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BRUSSELS -- European Union antitrust regulators said Tuesday that they had put on hold an antitrust probe into miner BHP Billiton's bid for rival Rio Tinto Inc. because the companies have not provided information.

The Court of Justice of the European Union rejected both appeals against fines imposed by the European Commission in December 2003 and September 2004 upon KME Germany AG, KME France SAS and KME Italy S.p.A.. The fines related to the KME Group S.p.A. subsidiaries involvement in antitrust infringements within the industrial tubes and plumbing tubes markets. The fines, which amount to €39.8M and €67.1M, are now final. KME Group stated that the fine amounts were wholly provisioned in the profit and loss accounts of the 2003 fiscal year.

BHP Billiton, the Australian mining company, on Thursday said US antitrust authorities had largely cleared its proposed $170bn acquisition of rival Rio Tinto.

Investors piled out of Russian stocks Friday after the abrupt departure from the country of a foreign oil boss and the prime minister's unexpected severe criticism of a large steel firm. MICEX, the exchange where the bulk of trading in Russian stocks takes place, plunged by 4.8 percent as of 12:20 p.m. Russian time, while the RTS, a top stock index, lost 4.4 percent to drop beneath the critical 2000-point barrier for the first time since March. After Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's scathing attack on Mechel late Thursday, heavy trading in New York sent the steel and coal maker's stock down by nearly 40 percent, losses mirrored Friday morning in Russian trading. The premier criticized the company, which is the largest supplier of coal for steelmakers in Russia, for charging much higher prices for raw materials domestically than it does for its exports, and called for an antitrust investigation into its activities.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - European antitrust regulators said Monday they had restarted a probe into miner BHP Billiton's hostile bid for rival Rio Tinto Inc., setting a new deadline to rule on it by Jan. 15.

Nexans SA, NKT Holdings and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., a previous owner of Prysmian SpA, are due to attend a hearing on 11-18th June 2012 as part of the European Commission's (EC) probe into an alleged underground and submarine high voltage power cable cartel. The EC received official complaints about 12 companies in July 2011. The maximum fine for colluding to fix prices is 10% of yearly sales revenue.

Prysmian secured EU regulatory approval for the proposed acquisition of Draka. According to the statement released by the EU antitrust regulator, "The Commission's investigation has shown that the merged entity will continue to face effective competition in the production of optical fibre cables and general wiring despite becoming the European leader in the markets concerned." It was reported that the European Economic Area consists of a number of smaller suppliers, and therefore Prysmian will continue to have a sufficient number of competitors in its markets.

Aurubis AG and Luvata Group have agreed a closing date for the sale of Luvata's rolled copper and brass products division (RPD). Aurubis originally expected the deal to close in August, however, delays in seeking regulatory approval has caused the date to slip to 1st September. Aurubis has received clearance from the US and Turkish regulatory authorities but is awaiting a response from the European Union's antitrust body. The early May agreement stated that Aurubis will pay the Net Working Capital of Luvata RPD at the time of closing, anticipated to be between EUR200 - 250M. The final price is subject to copper price movements and stock levels at Luvata RPD.

Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., the Japan-based wire and cable manufacturer, has reached a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice under which it will plead guilty to U.S. antitrust violations and pay a fine of US$200M. Separate felony charges levelled against three Furukawa executive employees involved in the collusion have resulted in a combined total of 45 months in U.S. jail terms. The case relates to the collaborative investigations by Japan, the U.S. and the E.U. following the February 2010 raids by Japanese authorities on Furukawa and its competitors: Fujikura Ltd., Sumitomo Electric Industries and Yazaki Corporation. The companies are suspected of being involved in price-fixing and bid-rigging within the automotive components industry. All of the manufacturers, with the notable exception of Furukawa who avoided penalties through reporting the cartel, were also fined a total of ¥12B (US$150M) in June by the Japan Fair Trade Commission for anti-competitive offences in the domestic automotive wire harness market. However, the total cost in penalties in the U.S. could escalate as the remaining companies undergo court judgements after they decide to either enter plea agreements or wait for a court hearing.