is systemic and must be tackled decisively," Trichet told a European Parliament committee in his final appearance before retiring at the end of the month.

"The high interconnectedness in the EU financial system has led to a rapidly rising risk of significant contagion. It threatens financial stability in the EU as a whole and adversely impacts the real economy in Europe and beyond."

European banking regulators meanwhile asked banks across the continent to provide updated data on their capital position and sovereign debt exposures to help reassess their need for recapitalisation.

Germany and France, the leading powers in the 17-nation euro zone, have promised to propose a comprehensive strategy to fight the debt crisis at an EU summit delayed until Oct. 23.

But they must first resolve differences over how to recapitalise banks, whether to force a Greek debt restructuring or stick to a voluntary deal with private bondholders and how to use the euro zone's rescue fund.

Trichet was speaking before international lenders were due to deliver a provisional verdict on Greece's troubled reform and austerity programme, while the fate of the euro zone's rescue fund hung in the balance in Slovakia's parliament.

Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova raised the stakes in a battle to win approval for new powers for the European Financial Stability Facility by tying the decision to a vote of confidence in her centre-right government.

The small, liberal SaS party, the only member of the five-party ruling coalition which opposes the EFSF, said it would abstain, depriving the government of the votes needed to pass the motion.

EU diplomats expressed confidence that the EFSF agreement approved by the 16 other euro zone countries would eventually be ratified, noting that the Slovak parliament can hold a second vote if ratification is rejected at the first attempt. However, it may bring down the government in Bratislava.

TORTURED PROGRESS

In Athens, inspectors from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund were due to issue a statement after completing an extended review of Greece's tortured progress on its bailout programme.

Anti-austerity protesters blocked ministries and state workers went on strike as Greeks awaited the verdict on whether international lenders will hand over a vital tranche of aid needed to stave off imminent bankruptcy.

The so-called troika is due to send a detailed report to euro zone finance ministers and the IMF board next week, and it was not clear whether Tuesday's statement would contain a clear recommendation on releasing the 8 billion euros the government needs to pay salaries and pensions in November. Its next major debt redemption is due in December.

Speaking shortly before the statement was due, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told a conference: "Greece is and will always be a member of the euro zone, a member of the euro."

Europe's inability to draw a line under the crisis has caused growing international alarm, with Japan weighing in on Tuesday after the United States and Britain pressed EU leaders to take decisive action.

Japan said it would consult with the United States before it considers buying more euro zone bonds. Finance Minister Jun Azumi urged Europe to restore market confidence in the run-up to a Group of 20 finance leaders' meeting in Paris this week.

Azumi repeated that Japan stood ready to buy more euro zone bonds so long as Europe comes up with a solid scheme to solve a crisis that has resulted in financial rescues for Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Interbank lending rates in Europe continued to rise amid growing concern over European banks' ability to handle the debt crisis, despite the prospect of massive ECB liquidity support.

Three-month Euribor rates , traditionally the main gauge of unsecured interbank euro lending and a mix of interest rate expectations and banks' appetite for lending, rose to 1.570 percent from 1.567 percent.

Some European banks voiced concern at the prospect of being forced by governments to raise additional capital some say they do not need, possibly taking public money.

Germany's banking association said Europe should look at recapitalisation on a case-by-case basis rather than taking a blanket approach apparently envisaged by Berlin and Paris.

The director of the BDB association, Michael Kemmer, also told ARD television that politicians should stick to a July agreement on voluntary private bondholder involvement in a rescue plan for Greece.

That deal envisaged a 21 percent writedown on Greek debt for banks and insurers that participate in a bond swap to reduce and stretch out Greece's debt burden.

However, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and the chairman of euro group finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, have said that figure may no longer be sufficient and the talks may have to be reopened.

Speaking on Austrian television late on Monday, Juncker refused to rule out a mandatory debt restructuring for Greece, which many market analysts and economists say is bound to happen in the coming months.

Many analysts see the rush to recapitalise European banks as a prelude to an enforced write-down of 50 percent or more on their Greek debt holdings. (sourced Reuters)

S.Africa coal exports fall m/m in Sept to 4.96 mln Ton

Wed Oct 5, 2011

JOHANNESBURG Oct 5 (Reuters) - South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) exported 4.96 million tonnes of coal in September compared with 6.987 million tonnes the previous month, RBCT data showed on Wednesday.

