One of the stranger takeover moves this year was Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation's move on rival Kazakhmys, which came and went in a matter of weeks.
One of the odd things about the story was that Kazakhmys holds a 14.6% stake in its predator. A lock-up period preventing Kazakhmys from selling this holding is due to expire on 6 June and there is a growing feeling that these shares will soon be on the market. That was enough to send ENRC 43p lower to £14.01 while Kazakhmys slipped 22p to £16.87.
Overall, both Wall Street and the UK market are struggling to find direction. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up around 35 points at the moment while the FTSE 100 is 26.2 points better at 6033.8.
Adding to the uncertainty, US federal reserve boss Ben Bernanke has been speaking via satellite to a conference in Barcelona. Some are interpreting his comments that a weak dollar is posing risks for inflation as a sign US rate cuts may have ended. Indeed, the next move could be upwards, they believe.
