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...cost-cutting boosted earnings and fueled the firm's next phase--diversification. Agnelli bought significant copper holdings from Arizona-based Phelps Dodge (now part of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold) and London-based Anglo-American. At the time, during a glut in 2001-02, the deal raised eyebrows. But when demand for copper exploded soon after, these investments quickly paid for themselves...
Vale's biggest deal came in October 2006 with its $18 billion purchase--in cash--of Inco, a Canadian firm with nickel assets across North America and as far away as the French territorial island of New Caledonia in the Pacific. The acquisition came just before nickel prices nearly tripled. Inco now accounts for about 40% of Vale's revenues, and gained the company important technology and highly skilled personnel. "It was a major step for us," says Tito Martins, executive director for corporate affairs and energy at Vale. More recently, Vale has made a play for Swiss miner Xstrata...
...newly spread wings, Vale's home base is firmly in Brazil. When its three new joint-venture steel projects (with German, Chinese and Korean partners) come online in Brazil next year, Vale will be supplying 70% of demand--a commanding position that even a state-owned firm might envy.n
...having a clearly defined exercise plan can hurt too. Investigators at Berlin's Free University found that people who set general goals, like "I will exercise in my free time," did a far worse job of sticking to that plan than did people who made a firm commitment, like "I will walk to my friend's house and back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday...
...these problems. Baumeister thinks the self-control muscle may be strengthened and trained--sometimes beginning with exercises as simple as remembering to sit straighter or drink enough water. Specific workout plans, like scheduling a gym visit with friends, can turn a general desire to exercise into a firm commitment. Trying to do without a trainer, or at least tapering off slowly when you quit, can help you learn to be accountable only to you. We may never again have the stamina of a 2-year-old, but recapturing even a little of our early-life energy can make our later...