By Kevin Allison

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Xstrata has long been considered a private equity house in miner’s clothing. Now it’s taking on the role of activist investor, too. The miner owns 25 percent of struggling platinum producer Lonmin, and is being far from supportive in its role as a lead shareholder. Lonmin says Xstrata will back the company’s $817 million emergency rights issue but only if it gets to hand-pick a new chief executive and other top managers. Lonmin is rejecting those demands and for now, it can afford to.

By Kevin Allison

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

It may be tempting to view Vladimir Putin’s drive to reassert state control over Russia’s energy sector as comeuppance for the oligarchs who benefited from the looting of the country’s natural resources in the 1990s. But restructuring the industry around two national champions, Gazprom and Rosneft, is ultimately bad for competition. International oil companies may benefit from greater opportunities to bring their expertise to Russia, but investors ogling opportunities in the shifting landscape should apply a hefty Kremlin discount.

By Kevin Allison

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Cynthia Carroll is riding into the sunset. Anglo American and its chief executive are parting ways. Missteps early in her tenure hurt Carroll, but she did deliver needed cultural change. A new broom is unlikely to have an easier time. Anglo’s biggest problems are largely beyond the control of management.

By Kevin Allison

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Rosneft will become the world’s biggest listed crude producer following its $55 billion swoop on Russia’s third-biggest oil company. Igor Sechin’s new behemoth also expects to generate $3 billion to $5 billion of cost synergies from scooping up its smaller rival. If Rosneft can apply TNK-BP’s oilfield know-how to improve production at its own fields, the cost and revenue benefits of the Russian oil shake-up could indeed climb high.

By Kevin Allison

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

No one trying to maximize shareholder value at Bumi Plc would want to start from here. Financier Nat Rothschild’s bid to create an emerging markets coal champion has been a disaster, thanks to clashes with the group’s backers in Indonesia. Now the country’s powerful Bakrie family says it is willing to exit the venture in return for a stake in coal assets they sold to Bumi last year. It’s fiddly and humiliating, but it’s probably a good deal for Bumi Plc’s shareholders.

By Kevin Allison

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Platinum looks like a commodity from hell, and not just because it is dug from especially deep mines. The economics and the politics point to a long crisis.

By Kevin Allison

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

South Africa’s platinum crisis isn’t over yet. A pay deal struck by Lonmin will, if it holds, end a violent six-week strike that has claimed 45 lives. That’s good for the workforce. And it solves an immediate, potentially existential problem for the world’s third-biggest platinum producer. But it sets up other big challenges for Lonmin and the industry. The big wage hike will hurt already weak margins. And the response may only encourage further strikes.

By Kevin Allison

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Xstrata should accept Glencore’s revised $35.5 billion offer for the mining giant. What was originally billed as a merger of equals is now, for all practical purposes, a takeover at a modest premium. Changes to the proposed governance arrangements make the business combination look riskier than before. Glencore may have to pay up to convince Xstrata’s top people to take orders from its boss, Ivan Glasenberg, after his Xstrata counterpart Mick Davis leaves. But for all the recent animosity, this is a recommendable proposal.

By Kevin Allison

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Memo to Ivan Glasenberg: this is not the way to do big public company M&A. The boss of Glencore has lobbed a last-minute curveball to save the commodity trader’s proposed merger with miner Xstrata, seeking more time to discuss sweetened terms. The clumsiness of the move creates the impression that Glasenberg can’t suppress his trader instincts when he needs to play the statesman CEO. It also augers ill for any transaction that follows.

By Kevin Allison

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Macondo is back. After March’s $7.8 billion settlement with Gulf Coast fishermen and other private plaintiffs, a deal with the U.S. government over civil and potential criminal liability for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster seemed to be in reach for BP. It probably still is – the two sides are still in talks ahead of a civil trial in January. But sharp rhetoric in new filings by U.S. government lawyers is a reminder that the UK oil major faces a tough path to securing a favourable outcome. The market’s reaction – wiping $5 billion off BP’s market value – looks appropriate.