Glencore's first half numbers were better than expected further strengthening its hand in the battle for control of Xstrata. Lex's Stuart Kirk and Richard Stovin-Bradford analyse the results and argue the world's largest commodities trader should persevere with its bid for the miner.<br /><br />Related article: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/91ba4668-eb5e-11e1-9356-00144feab49a.html<br /><br />For more commentary from the Lex team, visit http://www.ft.com/lex <br /><br />http://www.FT.com/