FYI....
Post/wire say Banro, Teck lead race to commodity bottom
2013-04-03 09:23 ET - In the News
See In the News (C-BAA) Banro Corp
The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition Canada's raw-materials stocks could extend their longest losing streak in more than 20 years, as companies such as Banro and Teck Resources struggle with falling metals prices and concern China's growth will slow. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says the S&P/TSX materials index of 60 stocks posted its fifth monthly drop in March, the longest string of declines since April, 1990. The index has plunged 18 per cent over that period, led by a 62-per-cent slump in gold miner Banro. Teck, a diversified miner, has tumbled 22 per cent this year. Producers of raw materials from copper to coal and gold have slid amid concerns China is settling into a slower growth path. Also, mining companies face escalating costs and gold's status as a safe haven is diminishing as the U.S. economy regenerates. Growth in China, Canada's second-biggest trading partner, grew at an average quarterly pace of 8.5 per cent from 2011 to 2012, down from 9.4 per cent in the previous eight quarters. Growth fell to a three-year low of 7.4 per cent in September, before rebounding to 7.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012. Commodity prices are off 27 per cent since their 2008 highs