South Africa -- a major exporter of coal to power stations in Europe and Asia -- had 4.997 million tonnes of stock at the terminal at the end of September, RBCT said.

Coal producers in South Africa include Anglo American , BHP Billiton , Exxaro , Optimum Coal and Xstrata .

(sourced Reuters)

European coal advances USD 126 a tonne on second day

Friday, 12 Aug 2011

Thermal coal burned to generate electricity climbed 40 cents to USD 126.25 a tonne by 11:07 AM in London. Prices gained 0.6% on August 10th 2011.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)

No EC review for Macarthur Coal takeover

August10, 2011 | AAP

The European Commission does not need to review the planned takeover of Macarthur Coal by US giant Peabody Energy and the world's biggest steel maker, ArcelorMittal, the joint bidders say.

In a statement on Wednesday the bidders said they had been informed by the commission's directorate general for competition that the EU Merger Regulation does not apply to the all-cash $4.7 billion bid for the Queensland-based miner.

The offer was conditional on, among other things, the European Commission confirming that the offer did not fall within its jurisdiction.

The bidders currently have a 16.1 per cent stake in the target, representing ArcelorMittal's interest.

Macarthur last week rejected the hostile $15.50 per share bid after the parties were unable to agree on conditions for a sweetened $16 a share offer, with the target accusing ArcelorMittal and Peabody of imposing unreasonable restrictions.

Shares in Macarthur were up 47 cents, or 3.19 per cent, at $15.19 at 1240 AEST.

ANALYSIS - Costs of any Greek euro exit may be prohibitive

Sat May 7, 2011 2:42am IST
By Noah Barkin and Paul Taylor

BERLIN (Reuters) - The costs to a country of leaving the euro zone would be so high that many analysts think the bloc will do everything in its power to prevent an exit, even if that requires the richest members to keep bailing out weak states.

German magazine Spiegel reported on Friday that the Greek government had raised the possibility of breaking away from the 12-year-old euro area and reintroducing its own currency in talks with the European Commission and other member states in recent days.

The report was vigorously denied by the Greek finance ministry and officials from other member states. Sources did confirm that a small group of euro zone finance ministers were meeting in Luxembourg on Friday to discuss Greece and other pressing matters.

Leaving the currency union would carry huge economic, social, reputational and strategic costs for Greece or any other country. Greece would have to hive off its bank deposits from the rest of the euro zone banking system as it introduced a new currency, risking a run on its banks and huge disruption for its companies.

Banks across Europe would face losses on their Greek debt.

For the bloc as a whole, it would represent a humiliating setback because the common currency is broadly viewed as the culmination of half a century of European integration.

"To me the euro zone is a one-way street," said Gilles Moec, senior European economist at Deutsche Bank. "A breakup would have catastrophic consequences for the country that left. It would precipitate a run on the banks. I can't see how you do it in an orderly way."

Speculation about a possible euro zone breakup reached fever pitch in November of last year, but predictions that the bloc will fracture have come mainly from Anglo-Saxon sceptics.

Last summer, British economist Christopher Smallwood of consultants Capital Economics produced a 20-page paper entitled "Why the euro zone needs to break up" and U.S. economist Nouriel Roubini, nicknamed Dr. Doom, has said euro members will be forced to abandon the shared currency.

DEBT RESTRUCTURING RISK

Greece has struggled to meet the fiscal targets set out for it as part of its 110 billion euro ($160 billion) bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Over the past month, markets have priced in the sort of default risk that was once unthinkable for a euro zone state and expectations have risen that Greece will have to restructure its 327 billion euro debt load while other countries will have to provide more aid.

Political opposition in northern Europe to giving Greece more money and rising anger within the country at the tough austerity measures the government has put in place have created a dangerous new dynamic that has convinced more experts an exit may conceivably happen, although probably not for years.

By reintroducing the drachma, the argument goes, Greece could sharply devalue its currency against the euro and keep official interest rates ultra-low, regain competitiveness, and tackle its debt problem without the political and social upheaval associated with years of austerity-fuelled recession.

"I'm not suggesting that these stories are right," said Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics. "But we have said that we think it's quite likely that there will be some change to the membership of the euro area over the next four to five years and that one possible form will be the exit of a small economy like Greece.

"I don't think the idea is implausible at all."

