US equity indexes slip, Dec. 18-22

The U.S. Commerce Department reported gross domestic product grew at a 2% annual pace in the third quarter, while U.S. home resales for the month of November posted their steepest decline in five years. Prices for Brent crude for February delivery hit an 11-year low on Dec. 21, before closing at US$36.11 a barrel on Dec. 22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.5% to 17,414.27, and the S&P 500 Index slid 0.1% to 2,038.97. The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index rose 5% to 45.36.

Randgold Resources’ decision to end its conditional investment agreement with AngloGold Ashanti on Sept. 16 to redevelop Anglo’s Obuasi mine in Ghana lifted the company’s shares US$1.63 to US$60.87. Randgold said the plan did not satisfy its internal investment criteria. Analysts at Investec Securities said the decision was a “strong positive,” and “shows that Randgold remains financially disciplined.” BMO Capital Markets has a US$90-per-share target price on the stock.

Shares of Compass Minerals gained US99¢ to US$74.93. The company announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to buy a 35% stake in Produquimica Industria e Comercio S.A., one of Brazil’s leading manufacturers and distributors of specialty plant nutrients. The all-cash transaction is valued at US$120.7 million.

BHP Billiton updated investors on the Nov. 5 tailings dam failure in Brazil, raising the number of confirmed dead to 17, and confirming that five of the dead were community members, and 12 were people working in the dams at the time of the catastrophe. Two people who worked in the dams are still missing. BHP and joint-venture partner Vale have hired Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, a New York-based law firm, to examine the cause of the breach. BHP said the findings of the external investigation will be made public. The company also said that all those displaced by the breach can be relocated before Dec. 25. In a separate news release, BHP named Flavio Bulcao as its country director for Brazil. Bulcao will lead the BHP Billiton team based in Belo Horizonte, and support the humanitarian, environmental and operational recovery efforts. BHP and Vale each own 50% of the mine. BHP’s shares closed at US$24.54, up US92¢.