Mining

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors bet on growth on Friday, bumping up shares in two newly listed companies with strong trajectories while remaining neutral or down on two others whose prospects are murkier. Mining giant Rio Tinto's spin-off Cloud Peak Energy Inc <CLD.N> edged down in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday after its initial public offering fell short of expectations on concerns that the money raised in the IPO was going to its parent company rather than its own growth. Shares in Global Defense Technology & Systems Inc <GTEC.O> which drew 74 percent of its 2008 revenue from contracts ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cloud Peak Energy Inc <CLD.N>, a unit of Rio Tinto Plc, fell in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday after its shares priced below expectations in the U.S. coal miner's initial public offering. Shares opened at $14.50, more than 3 percent below the $15 IPO price and fell as much as 6.7 percent. In early trade, Cloud Peak shares were being quoted for $14.56, down 2.9 percent. Gillette, Wyoming-based Cloud Peak sold 30.6 million shares for $15 apiece and raising about $459 million in its IPO on Thursday. But Cloud Peak had expected them to price ... Read Full Story

After its public debut on Friday, Cloud Peak Energy Inc. said its subsidiaries priced two senior note offerings with a total value of $600 million. The U.S. coal producer said that its subsidiaries Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC and Cloud Peak Energy Finance Corp. priced an offering of $300 million of senior notes due 2017 with a coupon of 8.25 percent and an offering of $300 million of senior notes due 2019 with a coupon of 8.5 percent. The news comes on the U.S. coal producer's first day of trading, after it priced its initial public offering below expectations. Cloud Peak Energy Inc. sold ... Read Full Story

The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. this week has risen by 12 this week to 1,113. Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday that 726 rigs were exploring for natural gas and 375 for oil. Twelve were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago this week, the rig count stood at 1,941. Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas gained nine rigs, Louisiana gained six, North Dakota gained four, Oklahoma gained two and Alaska gained one. Colorado lost nine rigs, New Mexico lost two and Arkansas and California each lost one. Wyoming was unchanged. The rig count ... Read Full Story

Today on Stockhouse Your opinion matters. Submit an article to Stockhouse today at submissions@stockhouse.com. Submission guidelines can be found here. Kent Moors of Money Morning writes about a new technology that turns coal into clean, high-powered gas. This as John C.K. Daly of OilPrice.com reveals the untapped energy riches of Uzbekistan Top Bullboards post: “This news is even better than what the market IMO is trying interpret currently. This opens up potential for more coal contracts to other new customers that would have otherwise shyed away due to inadequate shipping and port access that CCJ was facing before this news. This news is a ... Read Full Story