News / Stocks
Obsidian Financial’s Morning Market News for Tuesday October 18, 2011: Strategic Mining Corp., Visteon Corp., Kinder Morgan Inc., El Paso Corp., Lowe's Companies Inc.
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Strategic Mining Corp. (OTC: SMNG) announced today 10/18/11, that it has conducted a successful metallurgical test on gold and silver samples collected at the Company’s flagship Nat Son property in northern Vietnam. The samples were collected during a two week geological study of the Nat Son property by Strategic’s independent consulting geologist, Mr. Robert Marvin (B.SC, PGEO) of Red Rock Geoservices. To view the full press release for Strategic Mining Corp. (OTC: SMNG), CLICK HERE or visit OFinancialinc.com
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Visteon Corp. (NYSE: VC) said yesterday 10/17/11, that its board elected longtime automotive executive Martin Welch as its executive vice president and chief financial officer. Welch, 63, replaces William Quigley, 50, who had served as CFO while the Van Buren Township, Mich., company emerged from bankruptcy. Quigley will leave Visteon at the end of the month. Visteon CEO Donald Stebbins determined that replacing Quigley with Welch was in the best interest of the company, given Welch's extensive experience both in the automotive industry and the broader corporate world, Visteon spokesman Jim Fisher said. Visteon, which was spun off from Ford Motor Co. in 2000, designs and manufactures climate, electronic, interior and lighting products for vehicles. It filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009 and emerged last year after shedding billions in debt and pension costs. Quigley had joined the company in 2004 and became CFO in 2007.
Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI), the parent company of the master limited partnership (MLP) Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP), said yesterday 10/17/11, that it plans to acquire El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) to create the largest natural gas pipeline system in North America. The purchase price, including El Paso’s $17 billion outstanding debt, stands at $38 billion, representing the second largest merger agreement this year following AT&T Inc.’s $39 billion deal in March to buy Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA. Upon closing, which is slated for second quarter 2012, Kinder Morgan shareholders will own approximately 68% of the combined company and El Paso shareholders are expected to own the balance 32%. The Kinder Morgan-El Paso deal, one of the largest energy transactions in recent years, received no opposition from the board of directors of either company. Now, it requires customary regulatory approvals. The combined entity, with an enterprise value of $94 billion, will be the owner of 67,000 miles of natural gas pipelines in North America as well as 13,000 more miles of pipelines for the transportation of refined products. Hence, the combined 80,000 miles of network will connect Kinder Morgan's pipelines in the Rocky Mountains, the Midwest and Texas with El Paso's extensive network spreading east from the Gulf Coast to New England, and west through New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Kinder Morgan’s earnings and generate $350 million a year in cost savings, or about 5% of the combined companies' earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization. The company also expects a boost in its dividend payments.
Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) announced yesterday 10/17,11, it is closing 20 of its U.S. locations and eliminating nearly 2,000 jobs, and the home improvement retailer is slashing its store-opening plans to improve profitability. Lowe's, which operates about 1,700 stores in the United States, said that it had closed 10 on Sunday and would close another 10 within a month. Some 1,950 workers will be laid off. As of January, Lowe's had 161,000 full-time and 73,000 part-time employees. The company also said it planned to open only 10 to 15 new North American stores per year starting in 2012, down from a previous goal of 30. Chief Executive Officer Robert Niblock said in a statement that the company had to "make tough decisions" to improve profitability.
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