Reuters — Activist hedge fund ValueAct Capital on Friday disclosed it had bought a 5.7 per cent stake in Agrium, one and a half years after the Canadian fertilizer and ag retailer maker won a proxy battle aimed at breaking up the company. Agrium’s shares jumped nearly seven per cent in morning trading in New […] Read more
ValueAct buys stake in fertilizer dealer Agrium
PotashCorp hurt by fall in income from overseas investments
Reuters — Saskatchewan-based PotashCorp has narrowed its full-year earnings forecast range and reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit as income fell from its overseas investments. The price of potash has plunged year over year, triggered by the breakup last year of trading partnership Belarusian Potash Co. that created more competition among producers. PotashCorp, the world’s biggest […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans, wheat, corn rebound on technical buying
Reuters — Chicago grain and soybean futures rose Thursday on technical buying, rebounding from losses in the previous session that were due to forecasts for favourable harvest weather in the week ahead. Bargain-buying also buoyed soybeans after the previous session’s loss, while short-covering added to wheat’s advances. Some investors may see grains as a safer […] Read more
Staff, hog shortages leave Canada’s pork industry squealing
Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — Shortages of hogs and packing plant workers in Canada, exacerbated by recent government restrictions, may severely cut hog processing and pork exports, helping to keep North American retail pork prices near record highs. Farmers in Canada, the world’s third-biggest pork shipper, are also bracing for the spread of a deadly virus […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans slip on big harvest views, spreading against corn
Reuters — Soybeans slipped on Wednesday on rising expectations of a huge U.S. harvest and spread trading against corn. Corn rose on short-covering ahead of a key U.S. government crop report, while technical buying bolstered Chicago wheat. Spread trading between corn and soybeans accelerated soybeans’ declines, as the trade assumed corn may not see as […] Read more
Fertilizer maker Mosaic cuts phosphate output
Reuters –– Mosaic Co., the world’s largest maker of finished phosphate products, said Tuesday it will reduce phosphate output, and it dampened sales expectations. The U.S. fertilizer producer said the curtailment, due to the high costs of raw materials sulfur and ammonia, is not expected to result in worker layoffs. The reduction comes as corn […] Read more
Canadian fertilizer firms brace for fall in U.S. crop prices
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian fertilizer companies PotashCorp and Agrium are bracing for a pullback in demand from U.S. farmers due to sliding crop prices, but say any slump is unlikely to be severe. The prospect for a record-large U.S. corn crop has dragged Chicago nearby corn futures to a four-year low. Lower prices of […] Read more
Frozen barley crops to push craft beer prices higher
Winnipeg | Reuters –– Beer prices in North America may rise next year as brewers and maltsters face higher costs after cold, wet weather damaged Canadian barley crops and left farmers and tipplers crying in their beer. Canada, the world’s second-biggest exporter of malting barley, was already harvesting its smallest crop since 1968, before a […] Read more
PotashCorp may raise 2015 potash output
Reuters — Saskatchewan’s PotashCorp, the world’s second-biggest potash producer, is recalling workers at some of its Canadian mines as it gears up for a possible rise in production in 2015, a senior executive said Wednesday. The company cut its workforce by 18 per cent in December, including about 570 workers in potash operations. [Related story] […] Read more
Canada’s small fertilizer firms shuffle ranks, search for capital
Reuters — Capital-strapped small fertilizer companies in Canada are shuffling their senior executive ranks to draw investors in a period of weak prices. Stonegate Agricom Ltd., which is developing a phosphate mine in Idaho, said on Tuesday that CEO Mark Ashcroft resigned, the latest change at the top among small players in the sector. Others […] Read more
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