With the rapid onset of the worldwide recession in late 2008, marked by sharp drops in commodity prices that continued well into 2009 – especially among base metals – acquisitions activity almost ground to a halt. This is one of the findings from Metals Economic Group’s (MEG) recent Strategic Report. The publication shows that the volume of large acquisitions in 2009 decreased by 66% from 2008, the third consecutive annual decrease in acquisitions spending since the historical high in 2006. Although in nominal terms the 2009 total was still the fifth-highest annual total in the past ten years, the steep year-on-year drop from 2008 is slightly more than the 65% decline from 2001 to 2002, at the bottom of the cycle. (more…)