Vedanta's Anil Agarwal ramps up stake, again

In an announcement made after the close of trade on Thursday, Vedanta Resources announced that Executive Chairman Anil Agarwal had once again added to his already gargantuan stake in the mining behemoth - marking his second purchase of the week. The transaction came the same day he told his Twitter followers that "investment must be made in exploration and development of natural resources to eradicate poverty & unemployment". Altogether the Indian billionaire this week added a further 464,289 shares to his previous holding of 179.32m shares. 239,289 of the shares were acquired for 898p, while another 225,000 were priced at 973p, giving a total spend of just under £4.26m.Agarwal, who now owns a whopping 67.42% stake in the FTSE 100-listed group, on Thursday argued on social network Twitter that "legitimate" mining shouldn't be curbed. The company last year faced heavy criticism over its plans to drill a bauxite mine on the sacred hills worshipped by a number of Indian tribes. Last week the country's authorities rejected Vedanta's proposal after 12 representative villages last year voted against it. Top Director BuysITE Group (ITE) Director name: Mr Edward StrachanAmount purchased: 164,000 @ 313.00p Value: £513,320General Electric Co (GEC) Director name: Mr W. Geoffrey BeattieAmount purchased: 2,000 @ € 19.34 Value: € 38,683Midas Income & Growth Trust (MIGT) Director name: Mr Richard A M RamsayAmount purchased: 36,500 @ 135.25p Value: £49,366FirstGroup (FGP) Director name: Mr John McFarlaneAmount purchased: 10,642 @ 136.00p Value: £14,473APC Technology Group (APC) Director name: Mr Leonard SeeligAmount purchased: 20,626 @ 55.00p Value: £11,344Top Director SellsJudges Scientific (JDG) Director name: Mr Ralph CohenAmount sold: 30,000 @ 2,000.00p Value: £600,000Eckoh (ECK) Director name: Mr Nicolas B PhilpotAmount sold: 477,643 @ 32.27p Value: £154,135SpaceandPeople (SAL) Director name: Mr Maurice HelfgottAmount sold: 85,000 @ 132.50p Value: £112,625NR