Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
The Toronto Stock Exchange opened this morning moderately higher as commodity prices increased driven mainly by traders’ hopes of a U.S. housing market in recovery mode.
The S&P/TSX composite index added 33.06 points to 12,530 just after markets opened.
Wall Street opened mixed, with Dow Jones industrial futures down 17.78 points to 13,214.84, the Nasdaq up 0.95 of a point to 3,056.21 and the broader S&P 500 slipping 0.83 of a point to 1,403.34.
Gold shares in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (STGOLD) have fallen 28% from an historic high in September, while the market benchmark is down only 1.5%. Miners in the index are trading for 16.7 times reported profits, or 12% than the index. The premium is the smallest since February 2003, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
