The re-shaping of Glencore 's (GLEN) asset portfolio - including a new stake in Rosneft and the disposal of half the agriculture business - would have made 2016 a lucrative year for the commodity company's small army of legal and financial advisers. But for the first time since its listing in 2011, it was also a profitable one for buyers of Glencore stock, which is up 149 per cent since the 2015 preliminaries. This time round, and after accounting for a $2.1bn post-tax contribution from discontinued operations, the commodities giant booked $1.4bn in net income, a performance bolstered by big cost savings and China's surprise decision to reflate half-way through 2016.
The company is now in a bullish mood as it steps into 2017. "Glencore has never been so well positioned as it is today," chief executive Ivan Glasenberg claimed in his full-year results commentary. Such exuberance finds its roots in two sources: anticipation of higher inflation, interest rates and thus commodity prices, and fiscal economic stimulus programmes which should shore up demand.