A8
Economy & Business
Bloomberg News
Steelmakers are fighting at- tempts by the iron ore mining in- dustry to raise the cost of their main raw material, calling for an investigation of what they claim is an “oligopoly” that inflates prices. Mining of iron ore, essential for making steel, is dominated by Vale, Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton, which control about two-thirds of the $200 billion-a- year industry. Brazil’s Vale, the largest supplier, set a precedent this week by ending a 40-year practice of selling ore on a yearly
SMD S
KLMNO
SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2010
Steelmakers, dependent on iron ore, seek mining industry probe
contract at a fixed rate and won a 90 percent price increase from Japanese mills. Vale said it reached agreements with 97 per- cent of its global clients to adopt quarterly price contracts. Annual pricing crumbled last year as steelmakers in China failed to agree to a rate with lead negotiator Rio Tinto, followed by BHP’s move to cut the proportion of ore sold using the system in the second half. Increased rates for the material has created a domi- no effect, with steel producers passing higher costs on to auto- makers and appliance manufac- turers. “There is an urgent need . . . for
the competition authorities around the world to examine the market for iron ore and the mar- ket behavior of the three compa- nies who dominate the business,” said Nicholas Walters, spokes- man for the World Steel Associa- tion. The 180-member group in- cludes 19 of the top 20 steelmak- ers and makes up 85 percent of global output. “There are key regulators in- volved in this around the world,” he said. “Their ears are very much open.” Lakshmi N. Mittal, chief exec- utive of ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, said Wednes- day that the company would raise
costs by $150 a metric ton this quarter, up 20 percent based on current prices compiled by Metal Bulletin. “The cost of producing steel is
going to go up and will be passed on to customers,” Mittal said. Discussions between Chinese steelmakers and the three iron ore suppliers are still on, accord- ing to He Wenbo, general manag- er of Baosteel Group, which is representing Chinese steelmak- ers in the talks. “Negotiations with iron ore producers are very difficult. The annual pricing sys- tem is a better way to ensure a win-win solution for steelmakers and miners,” He said.
Eurofer, a group representing steelmakers in Europe, accused the biggest iron ore suppliers of “illicit coordination of prices” and said it had notified the reg- ulatory arm of the European Commission about possible anti- competitive practices. The group said a shift to shorter contracts for iron ore at higher rates may boost costs for their customers by as much as a third. “We have an oligopoly control- ling the market, and they can therefore dictate prices,” said Gordon Moffat, general director of Eurofer. Cost increases “feed through into steel prices and into the finished product market —
cars, washing machines, con- sumer products.” The European Automobile
Manufacturers’ Association, which represents companies in- cluding Volkswagen and Fiat, said its members wanted Euro- pean Union regulators to “tackle distortive developments” caused by the changes. Steel accounts for about 10 percent to 15 percent of the manufacturing cost of a car, the association said. A BHP spokesman in London declined to comment. A Rio Tinto spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A Vale spokeswoman also wouldn’t comment.
Politicians spar over scope of stimulus effort
jobs from A1
ideas.” Republicans criticized last
year’s $787 billion stimulus plan as a budget-buster. Since then, the White House has deployed smaller, targeted stimulus pack- ages. Still, the GOP argues, Demo- crats are doing more to run up the nation’s debt than bring down un- employment.
“Sustained job creation is the only economic indicator that mat- ters to the American people and to this point, the Obama adminis- tration’s economic policies have failed to live up to expectation,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.), the ranking Republican on the Over- sight and Government Reform Committee. “The only thing long term that the Obama administra-
U.S. unemployment rate
Seasonally adjusted
10 12
0 2 4 6 8
2009
JF
’10
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics
%
March 9.7%
tion has produced are soaring deficits that threaten the future solvency of our economy.” Hiring has trended upward since the beginning of the year, but long-term joblessness contin- ues to rise as well. The number of long-term unemployed — more than 27 weeks — hit a record high of 6.5 million in March, as the group proved largely immune to government efforts. Analysts say it will be difficult for this economy to start creating ameaningful number of new jobs until employers begin to add about 300,000 jobs a month, or about double the March number, and the weekly new jobless claims number drops into the low 400,000s and stays there. The number of new jobless claims filed last week dipped slightly, down 6,000 to 439,000. “We don’t yet see a sustainable
Number of U.S. jobs lost or gained in non-farm employment
In thousands, seasonally adjusted
100
-800 -700 -600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 0
March:
162,000
ALEX BRANDON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Obama on Friday toured Celgard, a Charlotte manufacturer of lithium ion batteries, which is hiring 300 new workers with stimulus money.