But U.S. economist Barry Eichengreen, who authored a 2007 paper arguing that the single currency could not be undone, reaffirmed that belief last year as the Greek crisis deepened.

"Adopting the euro is effectively irreversible," he wrote in an article on the economics website Vox.

"Leaving would require lengthy preparations, which, given the anticipated devaluation, would trigger the mother of all financial crises," said Eichengreen, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

LEGAL NIGHTMARE

There is no legal procedure for leaving the euro zone and some economists argue that treaty changes would have to take place before an exit could happen.

"You would have to make it legal in order to leave," said Moec of Deutsche Bank. "You would probably have years of litigation on all the debt held outside the country."

Trade flows would probably be severely disrupted. Business costs would become unpredictable, inhibiting investment. Labour unrest and social strife would likely result as citizens faced mass unemployment, inflation and brutal public spending cuts.

That would far outweigh any potential boost to exports or tourism revenues from a devaluation.

"But what if the bank runs and financial crisis happen anyway?" Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman asked on his blog last November.

An exit that is neither planned nor chosen but imposed by irresistible market forces would dramatically reduce the marginal cost of leaving the euro, Krugman contended.

But that economic logic may underestimate the political will that has driven European monetary union since its inception.

(Additional reporting by Emelia Sithole in London; Writing by Noah Barkin; Editing by Ruth Pitchford, sourced Reuters)

Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions

Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:04am GM

March 14 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 0900 GMT on Monday.

** Spanish power utility Iberdrola said it needed 3 billion euros ($4.18 billion) in additional financing for an aquisition in Brazil, buying back its Renovables unit .

** Cellcom Israel has offered to buy its sister company

Netvision for about 1.5 billion shekels ($421 million) in cash, Israel's largest mobile phone operator said.

** U.S. private equity firm Mount Kellett Capital Management along with two Indian firms are close to buying 35 percent in pharma retailer MedPlus Health Services for 4.1 billion rupees ($91 million), the Times of India reported on Monday.

** Japan's Nippon Life Insurance Company is buying a 26 percent stake in India's Reliance Life Insurance for $680 million, the Indian company said in a statement.

** France Telecom and Kuwaiti logistics group Agility are to acquire a 44 percent stake in fast-growing Iraqi mobile operator Korek Telecom, the groups said in a joint statement.

** State-run Steel Authority of India said it is conducting a joint feasibility study with Japan's Kobe Steel for a steel plant and a 1,000 megawatt gas-based power plant in north India.

** Zain approved an offer by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding and Bahrain Telecom (Batelco) for its Saudi assets, paving the way for completion of a $12 billion stake deal with UAE's Etisalat .

** Furniture retailer JD Group said it has agreed to buy Steinhoff's South African retail unit for about 3 billion rand ($436.1 million).

** Care homes operator Southern Cross Healthcare Group said it had walked away from offer talks and was instead looking to its landlords and the government to help tackle its increasingly precarious financial situation.

** British printing company St Ives Plc said it agreed to sell its loss-making magazine business for 20 million pounds ($32.5 million) to a unit of private equity firm Walstead Investments Ltd.

** Spanish oil company Repsol said on Monday private investors have agreed to buy 3.83 percent of its Argentine unit YPF at $42.4 per share.

** Troubled company AssetCo Plc , the largest outsourcing partner to London Fire Brigade, rejected a fresh takeover approach calling it "opportunistic", exactly a month after its short-term funding issues punctured offer talks with a third party.

(Compiled by Krishnakali Sengupta in Bangalore,sourced:Reuters)

Italy 2010 steel import, export jump -Federacciai

Fri Feb 25, 2011 3:50pm GMT

MILAN(Reuters) - Steel imports into Italy, a major European producer, jumped 30.5 percent year-on-year to 16.385 million tonnes in 2010, data from Italy's industry body Federacciai showed.

Italy's steel export rose 20.3 percent last year to 15.133 million tonnes, Federacciai said.

(Reporting by Svetlana Kovalyova; editing by Keiron Henderson,sourced:Thomson Reuters)

Few European countries have closer ties to Moammar Gadhafi’s Libya than Italy

Italy’s ties to Libya in spotlight amid unrest Libya turmoil could hurt Italian companies, Eni in focus

LONDON, Feb23, 2011, 12:01 p.m.EST
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch

It’s little surprise then that the Italian stock market fell sharply this week, as a popular uprising against the 42-year regime of Gadhafi escalated, leading to violent turmoil and uncertainty about the path ahead for the oil-rich North African nation.

