There are no two ways about it: the big four FTSE 100-listed diversified mining groups had a cracking start to the year. In the first two months of 2012, Rio Tinto and Xstrata's shares both jumped by nearly a third, while BHP Billiton and Anglo American turned in a relatively poor performance, up by a mere fifth.

There is nothing like bid talk to get the Square Mile excited, and there was plenty to whet the appetite yesterday. The news that Vodafone is eyeing up Cable & Wireless Worldwide was not the only prospective deal on investors' minds amid claims that companies are eager to start splashing the cash.

A multibillion-pound tie-up set to create the world's fourth largest natural resources firm met instant criticism today as two major UK investors said they would vote against the move.

Mining heavyweights Glencore and Xstrata have unveiled a deal to create the world's fourth largest natural resources firm worth 90 billion US dollars (£57 billion).

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Rio Tinto

Pakistan's Baluchistan province has rejected a mining lease application from Chilean copper producer Antofagasta and Canada's Barrick Gold, raising questions over the future of their Reko Diq copper-gold project.

The Russian precious metals miner Polymetal has increased the amount it hopes to raise with its London stock market listing this year, seeking up to £518m as it eyes a place in the FTSE 100.

Glencore yesterday said it was looking for more acquisitions after the giant commodities trader unveiled first-half profit up 50 per cent in its first set of results since its huge flotation.

These are worrying times for shareholders in Luminar, the nightclubs operator, which is working on a recovery plan it hopes will appease the banks that agreed to waive its debt covenants earlier this year. A surprise change of auditor this week added to nervousness about the firm and now it has had to warn investors that they may be targeted by fraudsters. "It has come to our attention that some of our shareholders have received unsolicited phone calls from 'companies' offering to buy their shares for substantially more than current market value," Luminar warns. Don't take the bait, it warns – it's a classic boiler-room scam.

BHP Billiton, the Anglo Australian mining giant, yesterday catapulted itself into the world's top 10 companies by earnings as the global commodities boom saw it post record profits.

No matter how volatile the markets may have been, dropping a third of its share price in just three months after floating has not been seen as a success for Glencore International. The controversial commodities trader came to market in May in what was London's largest ever IPO before being fast-tracked into the FTSE 100, yet has only once finished a session above its 530p float price.