From Times 16/10All sectors were on the slide as the FTSE 100...

From Times 16/10

All sectors were on the slide as the FTSE 100 fell 314.62 points to 4,079.59, but the FTSE 350 miners bore the brunt, losing 17 per cent, or £16 billion in value. Xstrata, the copper miner in South America, was among those hit hardest, down 258p at £10.58, amid talk that Glencore, the Swiss-based metals trader that is its founding 35 per cent shareholder, may have to sell down shares to raise cash. On Tuesday Standard & Poor’s cut its rating on the privately owned group, noting its high debt, falling metals prices and the fact that the value of its Xstrata holding had fallen 62 per cent from $22 billion in less than four months. Glencore may be regretting its refusal of £40-a-share offer for Xstrata from Vale, of Brazil.