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| Glencore shares tumble to record low | Glencore shares tumble to record low |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Shares in commodity giant Glencore plunged 22% after analysts raised fears about lower metal prices. | Shares in commodity giant Glencore plunged 22% after analysts raised fears about lower metal prices. |
| The company's shares dropped to a new record low of 75p at 11:30, helping push the FTSE 100 down 1.5%. | The company's shares dropped to a new record low of 75p at 11:30, helping push the FTSE 100 down 1.5%. |
| Analysts warned slumping metal prices could leave Glencore shares almost worthless because of its heavy debts. | |
| Fears over Glencore's £20bn debt pile have seen its shares drop 30% in the past month. | Fears over Glencore's £20bn debt pile have seen its shares drop 30% in the past month. |
| 'Value eliminated' | |
| More than £3bn was wiped off Glencore's market value after a warning from analysts at Investec. | |
| They wrote that low metals prices "could see almost all equity value eliminated" at the Switzerland-based company. | |
| They also questioned how much Glencore could raise from selling its agriculture division, as "valuing such a volatile business is likely to be tough". | |
| Glencore hopes to generate up to $12bn (£7.9bn) from the sale of its grains business to reduce its debt burden. | |
| The Investec analysts said that without major restructuring, Glencore and another debt-laden mining firm, Anglo American, could see their value "evaporate". | |
| Shares in London-listed Anglo American also fell 7%. | |
| Hunter Hillcoat, an analyst at Investec, said: "Mining companies gorged themselves on cheap debt in a race to grow production following the Chinese stimulus that occurred in the wake of the great financial crisis. | |
| "The consequences are only now coming home to roost, as mines take a long time to build." | |
| Fears of a slowdown in China's economy has weighed on metal prices, with copper, aluminium and nickel all down more than 25% compared to a year ago. |