A record number of postponed initial public offerings of miners from 2011 may likely come to the fore in the second half of this year if the equity markets stabilize over a sustained period of time, one of the divisional heads of Ernst & Young said Monday.

The global value of mergers and acquisitions in mining and metals rose 43% in 2011 and is expected to continue rising this year, driven by robust demand fundamentals, strong balance sheets and appetite for growth, Ernst & Young said in its annual mining-transactions report Monday.

Mining-and-metals companies around the world shifted to alternative sources of financing in 2011 to execute their growth strategies given the turbulence in the equity markets during the year, Ernst & Young said in its annual transactions report Monday.

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Greece urgently needs to kickstart economic growth or debt reduction alone won't be enough to put the euro-zone member on a sustainable footing, the head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development told Italian daily La Stampa in an interview published Thursday.

Travel company Thomas Cook Group PLC (TCG.LN) has hired Credit Suisse Group AG (CS) to sell off its Indian foreign exchange business, The Sunday Times reported without citing sources.

Alshair Fiyaz, a Pakistani textile billionaire, is working on a bid for collapsed clothing chain Peacocks, The Sunday Times reported without citing sources.

European steelmakers are expected to post lower earnings for the last quarter of the year compared to the same quarter a year earlier after rising global steel consumption in the first half of 2011 slowed down globally toward the end of the year amid concerns about the health of the global economy, particularly in Europe and China.

The two heads of a private sector creditor's committee negotiating a debt write-down plan with Greece arrived at Prime Minister Lucas Papademos' office late Sunday.

Ultimately, it was the keen eye of a Texas gun shop clerk that helped authorities find an AWOL soldier who'd stashed bomb-making material in his nearby motel room for a planned attack on Fort Hood soldiers.

Tracy Woody heaved a hemp bag filled with oysters across the deck of his boat and began inspecting his catch. One shell after another was empty.

A lot of people are happy to see same-sex marriage legal in New York: lawyers, marriage counselors, insurance agents.

For 28-year-old Ikenna Njoku, what should have been a simple check deposit turned into  four days in jail and losing his car and job.

The IHS report lists 37 metropolitan areas which are not expected to return to peak employment until after 2021. These areas are facing a “Lost Decade.”

This is a dog fight Chicago will relish.