Not every Tar Heel bought
recovery in the private sector strong enough to repair the dam- age to employment from this re- cession,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said. National Association of Manu-
facturers chief economist Dave Huether agreed, saying, “Under- lying labor market conditions re- main very weak.” Obama treated Friday’s jobs re-
Revised estimates in black
MM AM J J AS O N D
AM J J AS O N D MM
2009
JF
’10
THE WASHINGTON POST
port from the Labor Department as good, if not great, news while speaking to factory workers in North Carolina. “I’ve often had to report bad
news during the course of this year, as the recession wreaked havoc on people’s lives. But today is an encouraging day,” Obama
said. “This month, more Amer- icans woke up, got dressed and headed to work in an office, a fac- tory, a storefront. More folks are feeling the sense of pride and sat- isfaction that comes with a hard- earned and well-deserved pay- check.”
Obama spoke to employees of Celgard, a Charlotte manufac- turer of lithium ion batteries used in the hybrid vehicles that help form the basis of the president’s clean-energy plans. The plant re- ceived stimulus money and is hir- ing 300 workers. “Next time somebody asks you
at the grocery store, ‘What did the recovery act do?’, you can tell them one of the things it helped do is expand . . . an entire indus- try,” Obama said.
THE MARKETS
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U.S. Stock Market Performance
Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
10,950 10,910 10,870 10,830
Nasdaq Composite Index
2421 2412 2403 2394 2385
S&P 500 Index
1182 1176 1170 1164
Mon. Tue.
Dow Jones 30 Industrials
Company Close
Alcoa
Weekly %Chg
3M
AmExp AT&T BoA
Boeing
Caterpillar Chevron Cisco
Coca-Cola DuPont
Exxon Mobil GE
83.85 14.70 41.70 26.11 18.04 72.99 63.99 76.69 25.83 55.30 37.91 67.61 18.33
Home Depot 32.38 HP
53.24
3.5 3.0
–0.5
1 Year %Chg
65.5 93.4
1.4 188.8 0.7
0.8 155.9 0.6 106.0 2.5 3.0
–2.4 1.2
0.6 1.6
–0.1 –1.1
–0.3
Other Measures
Index
120.7 12.3 47.9 23.3 61.7 –2.3 80.2 35.9 61.9
Close
DJ Total Stock Market Index 12,250.66 Russell 2000
683.98
Post-Bloomberg DC Area Index 198.20 CBOE Volatility (VIX)
17.47
Wed. Thur.
Company Close
IBM
Intel J&J
JPMorgCh Kraft Foods McDonald's Merck
Microsoft P&G Co Pfizer
Travelers
United Tech Verizon
Wal-Mart Walt Disney
Fri.
Weekly %Chg
128.25 22.39 65.77 45.18 30.34 67.58 37.71 29.16 63.36 17.08 53.92 74.13 31.28 55.49 35.55
–0.8 0.7 2.2 0.4
–0.9 0.5 0.7
–1.7 –0.5 –0.4 –0.8 0.7 3.0 0.0 0.7
1 Year %Chg
31.4 49.0 24.0 60.6 33.0 22.3 39.7 51.0 31.4 22.1 28.0 68.9 0.2 5.1
89.2
Interest Rates
Consumer Rates
Weekly%Chg 1 Year%Chg
1.0 0.7
–0.1 –1.7
48.6 59.4 51.3
–58.7
Money market funds 6-Month CDs 1-Year CDs 5-Year CDs New car loan Home-equity loan
0.79 0.79 1.17 2.59 6.43 7.76
0.29% 0.25% 3.25%
Bank Prime Federal Funds LIBOR 3-Month
30-Year fixed mortgage 15-Year fixed mortgage 1-Year ARM
3.23% 4.36% 5.12%
1178.10 +1.0 +45.3 2402.58 +0.3 +54.8
Weekly Close %Chg
1 Year %Chg
10,927.07 +0.7 +40.8
Industry Group
Real Estate Mgmt & Dev Energy Equipment & Svcs Metals & Mining Building Products Gas Utilities
Multiline Retail
Household Durables Automobiles
S&P 500 Industry Group Snapshot
–12%
Weekly %Chg
10.9 5.5 5.2 4.1 3.7
Communications Equipment Software
–1.0 –1.1 –1.1 –1.6 –7.6
International Stock Markets
Americas
Close
Brazil (Bovespa) Canada (S&P/TSX Comp.) Mexico (Bolsa)
Europe
Eurozone (DJ Stoxx 600) France (CAC 40) Germany (DAX) U.K. (FTSE 100)
Asia Pacific
Australia (ASX 200) China (CSI 300) Hong Kong (Hang Seng) Japan (Nikkei)
4907.70 3391.94
21,537.00 11,244.40
Cross Currency Rates
EU €
US $
US $ per EU € per
Japan ¥ per Britain £ per Brazil R$ per
Canada $ per Mexico $ per
0.7361 93.8400 127.4800
0.6540 0.8884 0.0070 1.7665 1.0084
2.3997 0.0189 1.3699 0.0107
12.3245 16.7432 0.1310 Japan ¥
1.3585 0.0107 0.0078
0.2 3.6 2.3 2.3
Britain £
1.5290 0.5655 1.1256
0.4167
Brazil R$ Canada $ Mexico $ 0.9916 0.0811 0.7300 0.0597
143.4800 53.0710 93.0500 7.6140 0.3698
2.7044 1.5420 0.5703
0.6485 0.0531 1.7536 0.1433 0.0818
18.8456 6.9770 12.2215
Treasury Performance Over Past Three Months
10-year note
Yield:
5-year note
Yield:
3.86 2.59
4:30 p.m. New York time.
