Newmont Corp.

New York symbol NEM, is one of the largest gold producers in the world with major operations in the United States, Canada, Peru, Australia, Indonesia and Ghana.

In 2011, gold hit a high of $1,950 U.S. an ounce and silver hit a high of $48.48. But the price of gold has fallen since then and recently dropped below $1,200 for the first time since mid-2010. It now trades at $1,141. Silver has dropped, as well, and at $15.35 an ounce is also trading at lows not seen since mid-2010. Over the longer term, gold and silver could well regain their 2011 highs. This will simply reflect the vast expansion in the U.S. money supply that has taken place since the financial crisis struck in 2008....
NEWMONT MINING CORP. $23 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 498.8 million; Market cap: $11.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 0.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newmont.com) has sold its 44% stake in a joint venture that owns the La Herradura gold mine in northern Mexico. The company received $450 million for its stake. Including this sale, Newmont has now raised $1.3 billion by selling less important assets in the past year. That frees up cash for more promising projects, such as its Merian gold mine in Suriname, which will cost $1 billion and should open in late 2016. Merian’s reserves should last 11 years. Newmont is a hold....
NEWMONT MINING CORP. $23 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 498.8 million; Market cap: $11.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 0.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newmont.com) has sold its 44% stake in a joint venture that owns the La Herradura gold mine in northern Mexico.

The company received $450 million for its stake. Including this sale, Newmont has now raised $1.3 billion by selling less important assets in the past year. That frees up cash for more promising projects, such as its Merian gold mine in Suriname, which will cost $1 billion and should open in late 2016. Merian’s reserves should last 11 years.

Newmont is a hold.

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NEWMONT MINING $26.31 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 498.8 million; Market cap: $13.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 0.4%; www.newmont.com) recently shut down its 48.5%-owned Batu Hijau copper/gold mine in Indonesia.

The move was in response to the Indonesian government’s ban on raw material exports, which is aimed at pushing miners to process more ore in the country.

Newmont has now agreed to develop a new smelter with Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (New York symbol FCX), which also operates a copper mine in Indonesia. In addition, Batu Hijau has signed new deals to supply copper to two Indonesian companies that plan to build their own smelters. These developments should let Batu Hijau comply with the new regulations. The mine will probably reopen in the next few weeks.

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NEWMONT MINING $26.31 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 498.8 million; Market cap: $13.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 0.4%; www.newmont.com) recently shut down its 48.5%-owned Batu Hijau copper/gold mine in Indonesia. The move was in response to the Indonesian government’s ban on raw material exports, which is aimed at pushing miners to process more ore in the country. Newmont has now agreed to develop a new smelter with Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (New York symbol FCX), which also operates a copper mine in Indonesia. In addition, Batu Hijau has signed new deals to supply copper to two Indonesian companies that plan to build their own smelters. These developments should let Batu Hijau comply with the new regulations. The mine will probably reopen in the next few weeks....
TIM HORTONS INC., $80.44, New York symbol THI, jumped 27% this week after agreeing to a friendly takeover offer from Miami-based Burger King Worldwide (New York symbol BKW). The combined firm would be the world’s third-largest fast-food operator, after McDonald’s and Yum Brands, with annual sales of $23 billion U.S. and 18,000 restaurants in over 100 countries. Canada will supply 67% of the merged company’s revenue, followed by the U.S. (20%) and other countries (13%). The Tim Hortons and Burger King chains will operate independently but will probably share some back office and distribution networks. Tim Hortons can also use Burger King’s expertise to expand in the U.S. and other countries....
NEWMONT MINING has completed the sale of its Jundee gold mine in Australia for $91 million.
PETSMART INC., $67.28, Nasdaq symbol PETM, operates 1,340 pet stores in the U.S. and Canada. It also has 200 in-store PetsHotel boarding facilities for dogs and cats. The stock jumped 12% this week on news that activist investment firm Jana Partners now owns 9.9% of the company. Jana has a history of pressuring companies to improve shareholder value, typically by spinning off certain operations, buying back more shares or raising their dividends. PetSmart currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.195 a share, for a 1.2% annualized yield. Jana could also encourage PetSmart’s management to sell the entire company....
ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEX FUND $10.60 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index.

This index is made up of 38 gold stocks from Canada and around the world. The iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index Fund’s MER is 0.60%. It began trading on March 23, 2001.

The fund’s top holdings are Goldcorp at 15.8%; Barrick Gold, 15.6%; Newmont Mining, 9.4%; Franco Nevada, 5.6%; Randgold Resources (ADR), 5.6%; AngloGold Ashanti (ADR), 5.3%; Yamana Gold, 4.6%; Agnico-Eagle Mines, 4.4%; Kinross, 3.6%; Eldorado Gold, 3.4%; Royal Gold, 3.4%; Osisko Mining, 2.7%; Gold Fields (ADR), 2.3%; and New Gold, 2.2%.

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HILLSHIRE BRANDS CO., $58.92, New York symbol HSH, continues to attract new takeover offers. The company makes a variety of packaged meat products. Its main brands include Ball Park hot dogs, Jimmy Dean sausages and Hillshire Farm deli meats. Other foods include Sara Lee frozen desserts and Chef Pierre pies. The stock jumped 11% this week after Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (Nasdaq symbol PPC) offered to buy the company for $55.00 a share. That topped last week’s $50.00-a-share bid by Tyson Foods (New York symbol TSN)....