Libya, which was once an Italian colony, is a key supplier of oil and natural gas to Italy. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government has spent years wooing Gadhafi, leading to considerable cross-border investment.

“Berlusconi has made enormous efforts to strengthen institutional ties between Italy and Libya, but also to strengthen personal ties between himself and Gadhafi,” said James Walston, a professor at the American University in Rome.

“If Gadhafi goes, that could cause trouble for Italian interests,” he said.

Italian companies have invested heavily in Libya, which is home to Africa’s biggest proven oil reserves. Energy giant Eni SpA /quotes/comstock/23g!eni (IT:ENI 17.40, +0.32, +1.87%) /quotes/comstock/13*!e/quotes/nls/e (E 47.77, +0.84, +1.79%) was Libya’s biggest international hydrocarbon operator in 2009, according to its website. Eni has operated in Libya since 1959.

In the construction and engineering sector, Impregilo SpA /quotes/comstock/23g!ipg (IT:IPG 2.25, -0.01, -0.62%) has several key projects under development in Libya, including a conference hall in Tripoli and university campuses in three other cities.

In turn, Libya owns stakes in some of Italy’s highest-profile companies, including banking giant UniCredit SpA /quotes/comstock/23g!ucg (IT:UCG 1.84, -0.01, -0.60%) , aerospace and defense group Finmeccanica SpA /quotes/comstock/23g!fnc (IT:FNC 9.00, +0.05, +0.50%) , and soccer powerhouse Juventus Football Club SpA /quotes/comstock/23g!juve (IT:JUVE 0.86, -0.01, -0.98%) .

As investors worried about what the Libyan unrest would mean for Italian companies, Milan’s benchmark FTSE MIB stock index slumped 3.6% Monday and a further 1.1% Tuesday. The index closed down 0.3% on Wednesday. Read more about European stock markets.

So far this week, Eni and UniCredit shares have both declined 7%. Impregilo’s shares are down more than 8%.

Berlusconi in a tough spot

International pressure on the Libyan leader has grown following his brutal crackdown on protesters. At least 300 people have died in the unrest, according to reports. Italy’s foreign minister on Wednesday was quoted as saying the death toll was likely over 1,000.

In a defiant televised address Tuesday, Gadhafi vowed to fight and to remain in Libya “until the end.”

Italy’s close ties to Libya have put Berlusconi in a difficult situation, as international condemnation of Gadhafi has grown.

The Italian prime minister said Monday he was alarmed by the escalation of clashes and Libya’s “unacceptable” use of violence against the civilian population. The statement came only after Berlusconi was sharply criticized in Italy for failing to denounce earlier the violence used by Libya against protesters. Over the weekend, Berlusconi reportedly said he hadn’t gotten in touch with the Libyan leader because he didn’t want to “bother” Gadhafi during the crisis.

“Berlusconi has been much more subservient [to Gadhafi],” Walston said. “There is one photograph from last year when Berlusconi bends down and kisses Gadhafi’s hand.”

Trade data also illustrate Italy’s ties to Libya. In 2010, the 27 member states of the European Union imported goods from Libya valued at 27.3 billion euros ($37.5 billion). Of that total, by far the largest amount — €11.8 billion — went to Italy, according to data from Eurostat.

France followed with €4.7 billion of Libyan imports, while Spain and Germany were next with more than €3 billion each.

Energy ties

“If the unrest becomes a war, then that will affect Italy’s oil and gas supplies,” Walston said. “If supplies are cut off for any extended period, then it would be a very serious problem for Italy.”

Eni said Tuesday that supplies of natural gas from Libya through the Greenstream pipeline have been suspended. The move came after Eni temporarily suspended some of its oil and gas activities in Libya as a precaution.

“However, Eni is still able to meet its customers’ demand for gas,” Eni said in a statement.

Currently, Italy relies on Libya for around 10% of its gas and 25% of its oil.

“A peaceful solution in Libya looks unlikely for now as Gadhafi indicates that he won’t go quietly,” which will likely mean “more pain for Eni,” said strategists at Evolution Securities in a note to clients.

