Coal prices are to average $59.28 a ton this yearÔÇöup 17 percent from $50.75 on February 19 last year and 41 percent more than last yearÔÇÖs low in April, according to a report by Bloomberg.  The coldest US snowfall in nine years will play a big part in the price boost, analysts say. Record snowfall this year buried parts of the USÔÇöthe worldÔÇÖs second biggest consumer of coalÔÇöincluding Dallas and the mid-Atlantic states.  A surplus of coal began to accumulate last year following the mild summer and the effects of falling demand as a result of the global recession.

Sales of Fairtrade products in the UK have increased by 12 per cent, reaching an estimated retail value of £800 million despite the economic downturn, new figures have revealed.

Oil services giant Schlumberger is in advanced talks to acquire its smaller rival Smith International, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.  The paper said that a deal between Schlumberger and Smith, who both have headquarters in Houston, Texas, could be announced in the next few days, though it could not say how much such a deal would be worth.  However, with Smith International valued at roughly $7.5 billion, the purchase price could be around the $9 billion mark, if the company were acquired at a 20 percent premium.

Gold Reef Resorts is to merge with Tsogo Sun to create a hotels and gaming company worth $2.7 billion (R22 billion).

Walgreens, the largest US drugstore chain, is acquiring New York retailer Duane Reade for $1.1 billion, it has been announced.  The purchase gives Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens a chain with the highest sales per square foot in the US drugstore business, while also strengthening its position in the north-eastern region that is the stronghold of its rival CVS. Walgreens currently has a relatively small presence in the New York City area, with only about 70 stores, 13 of them in Manhattan. By comparison, Duane Reed operates 257 drugstores in the same area.

State-run Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has signed a five-year service contract with Royal Dutch Shell to develop pure gas fields in the north of the country.

Anadarko Petroleum has agreed a $1.4 billion deal with Japanese trading and investment group Mitsui & Co to sell a minority stake in its Marcellus Shale natural gas project in Pennsylvania.  The deal announced yesterday will give Mitsui control of 32.5 percent of Anadarko's shale gas assets in the state, where most of the 250,000 square kilometre Marcellus deposit is located.  A rapidly developing natural gas field, Marcellus also reaches into New York and other states. Anadarko has 715,000 gross acres of the field.

Anglo American has taken another step forward in its restructuring programme by selling the European assets of its Tarmac business for £254 million.

The head of United Airlines has hinted at the possibility of renewing merger talks with Continental Airlines, according to a report in the UKÔÇÖs Financial Times.  According to the paper, Glenn Tilton, chairman and CEO of Chicago-based United, said that the market seemed to be in favor of rival DeltaÔÇÖs takeover of Northwest.  Delta merged with Northwest in 2008, creating a group with a market capitalization of $9.5 billion, compared with a combined market value of just below $5.5 billion for United and Continental.

UK transport operator First Group has clinched a £20 million contract to provide the buses and coaches that will transport spectators to the London 2012 Olympic Games.