International Business News - basicmaterials http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Chemical producer Albemarle Corp. said late Thursday it will buy Sorbent Technologies Corp., a provider of mercury control systems for power utilities, for about $6 per share in cash. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080606/albemarle-to-buy-sorbent-technologies-for-20m.htm Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:20:25 EDT Airgas Inc., a distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, said Friday it will acquire Energy Safety Services Inc., a safety equipment rental provider that operates under the name Oilind Safety. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080606/airgas-to-acquire-energy-safety-services.htm Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:15:15 EDT Lubrizol Corp., a specialty chemicals manufacturer, said Friday it is raising prices on all product lines by about 12 percent to 20 percent to offset rising raw material costs. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080606/lubrizol-to-raise-prices-on-all-product-lines.htm Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:47:28 EDT Airgas Inc., which distributes industrial gases and safety products, said Thursday that it priced its private offering of $400 million of 7.125 percent senior subordinated notes due Oct. 1, 2018, at par. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/airgas-prices-offering-of-notes-at-par.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:10:27 EDT The oil and gas industry's top representative in Washington is retiring and will be replaced by the leader of the chemical industry's trade group. Red Cavaney, 65, is retiring as chief executive officer of the American Petroleum Institute, effective Nov. 1, the trade group said Thursday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/american-petroleum-institute-ceo-retiring-nov-1.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:37:35 EDT A jury sided Thursday with DuPont Co. in the retrial of a civil lawsuit brought by a man who said dioxins from a plant on the Mississippi Gulf Coast caused his rare blood cancer. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/miss-jury-rules-for-dupont-in-14m-dioxin-case.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:02:48 EDT Investigators are trying to determine how a West Virginia coal miner was killed by the locomotive he was driving underground. Jama Jarrett, a spokesman for the state's mining agency, says Gary A. Hoffman either fell or jumped from the locomotive Thursday in a mine operated by Pittsburgh-based Consol Energy Inc. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/miner-dies-in-accident-at-consol-energy-mine.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:12:15 EDT U.S.-traded shares of Companhia Siderurgica Nacional rose sharply Thursday after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded the Brazilian steelmaker's corporate credit rating, citing increased cash-flow protection measures. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/adrs-in-focus-companhia-siderurgica-climbs.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:23:44 EDT Shares of Grupo Simec SAB de CV trading on U.S. exchanges jumped in afternoon trading Thursday after the Mexican steel company completed its acquisition of Corporacion Aceros DM, SA de CV. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/adrs-in-focus-grupo-simec-shares-rally.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:08:51 EDT The senior vice president of operations for coal producer Arch Coal Inc. exercised options for 5,000 shares of common stock under a prearranged trading plan, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/arch-coal-svp-exercises-options.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:12:38 EDT The senior vice president of operations for coal producer Foundation Coal Holdings Inc. exercised options for 17,100 shares of common stock under a prearranged trading plan, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/foundation-coal-svp-exercises-options.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:54:06 EDT Pulp and paper products maker AbitibiBowater Inc. said Thursday that John W. Weaver will retire as executive chairman effective July 1. Weaver will continue to serve as non-executive chairman and a member of the company's board until March 31, 2009. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/abitibibowater-executive-chairman-retiring.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:53:24 EDT Shares of Nucor Corp. posted the biggest jump on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index at midday after the steel maker raised its second-quarter profit outlook, helping drive the index higher Thursday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/midday-leaders-laggards-s-p-500.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:24:35 EDT Paint thickener and paper chemicals maker Hercules Inc. said Thursday its paper technologies and ventures unit will raise prices up to 30 percent on all its products, citing "unprecedented" costs of raw materials. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/hercules-unit-to-hike-prices-up-to-30-percent.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:55:46 EDT Steel producer Nucor Corp. raised its profit expectations for the second quarter, pointing to strong shipments and higher margins. Shares jumped $6.40, or 8.6 percent, to $80.54 Thursday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/nucor-raises-2q-earnings-forecast-above-views.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:47:34 EDT A raging fire that engulfed three truck tankers at a Northern California chemical plant Wednesday kept residents in about 2,500 homes indoors for several hours before firefighters extinguished the flames. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/chemical-blaze-burns-at-california-plant.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:02:43 EDT International Paper Co. spent nearly $806,000 in the first quarter to lobby on energy and climate change legislation and other issues, according to a disclosure report. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080604/international-paper-spent-806k-lobbying-in-1q.htm Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:36:49 EDT DuPont Co. expects revenue growth rates to increase as its research delivers innovations, the chemicals company said Wednesday. "We see clear opportunities to grow revenue 7 percent to 9 percent per year between 2007 and 2010," Executive Vice President Thomas Connelly Jr. said in a statement he made at an investor conference in New York. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080604/dupont-expects-innovation-to-drive-revenue-growth.htm Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:04:42 EDT Levels of lead in the Columbia River have returned to where they were before last week's accidental spill into the river, according to Teck Cominco, which operates the giant Canadian smelter just north of the border where the spill occurred. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080604/co-columbia-river-back-to-pre-spill-lead-levels.htm Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:51:25 EDT Monsanto Co. Chief Executive Hugh Grant set a bold goal for the company on Wednesday, promising to develop by 2030 new strains of corn, soybeans and cotton that can yield twice as much grain and fiber per-acre while consuming just two-thirds the water. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080604/monsanto-plans-to-double-grain-yields.htm Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:14:39 EDT