Mohammed El-Katiri, an analyst at Eurasia Group, said in a note that tribal support will be a key element in determining Gadhafi’s fate.

“Some form of civil conflict is likely, which will ensure that foreign technical workers in the oil sector will not make a quick return to Libya,” El-Katiri wrote. “Thus, we foresee a significant impact on oil production and exports flowing out of these tumultuous political events.”

Polya Lesova is chief of MarketWatch’s London bureau.

Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions

Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:32pm GMT

Feb 23 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 1430 GMT on Wednesday.

** Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has offered to buy its majority-owned midstream energy firm Duncan Energy Partners L.P. for about $2.42 billion in units to ramp up its pipeline services amid higher North American gas production.

** Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Norinchukin Bank are planning to invest an additional 100 billion yen ($1.2 billion) in credit card firm Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos, two sources familiar with the matter said.

** Rio Tinto , the world's third-largest miner by market value, said it received a binding $340 million offer from industrial materials group Imerys for its talc business.

** Belgian holding company RHJ International will sell its 77.9 percent stake in Japanese car switches maker Niles Co. Ltd for 15.5 billion yen ($187.5 million) in cash, it said.

** Cable & Wireless Communications said it would sell its operating business in Bermuda to Canada's Bragg Group for $70 million, as it remodels its Caribbean operations to battle a weak economy and strong competition.

** Nasdaq OMX Group Inc could launch a rival bid for NYSE Euronext to avoid being left out of a global merger frenzy among exchanges, a source said.

** Rotork PLC said it is to buy Rotork Servo Controles De Mexico, its Mexican sales and service agent.

** Lockheed Martin Corp is selling its Pacific Architects and Engineers Inc military services business to private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg LLC.

** Tesco , Britain's biggest retailer, is not the leading contender for Polish retail chain Zabka, put on the block by private equity firm Penta Investments, several sources told Reuters.

** Hong Kong's CLP Holdings Ltd is likely to sell a 24 percent stake in Thailand's Electricity Generating Pcl (EGCO) to Tokyo Electric Power Co , a source close to the deal said.

** Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk expects to finalise the sale of supermarket chain Netto in the UK "some time in 2011", Chief Executive Nils Andersen told a teleconference.

** Natixis SA is still interested in UniCredit SpA's asset manager Pioneer, the French bank's chairman said and UniCredit said bids should be made by the end of March.

** Dutch food and chemicals group CSM unveiled plans a for a new bio plastics joint venture and said it was in talks to set up the new factory with Thai-based Indorama Ventures .

** Qatar is open to buying stakes in part state-owned UK lenders RBS and Lloyds Banking Group and has discussed investing in the UK, Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani said.

** Spanish infrastructure firm Abertis is studying a plan to spin off its car parking and logistics units, the latest indication of the influence its new, dividend-hungry private equity shareholder is exerting.
(Compiled by Swetha Gopinath and Rachel Chitra in Bangalore, sourced:Thomson Reuters)

Chinese steel export facing increasing difficulty

Friday, 18 Feb 2011

It is reported that though the latest statistics showed Chinese steel export turned better in January, the resistance is increasing, for instance, frequent friction on Chinese steel from overseas market, overseas demand tends to weak and weak competitiveness of Chinese products.
Report from CISA showed the export environment in 2011 is not optimistic, with export for Korea, India and ASEAN taking up 48.2% of total export volume. Korea increased steel capacity by 15 million tonnes and estimating to cut import from China.

The latest analysis report from China Customs pointed out that international demand for steel may remain sluggish due to slow pace of European and American recovery. Data issued by US Department of Commerce showed the importing volume of America in 2010 once kept decreasing for consecutive three months.

Furthermore, trade barriers from overseas market came one after another, causing heavier obstacles on Chinese steel export. A US trade panel on February 7th approved combined final duties ranging up to nearly 450% on steel drill pipe from China used in oil production.

Customs report also listed other trade remedy cases on Chinese steel products, for instance, Russia on November 23rd 2010 decided to impose 29.9% to 39.1% anti dumping duties on Ni containing stainless steel, earlier in Sep. Chinese steel products suffered trade remedy investigations from Canada and EU. (sourced:mysteel.net)

Tags:Chinese steel export, facing difficulty,CISA, Korea, India, ASEAN, European, American, US Department of Commerce,Canada, EU,steelmills