Corus shares Soar on rumours of Russian talks

Shares in the steelmaker Corus soared 11% to their highest level in six years yesterday on speculation that it has been holding merger talks with Evraz, the Russian rival linked recently with Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea football club.

The Corus move, which could herald job losses in Britain, is just the latest in a series of potential deals by cash-rich Russian companies, such as Gazprom, which want to invest in the British commodity sector. Corus refused to confirm or deny that talks had taken place but admitted that it was "looking at opportunities" in several countries, including Russia.