2-year note
Yield:
6-month bill
Yield:
1.06 0.23
Note: Bank prime is from 10 major banks. Federal Funds rate is the market rate, which can vary from the federal target rate. LIBOR is the London Interbank Offered Rate. Consumer rates are from Bankrate. All figures as of
71,136.34 12,151.06 33,266.43
267.62
4034.23 6235.56 5744.89
Weekly %Chg
3.6 1.6 0.4
1.5 1.1 1.9 0.7
1Year%Chg
–75%
0% +12%
Commodities
Futures
Copper Corn
Crude Oil Gold
Natural Gas
Data and graphics by
what the president said. “When the president was elect- ed, the unemployment rate in North Carolina was around 8 per- cent. It’s now 11.2 percent,” North Carolina GOP Chairman Tom Fetzer said. “And that translates into roughly 150,000 North Caro- linians who had a job when the president was elected who no lon- ger have one now.” Nationally, the census will be a steady job creator for several months. The Commerce Department ex-
pects to hire at least 600,000 tem- porary workers this year to staff the decennial survey. In March, it accounted for 48,000 temporary hires. Leslie Benjamin of Washington
said she was relieved to get a job with the Census Bureau in Janu- ary because she had been unem- ployed since summer, when she worked on housing settlements. She had applied for at least 100 jobs at banks, real estate compa- nies and law firms before the bu- reau called her and offered her a $20-per-hour job helping to re- cruit census takers. “It was the luck of the draw I
got hired,” she said. Census officials said they have received a rich pool of applicants, including doctors and lawyers.
ahrensf@washpost.com
Staff writers Anne E. Kornblut in North Carolina and Dana Hedgpeth in Washington contributed to this report.
Weekly Close %Chg
$3.5770 $3.4450 $84.87
$1125.10 $4.09
+5.4 –3.3 +6.1 +1.9 +5.5
Value of $1000 invested for the past:
Exchange-Traded (Ticker)
Weekly %Chg
0% +75%
Coffee (COFF.L) Copper (COPA.L) Corn (CORN.L) Cotton (COTN.L) Crude Oil (CRUD.L) Gasoline (UGAS.L) Gold (BULL.L)
Natural Gas (NGAS.L) Silver (SLVR.L)
0.8 5.1
–3.4 1.7
6.5 5.6 2.4 1.8 6.5
Local Gainers and Losers
Value of $1000 invested for the past:
Company
Fortress Intl
FederalAgricultural Katy Industries Inc TerreStar Corp
Sinclair Broadcast Medifast Inc
WSB Holdings Inc VSE Corp
Amer National Bnks Liquidity Services FBR Cap Markets
CentralVABankshares Cogent Comm Owens & Minor
ComstockHomebuildng $1.09 Versar
$1.15 $3.27
$11.31 $1.75 $1.29 $5.33
$25.43 $41.58
$19.62 $11.24 $4.57 $3.44
$10.05
week
Weekly Close %Chg
75.5 31.3 22.9 17.1
12.9 11.2 10.8 10.8
$3.25 –5.8 –6.2 –6.4 –6.4 –6.7 –7.0 –7.3
$30.59 –32.3
–$4900 $1000
year
$6900
Orange Juice Silver
Soybeans Sugar Wheat
$100
Weekly Close %Chg
$1.3535 –0.6 $17.89
$9.4200 $0.1670 $4.5475
week
$1000
+5.9 –1.1 –1.8 –2.2
year
$1900
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