Shareholders in Anglo American (AAL) would have been encouraged by news that a new chief executive has been appointed less than three months after the departure of Cynthia Carroll. Mark Cutifani - former head of AngloGold Ashanti - will be the mining group's boss from the beginning of April, but he won't enjoy a leisurely introduction.
He faces problems on a number of fronts, ranging from over-exposure to South Africa's increasingly fractious mining industry to excess capacity in global platinum markets. Asset sales and sharp cuts in capital spending are likely, as he seeks to turn around the fortunes of underperforming assets such as Angloplat, Collahuasi and, above all, the Minas Rio iron ore project in Brazil. As a consequence, substantial asset write-downs are possible.