Source: Financial Times, 15th November 2010

Mining is a wondrous business. Prospects for the decade long boom in commodity prices to continue have sprinkled magic coal dust over valuations of all companies connected to the extraction of raw materials. So Caterpillar could announce its largest ever acquisition on Monday - the purchase of mining equipment maker Bucyrus for $8.6bn including the assumption of debt, paid for in part by issuance of up to $2bn of new equity - and see its share price rise. The market also included Bucyrus' main competitor Joy Global in the celebration, pushing its shares up 8 per cent.